St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1885-04-11
CONVICTION, ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. APRIL II, lS8

by the hand. She accused them o.
frightening him SO that he was greatly
injured, and insisted on their presenting
her with piece from their suspenders
with which to make some tea to restore
the boy to his senses.
A more peculiar case occurred in nv
own experience. Having anchored my
boat near large town, the village boys
came out in large numbers, hooting,
throwing stones and rendering them.
selves generally offensive. Rushing upon
them l seized one Of the ringleaders and
threatened to have him punished by the
elders of the town if the disturbance did
not cease. Soon after l heard great
clamor on the-bow of the boat and was
informed that the mother of the boy had
come to see me. Going out found her
with the boy who, she said. was so
frightened that he had turned green.
and she demanded handful of saliva
to restore him. Disguised at the re-
quest turned and left her, but she
persisted. and all the people joined
in support of her request, so that in
sheer self-defense l was compelled to
accede. Whether the remedy was eff
| cacious or not l never learned. An
other request of the same kind came a
few days later from a long-robed
scholar, who was very polite in making
his demand, but whose little son had
been greatly startled by my strange
appearance, and he consequently was
very anxious to guard against any ill
effects.
A certain missionary had large black
dog that accompanied him in his trav-
els, and on one occasion created con-
sternation and fright among the half
clad urchins that swarmed about him.
Several were reduced to that alarming
state at which pale green hue shows
through the yellow skin, and hair from
the dogs tail was demanded to make
tea necessary for their recovery
Their belief in spirits is notorious.
and haunted houses are frequent. Elves,
fairies, brownies. imps, and other super
natural beings are said to abound. They
believe in spirit-rappings, planchette,
alchemy. mesmerism, divination of va
rious kinds by bamboo slips, by images.
by somnambulism, chirOmancy and
palmistry. Branches of certain plants
are hung over the doors to ward off evil
influences. and cast swords are hung in
side their bed curtains as protection
against nocturnal spirits. Their roads
are always crooked and abound in
sharp corners to obstruct the approach
of spirits, which delight in broad.
straight WAYS. The houses on q street
are never built in . line. but present q
sigzag appearance, as some project and
others are set in. This is to check the
progress of the spirits.
Corner houses are avoided because
their position affords such facility for
the evil spirits to sweep around them.
A sharp roof indicates that only bar
Der shop will prosper opposite. The en-
trance to house is never direct A
screen in front necessitating turn to
the right or left, and the arrangement
of the open court inside, with its flowers
and stands, shows q cirouitous path to
the inner apartments. Many accounts
of supernatural appearances are met
with, such as the story of the Spirit of
the Mist-the fairy who visited the EN-
peror Lung, and in reply to his question
whence she came, said: AZ live on the
terrace of the sun in the enchanted
mountain. In the morning l am cloud,
in the evening a shower of rain"
Ancestral worship universally prac-
ticed by the Chinese is inseparably con-
nected with geomancy or ''earth divina-
ton, " otherwise known as ''Fung Shui,n
the "wind and water" doctrine, one of
the most gigantic systems of delusion
that ever gained prevalence among men.
1t is believed that there is subtle, in
tangible something, vaguely character
lied as ''wind and water that has .
most powerful influence upon the for
tunes and destinies of men. What the
principles of this occult science are it
has been impossible to determine. Its
power largely depends upon its intan-
gibility. and in the hands of designing
me@ playing upon the superstitious
fears Of the people, and .exaggerating
the effects of the conjunction of certain
influences upon outward events,
this system of geomancy has become
mighty power, and has imposed yoke
Of most CALLING bondage upon the peo-
pie. They have associated it with
ancestral worship. so that the two
are interviewer and combine to form the
strongest barrier to progress and en-
lightenment of every kind. In explana-
ton of its principles the flung" wind
is said to be the cold air which issues
from the earth, and it is in all cases de-
sirable that there be no hollow or de-
preston near . grave lest this evil wind
blow into it and disturb the coffin or the
bones.
The .'Shui water" pertains to the
of the earth. which is
to be caused by the dragon
whose shape is discerned in the uneven
line of ruts along the horizon. The
home of the dragon is in the water, in
whose winding course he delights.
Tracing the water to its source we come
10 the meeting place of the dragons
the fountain-head of the influences that
control human destiny hence over the
yates of many villages may be seen the
words "Ui-Lung," meeting of drag
,ns," indicating the propitious site Of
The town. The dragon is all-important.
he has power to give prosperity to the
and, to bring glory to the King and
honor to the sage, and is the symbol OF
Ill superiority and success in social.
political and moral affairs Hence it