The Portland daily press., 1882-04-03
The Fatal Sisters.
Astrange Story of voudoo Curse.
rsan Francisco Examiner

AStrange Story of voudoo Curse.
[San Francisco Examiner
was a reporter on the New Orleans Plea
yune when the story of this romantic affair was
first brought to my notice. will now relate 1t
briefly:
THE DE coURCY FAMILY
is an ancient one and is universally known to
all old residents of Louisiana. 1t was one OF
the wealthiest and most influential before the
war. De Courcy was the owner of the famous
Magnolia Plantation, as we'll as two other al
most as notable and expensive plantations in
the Opelousas Parish. This afluent Creole,
while young and wild and sowing his wild
oats, took for his mistress the fayorite grand
child of Marie Lavon, the famous Voudoo
Queen, who died in Louisiana two years ago.
In her rage and indignation the Voudoo Queen
uttered a terrible curse, and at the annual
Voudoo orgies and incantations held by the ne
groes on the banks Of AXE Penchartraln with
solemn rites and diabelical ceremony, recorded
the anathemas against the white master, DE
| Courcy. He was cursed in true Voudoo fash
| ion. He was to have no male heirs, and his
| line should die with his daughters. OF course
| the curse of the old negress was laughed at
| ard ridiculed, but IL became a familiar house,
coast. De Courcy married and had three
| daughters who were afterward known as the
fatal sisters. The last of these ladies died here
| in San Francisco, under an assumed name,
| early last month, as the following brief an
nouncement in the New Orleans Picayune of
February 16 indicates "Died, in San Fran
| cisco, February 8, Madame Joan Maria Bien-
venu, the last of the fatal sisters"
but why are they termed the fatal sis
| ters?'"
THE FATAL SISTERS.
"That am about to explain. At the begin.
| ming of the war DeCourcy owned three of the
| largest sugar plantations in Louisiana. His
| three daughters, Louise, Celeste ana Joan,
| were the bellies of Mobile and New Orleans,
and held undisputed sway over the hearts of
many of the gallant and lordly yoang planters
| of the delta On the death of their father, who
| left his three daughters immense wealth in
! real estate, money nd slaves, these three or
| phans became the rage, SO to speak, of the Gulf
coast society. Possessing unbounded wealth,
| ravishingly beautiful, accomplished and gay,
| these three girls reigned like trio of queens
among the bon ton of New Orleans and Mobile.
| Unrestsained and wild, these three Southern
beauties enjoyed license which would have
| been denied by society to others less wealthy
| than they Gossip was free with their names,
| but no taint of improperly was carried in the
comments and conversation, which were gener-
al. Their lives were free and bright, and the
world to them was garden OF pleasure,
| through which they wandered, plucking the
| brightest of flowers of flowers at will. The
fatality which had already carried off their IA
ther, hung unseen over the lives of these three
| innocent Creole girls. The Voudoo queens
| curse was almost forgotten when Louise, the
! eldest married Dr. Hunt of Alabama. While
the honeymoon was still bright, Ter husband,
excited by Jealousy at a bali in Mobile chal-
lenged gentleman who had been one of her
| old suitors. The duel came off and DIR. Hunt
| was killed. This was tragedy number two
| The year following this tragic episode the Sec
n1D -
to John Forsythe, Jr., son of the noted journ-
alist and editor OF the Mobile Register. This
| marriage proved to be even more unfortunate
| than that of the elder sister, Young Forsythe
was proud, brave and rather exacting His
| wife, on the other hand, was a born coquette
She was gay, beautiful and
CARELESS OF PUBLIC CRITICISM
What cared the proud young beauty for what
the world said? She defied public scandal and
| notwithstanding the protestations of her proud,
| revengeful and even jealous husband, CONT J.
| ued to furnish food for scandal In his grief
| and desperation, Colonel Forsythe Jr., COM
mitted suicide in Mobile. His father, in the
| grief and bitterness of a father bereft of IA
| vorite son, headed his editorial obituary in the
Mobile Register with the significant but bitter
title, "Killed by His Wife," and denounced
| the fashionable syrens through whose influence
two men had gone to untimely graves In this
article the elder Forsylhe predicted the same
| fatal destiny for the third sister. Twas an eye
|
fearful curse of the Voudoo Queen. 1 heard
| the challenge, saw the duel and remember
well the details of the san. uinary affair which
led to the flight of the third of the "fatal sis
ters' to San Francisco. The fairest of the
| three sisters was Joan Maria, the youngest of
them all. She was one of those brilliant beau
| ties who make men mad in their alteration
Her eyes were like flashing stars, her hair
black as the night and luxuriant in its pfofu-
| sion. She was one of those fascinating bru-
nettes SO aptly described by Byron. At last
| she surrendered to the wooing of rich young
| Creole of New Orleans named Edouard Bien-
! venu who led the last of this fatal trio to the
| altar. Like her sisters, she cared nothing for
| what Mrs. Grundy might say, and after ber
marriage with Bienvenu continued her flirta-
| tions with her old time admirers / was the
| social editor of the New Orleans Picayune at
| the time this
LAST TRAGIC EPISODE
| in the De Courcy family history occurred 1t
was in the month of February, 1874, and our
| Mardi Gras festivities were in full blast. was
| standing in the conservatory of The ballroom of
| the Mystic Krewe, one of our prominent social
| organizations in New Orleans, and talking with
brother journalist, when Madame Bienvenu
| entered the conservatory with fine young
| man, a lawyer named Phillips, as her escort
| They took seats upon the tete-d-tete in corner
and were enjoying pleasant and almost loy-
ing Irritation together when Edouard Bienve-
| nu entered the place. AS her husband ap-
preached, his eyes fashi lg with rage and jeal-
ousy, his wife half rose to her feet, and heard
| her say in tone of alarm and dismay, mon
| Dieu, and then she sank back in her seat in
| confusion. Her husband, a tall, handsome
| Creole, with black mustache and imperial, the
| very beau ideal of a Frenchman, waved his
| right hand deprecatingly as he smiled grimly
upon his wife, bade her keep her seat, that he
had no desire to disturb her; he had merely
| come out to smoke cigarette. Then turning
to Phillips, said, as he lighted cigarette:
| "By the way, Phillips, am going tomorrow
| on little excursion to Bay st. Louis (the ia
nous duelling ground). 1 shall take a friend
company on the trip. Bring a friend with
| you.'
| "I shall take pleasure in joining your party
replied Phillips, gravely. What train do you
| go on?"
81 will meet you on the train, then, said
| Phillips as he accepted cigarette from the
| jealous husband, who, offering his arm to his
thoroughly frightened wife, walked out of the
conservatory and shortly. afterward left the
ball. This was the only challenge exchanged.
IL was given and accepted as carelessly as each
| lighted cigarette. We reporters understood
| it as we'll as they. Both were arrested next
| day and the duel was postponed.
THE DUEL.
| 1t was not until April 3, 1874, that Bienvenu
aud Phillips were able to carry out their inten-
tiops On that day 1 accompanied them, with
quite number of friends of both parties, to
| the dueliDg ground at Bay st. Louis. Both
men fred simultaneously, and the husband fell
| dead at the first shot, He never spoke a word
after he fell Phillips turned from the field
and walked away after throwing his smoking
pistol on the ground. He disappeared, and is
supposed to have come to San Francisco. Thus
was the curse of the old negress, Marie Lavon,
the Voudoo Queen, literally carried out. All
three husbands of the fatal sisters died violent
deaths, leaving no children behind them to
keep up the De Courcy race. Madame Bienve-
nu brought her fashionable career to sudden
close. Remorse and shame drove her into re-
tirement from which she never emerged. In
the Summer of 1874 she took passage on a Pa
mama steamer by the Isthmus and came to San
Francisco. Here she changed her name, and
had lived on her wealth in the strictest retire.
ment up to the day of her death. 1t is not
known definitely whether Phillips Joined her
here, but gossippers in New Orleans reported
that she had married the man who had shot
her husband Whether she did or not cannot
say but think it likely.