The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-03-12
AN AFRICAN "coNJUR" DOCTOR.
An Interview with "Snakey Jake"-A
Voudou Physicians Outfit.
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Youdou Physicians Outfit.
ATHENS (Ga.) Banner.l
There lives near Athens an old negro
man, now verging on three score and ten,
known as "Snakey Jake, and who has
long been recognized as authority on the
dark art by his race. Jake is a full
blooded African-in fact, he claims that
his ancestors were great medicine men"
in the black kingdom, who handed down
to him the secret knowledge that he now
enjoys. This old negro, with his snow
white wool and ebony skin, has the eye of
hawk, and in speaking of his work, his
tone and bearing almost convinces one
that he is honest in his convictions.
Yes, boss, Use q conjur doctor" re-
marked Snakey Jake to a Banner Watch.
man reporter, who sought him out for an
interview, "an' am now in town to tend
on a cullud lady who has been bewitched
by young gal who lubs her husband It's
a bad case oh conjur. too, fur she billed de
heart oh rattlesnake in her coffee, an
fun de way she tackled, think dar am
some corpse work, too, about it. If dat
am true, dar am nuthin' kin sabe her. "
what do you call cOrpse-work.
well, You know, dat de little finger OBJ
a boy child, de eye-toof oh g gal, or chen
a lock OBJ hair from de head oh grown
pusson dat am dead, if put where hbbin'
pusson kin step ober it tree times day,
twice goin' and once coming, dat pusson
am doomed to death. OBJ course, you got
to do certain works ober de pieces, but
dar am plenty of niggers who has larned
enough to conjur pusson, but dey don't
know how to remove spells. kin cure
any kind of conjuring unless its corpse
work, an dat am always fatal when de
right spells are used.
"Do you make much money Jake?"
the reporter asked.
"Not much now, boss, but Use seed de
time when l made So out oh one case. De
ole man gifts in enuff to lib on. Some
gimme chicken, some bushel of corn
and some half dollar. Use kept right
busy hunting up my truck and tending
folks White people sometimes send for
me- too, but | can't do much wild dem.
It takes 'culiar kind oh medicine for a
white skin. l sells a great many OBJ dem
little conjur bags at 15-cents piece, but
dey am Wuff a half dollar" ana Jake pro-
duced handful Of dirty little sacks from
his pocket, each suspended by a string to
tie around the neck.
"What are they filed WITH" we asked.
Various tings, boss. Oar am de toof
OBJ de moccasin snake, de finger nail of a
gal child dot was born dead, all kinds of
conjur roots beat up, some blood from a
chicken an heap oh udder tricks dat you
don't understand. I've got spell on EN-,
too, for widout dat dey would be no good
A man wild one oh dem bags around his
neck kin nebber come to harm, unless a
dog star be rising. could nebber larn
to get around dat dog star. /"
Snakey Jake then began to show his
stock in trade From various of the old
rags that covered his body he brought
forth the most hideous Objects-snake
heads, wool, dirty bags filed with foul
smelling powder, pieces of withered flesh,
objects, explaining, with great pride. the
peculiar use of each. Many negroes be-
fieve firmly in this Voudoo doctor, and
often while under the treatment of white
physicians, will stop the use of his drugs
to send for Snakey Jake" to experiment
on them