The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-04-13

tnere was seen IN the midst oil a motley ar
| ray of squat and bulging jugs, dwarfish
| figure, clad in dingy brown, and crouching
| with arms akimbo, so that he was hardly to
| be distinguished from the uncouth vessels
| that surrounded him, save for the bright
and scintillating black eyes illuminating his
ebony face, and darting fire at every glance.
| When, at Mawse Toms approach, he re-.
moved his dingy cap, and revealed a peaked
| head as white as snow, the effect was so
startling, that the awe-stricken negroes fell
| back, and some of the pickaninnies stihcd a
| yell in their mothers skirts.
"Sho' cuore, massa," said Doctor Bob,
with cleaning grin, as he scrambled out
| of the cart When he stood upon his feet,
| his resemblance to his suuatty jugs was
| more marked and more ludicrous than ever
He was very short and very bow-legged,
with pronounced paunch, which he sup
ported with his two hands, He said he was
| a thousand years old, and the negroes be-
lieved it, but he had none of the feebleness,
none of the apathy of age.
doctor Bob en- he jug neber fail, F" he said
| to Nawse Tom, with another grin, as he
pro ,leded to remove the numerous vessels
of different sizes, and to set them within
| the cabin door.
Lastly, he took from the cart long
| stout, knotty stick, black and polished, and
cut into three spikes ut the top. At sight OF
this there was more pronounced retreat
on the part of the beholders, and some Of
the very young ones ran away hcwling.
Doctor Bob evidently enjoyed the COM
motion he excited; his eyes twinked and
glanced, taking in every movement Of the
crowd, while he raised his stick aloft,
waved it around his head, muttering strange
words; then, walking backward around the
cabin, he cast handful after handful of a
curious kind of hard, shriveed, red berry,
or bean, which he took from his pockets,
and of which his supply seemed to be mex
haustible.
This done, he paused in front of the door,
waved his hands thrice, which the negroes
seemed to accept as a dismissal for with
one accord, they struggled away; few Of
the older ones, whether through inherited
tradition, whether through an instructive
sense of decorum characteristic Of their
race, advanced, one by one, did obeisance to
Doctor Bob, and solemnly retired
Doctor Bob entered his cabin, and was
seen no more until about noon next day.
This was the time fixed for the initiation of
his ministrations to Aunt Tempe. He began
by walking backward around her cabin, as
he had walked around his own, throwing
handful after handful of his shriveled
scarlet beans. There were not so many wit
nesses on this occasion, for the negroes
were at work, but Mis- Mamie was present,
and Nom Rhody.
Aunt Temples cabin with its little garden
was one of the tidiest on the plantation.
Her little flower bed had been gay all sum
mer with 'four-o'c o'clocksn and sold maids"
which toddling baby Tom would pull and
lay on her pillow, saying: "Pitty towers,
make Nom Tempe well.n
At first Aunt Tempe smiled at the child
and feebly strove to stroke his curls, but she
had not smiled now for many days. When,
however, Doctor Bob looked ut her and said:
"Doctor Bob know; Doctor Bob cuore,"
Aunt Tempe smiled once more.
To Mis- Nannie's great alarm-for it was
chilly day in November and Aunt Tempe
was almost a skeleton-Doctor Bob I'M
covered his patients feet, and, with great
solemnity, laid his staff across Aunt Temples
feet, uttering some cabalistic words that
Nom Rhody evidently understood, for she
made response in similar gibberish, at
which Doctor Bob seemed greatly pleased.
He now took his position in the middle of
the room, fixed his eyes on Aunt Tempe,
and bending his crooked legs to an extra
ordinary angle. began swaying slowly back
and forth, waving his arms, and grooming
wild chant
His voice never rose above this low, mo-
notonous grooming, but his movement
presently grew faster and faster, and at
that instant Nom Rhody entered upon the
same performance, which was maintained
with great vigor until both fell to the floor
exhausted. Doctor Bob was the first to re-
cover. He removed his staff from Aunt
Temples feet with one hand and with the
other he held up to view two small balls of
hair.
''See ums'' he said to Mis- Mamie "Come
outen foots, but trabellcd de body froo."
"DO you expect me to believe such non
sensel" said Mis- Mamie, Indignantly.
"Honey, honey" painted Nom Rhody,
"doan' balk de cuore!"
''Um gwan seen muttered Doctor Bob, in
dudgeon, as ne wrapped the balls of hair in
fabric, the like of which Mis- Mamie had
never seen before. He then left the cabin,
but presently returned with one of his
smallest jugs full of steaming liquid; this
he placed at Aunt Temples feet, and covered
all closely with the marvellous patchwork.
''Um no better, ehl' he said to Mis- Nan
nie, jerking his thumb toward the bed. Ger
tainly Aunt Tempe was no worse,
So the 'powwow," as Mawse Tom called
il, went on day after day with this differ
ence, that 1t took place after dark when
more of the negroes-special selections Of
Nom Rhody's-could be present TO assist"
in the ministrations, and Mawse Tom came
to look ON. instead OF Mis- Mamie
Every night Doctor Bob drew bigger and
bigger balls of hair from Aunt Tempe's
feet, and put a bigger jug of some mys-
terious steaming compound in her bed, and
Aunt Tempe began TO recover the power OF
speech aud the use of her hands
At last when for eight consecutive days
he had exhibited those mysterious balls OF
hair, supposed to travel through Aunt
Temples body and come out mt her feet, and
Aunt Tempe all the while visibly growing
better, on the morning of the ninth day,
that being Friday, Doctor Bob announced
that she would be loosed from tho "kunger"
at sundown, and that whoever had been in.
strumental in putting it upon her would
'drap in de tracks," and only Doctor Bob's
mercy could save that person from the
effects OF that same "kunjer."
At Doctor Bob's requisition. all the
negroes were summoned at shutdown TO
march in procession around Aunt Tempe's
cabin, ole Mis- and Mawse Tom and Mis-
Mamie being there as lookers-on with all
the children, except baby Tom, who was
asleep on u blanket In front of Aunt Temples
fire.
Aunt Tempo lay Oh her bed opposite the
door, which was wide open, that egress
might be allowed the invisible "kunjer,n
and that sho might DC seen OF each one in
the procession. She was very feeble still.
not having yet recovered the power to move
herself freely. Doctor Bob stood outside,
facing the door. at sufficient distance TO
allow the procession to pass between nim
nd m cabin