The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-10-20
vOODOOISM REVIVED.

vOODOOISM REVIVED.
The supcrrtition Still Prevalent Among
! Southern Negroes.
One Of the most remarkable cases in
criminal animals was tried at the Court
OF General Sessions, of Sumter County,
ON last "Wednesday. !; was the case of
the State rs. Henry Johnston for the
murder of John Davis on the 9Th day of
last February. Both the prisoner and
his victim were negroes, and the trial
developed the system of voJdooism cY
icticism, to which their race is still
addicted in the Southern States. The
prisoner, before his trial, made the fol-
lowing confession, which WAS put in evi.
dcncc "" stated that lie was in love
with the wife Of the deceased-a woman
about % years Of age-thc prisoner
being near 40. That she repelled his
advances and he sought the aid of u con
lurer, one Orange lsnacs, ansaged negro
The 80 called conjurer gave him n charm.
known in the language of negro witch.
craft as hand" composed of various
articles, viz: beeswax, foxes hair, lit.
tie sand from the shoe Of the person in
tended to be acted on, aud drakc's foot,
was told to wear it next to his skin over
his heart Cor one week, and the woman
would love him. He did 50, and report
cd to the conjurer that the woman had
confessed her love for him, but had
refused to accept him as her paramour
unless her husband separated from her.
The conjurer then gave Johnston anoth-
cr charm designed to ALLEVIATE tho hus-
bnnd from the wife. 1t was worn the
prescribed time, but he reported that the
woman and her husband continued to
live happily together, and that the charm
would not work. The conjurer replied
that Davis must be possessed by devil,
and that he would give Johnston a
charmed bullet, which he must put in
his gun and fire at Davis's head rs he
passed from the wood in which lie was
working toward his home, at sundown
the next evening. Johnston objected,
thsG if ne killed the man the law would
eg biz this If lie Head ssdfrs cut e Dy Hia lila
c0DjureT giving him another charm,
which he said would be proof against
the law, and that no judge or jury could
convict him while he wore it upon his
person. Thus fortified, Johnston shot
Davis through the head, on the following
evening, killing him instantly, and COW
cred his body with leaves in the wood
near the spot where he fell He then
proceeded to the house OF the deceased
and was received and welcomed by the
widow, and domicilcd himself in the
place of the dead man. The brother Of
the deceased, suspecting from his absence
that he had been the victim of foul
play, and finding Johnston in possession
Of his house, had him arrested on suspi-
con Of murder. The body was found
covered up US described on the fourth
day after the killing. The prisoner con-
fessed the deed as stated, and was placed
on trial before Judge Mackey at Sumter
on "Wednesday last. The trial drew an
immense throng OF negroes to the Court
House, where faith in the power Of the
conjurcr satisfied them that I've prisoner
could not be convicted. His faith was
strengthened by the fact that two of the
jurors empannclled in the case, one
negro AID the other white man, we're
taken suddenly ill. and two others had to
be substituted in their places. The
jury, rs finally organized, consisted of
nine whites and three blacks. The
prisoner was ably defended by Messrs.
Barron u Beard, and the trial occupied
the entire day. The jury were out but
ten minutes, and returned with verdict
VI Runty. H6 NcIuiCL WuS TeCctVCu
with exclamations of surprise from many
of the negroes present. Judge Mackey,
who is not sensitive TO charms of the
class described, at once proceeded to sem
tcncc the prisoner. In response to the
question from the Judge whether he had
anything to say why sentence CT death
should not be passed upon him, the
prisoner replied that he had fair and
impartial trial, but there were powers at
work which the jury could not under
stand, and intimated that those powers
would yet interfere in his behalf He
requested the Judge to give him rs long
a time to live as the law would permit,
saying, with very pertinent use of the
argumcatum ad lominem, "How would
you like, your Honor, if you were in my
place to be hung in n hurry?" Judge
Mackey, approaching the force of this
argument, sentenced him to be hanged
on Friday, the 25th day of November
next The negro faith in their system
of fc:icism or the power Of charms, has
Sheriff of the County, q robust man, in the
prime of life, dropped dead within three
hours after the prisoner was sentenced
and q few minutes after he had expressed
his adherence of performing the painful
duty imposed upon him by law of execu-
ing the sentence 1t should be stated 70
the credit of the prisoner, that when
informed of this death he wept bitterly.
The above interesting facts were given
us last night by Judge Mackey, while he
was passing through the city on his way
to Sumter, where he will open the Court
of Common Pleas to-day. He regards
this as one of the most remarkable cases
recorded in the annal, of criminal juris
prudence. 1t certainly reads more like
romantic, weird narrative of the dark
ages than the sober record of true events
occurring in this enlightened nineteenth
century Columbia Register.
Ham White, noted highwayman
of Texas, recently arrested in New Mex
leo, has been sentenced to the penitentis.' :