The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-12-13
well. / see a light. What about it?

1
| at once determined me to do so.
'.Hants or what-not. I'm going TO
/ see: and you had better come with
me. for If get carried off by spooks
or lost In the swamp. you know very
well what will happen to you.
| In vain Isaac implored me to give
| up my purpose. Curiosity and the
foolhardy spirit of adventure common
to boys OF my age prevailed over his
entreaties and my own inward fears.
So We set out toward the light; Ike
most unwillingly following me, and
Cesar still more unwillingly following
Ike. As we approached, it grew con-
| stantly broader and brighter until 1t
seemed to soar in one unbroken, un-
wavering column half a. high as the
forest trees. We did not venture with
in the circle OF radiance. but stopped
some distance off and looked from the
dense shadow OF the overarching To-
liage upon wild. weird scene.
We had paused on the brink OF one
OF those lagoons so common in a
Southern swamp. On the other side
of ii, on knoll that seemed to rise
| from the midst Of morass, a drama
was acting that thrilled me with hor-
ror and makes me SILVER now to think
of. The great boles of the forest
trees draped with funereal wreaths OF
Spanish moss. the oozy fetid water
circling the mound, the flame luridly
| lighting up near objects and intensity
| ing the darkness around, the wild
vines twisting from tree to tree, look
ing in the lurid light like the huge
folds of twining serpents, all made
fit setting for that picture.
| Seven figures We're grouped within
that frame. A white man, tall and
handsome a girl. young and very,
very beautiful; four stalwart negroes,
who seemed posted Us guards. and. in
the center of the group. an old.
withered witch-like crone with face
black as ebony, so scanned with
wrinkles that it looked as If 1t had
just come out of crimping machine,
and small. keen, jet-black, cleaning,
snaky eyes. Those evil eyes seemed
to warn like the rattle Of the deadly
snake: Keep off from me, | am
fatal.' Yet the young man spoke to
her i'm tone OF good humored inn
patience. as If she were quite COM
monplace character.
Come. Venus, hurry up and finish
this business. | must get back to
camp before / am missed y
What an evil look she gave him!
Her beady eyes looked more than ever
like serpent's coiled ready to strike.
She answered with hideous chuckle:
Young mas'r en- big hurry? Myra,
too, s'pose? Neb' min. mas'r: obeah
oman mex charm, fetish come. den
mas'r all right. Myra. too. Lib n
lub togeder till dark night come; den
90 togeder- where? Kin white mas /
tell obeah oman dato No: white man,
black man, putty gal, ugly ole oman.
all go en- dark togeder. But mas'r en-
big hurry: Myra, too. See ere, mas'r.
see dey leaveso Dey stain wild heart !
blood where one man shoot oder en
duel. See dis bone? Dat picaniny
bone wha' der nanny strangle en- he
cradle. See dis rope? Dat hang
Black Jim case he kill he mas'r m
missus. See"
Never mind the balance cried the
young man. impatiently. Il know
the catalogue. Eye Of newt and to.
|; of frog You don't suppose believ,
| in your gibberish, do youa onl,
want to satisfy Myra that l NEAR
honestly by her, and if she think
your voudoo charms will bind m
q closer, get to work with your hellisl
;. ingredients and let's see what VOL
/, make of them, old Satan's grand
! mother"
Hi vi! young mass so funny! mel
q ole oman laugh! Putty Myra right
: obeah oman mex charm you ncb' par
a nummo'. Now ! work
- As she drew near the fire, my fas
o cinating eyes never left her for IA me
ment. The young man and girl stoo
, close together. His arms We're claspe
: around her, and she stood with he
beautiful face lifted to his. But hi
= eyes were on the old witch. The fou
sentinels stood motionless at thei
4 posts and watched her too. So did Tx
with ashy face, starting eyes and blut
- Der lips, trembling over the awfu
word "Voudoo. So did Cesar
. crouehed close to his masters feet, hi
morsel of a tail clear out of sight, an
J. shrinking in his hide as if he We're try
ing to get out of it. Strange, even i
F, a moment OF supreme expectation, no,
trivial details will strike the eye.
:, seemed to me my gaze had never lei
= the hideous face of old Venus, yet al
these things flashed on me, and in tn
same instant | was looking fxedly l;
her.
She drew close to the fire and cas
into it various articles drawn one b
one from bag, mumbling and NUT
tering and working her wrinkled jaw
as she leercd horribly at the coupl
clasped close in each others arms
Some Of her ingredients must HAY,
been more powerful than those sh
had named. for thick white smok
poured out and spread over ever
thing around. Through the mist
could dimly distinguish the weird fac
and form of the obeah woman wit
her bare, black. skinny arm Out
stretched. grasping white wan
which she shook over the fire, pou
ing out shrill cries and words of so
emn meaning could make nothing
And now Il strange thing happcne'
w. The whole marsh seemed in motion
/. The oozy soil on which | stood shoe
Y. like mold of jelly. The Shiny watt
fe before me heaved as if myriads
huge creeping things were crawlir