, 1889-09-26
vOODOO|SM IN TENNESSEE,
Mrs. s. NJ. park in the Atlantic.

merism and hypnotism? Is that not n
kind of ovolution-voodooisni mesmer-
merism, hypnotism? The doctors have
conceded tho last to be worth studying
and have gone so far as to define It,
How far are our learned doctors then
from the old voodoo doctors who were
i'm the habit of conjuring the negroes for
miles aroundp
Conjuring, with all its imagined hor-
rors, could not be worse than hypnotism
by which q man can be made to commit
crime.
This is remarkable case related by
Mrs. Park. Probably it is ono of the
most remarkable instances of voodooism
ever put in print; possibly II Is so be-
cause II Is well described. The vivid
ness of the scene shows something very
like hypnotism in the operations of the
mulatto voodoo woman.
What goes before the following extract
is In nutshell, this: The lady was
visited by colored woman, Eliza, who
had recently lost son. The girl, Eta,
daughter of the neighboring darkies, is
sick, apparently fcver, and wastes
away. She thinks she Is conjurcd by an
old ccntenarian negress who lives by
herself In q cabin, tho dread of all the
negro quarter. She wanted to see tho
younger voodoo woman, who onl was
able to break tho spell.
That was the situation Mt the cabin
when Mrs. Psrk visited 1t. Directly the
voodoo came.
In the intense stiffness that oppressed
the next few moments | caught the
sound of approaching wheels. | went to
the door and, shading my eyes with my
hand from the outside glare saw rafting
down the lane shackling little old cart,
driven by the sick girls small brother,
Buster: His legs Protrudod like black
sticks from under his one white gar
nent With his whip (merely hickory
hand le and a leather string) hc was be-
luboring little gray mule into trot that
jerkcd the wheels until they seemed to
run each In u separate track, and some
times almost under the center of the
wagon.
| those in the room.
"Thank Gawd fur dat, Miss Sallic,"
| came at the same moment from Martha
and her husband, neither OF whom had
said word up to that time, but had re-
mained bent forward, looking down
] watched the approach of the wob-
bling wheels that finally stopped in
/ front of the house. From the wagon
descended two remarkable looking per-
sons. a man and n woman. He, a very
tall negro with thick African lips. and
Woolly hair, was dressed in
cloth as black as his skin. The woman
was a delicate light mulatrcss, of red.
I dish tinge. An oval face, regular and
large, brilliant black eyes gave her
| singular beauty. She wore no hat or
/ bonnet, but around her head was twined
u turban of bright yellow, Madras yell
/ low predominating. Large hoop ear
/ rings hung from her ears, and string OF
l blue beads was twined round and round
her throat and fell in fcstoons, longer
and longer, until they touched the waist
of ncr white tunic. Beads were
meath her skirt of dull indigo
blue, which did not conceal her we'll
| turned ankles, her exquisitely formed
bare feet were seen, whfch carried her
lightly, yet with great dignity of bear
followed most respectfully. while the
boy hitched the mule. retreated TO the
fireplace and stood watching with
amazed interest. The parents did
not stir. They did not even look up
Eliza turned her back and Sat on the fur,
] uobt-1llls ohNs iut W.
I took no notice of any OF us, but advanced
into the room towards the patient on
the bed. Her eyes Assumed u stead
fast expression as size fastened them
upon the girl After aNlong space o
breathless silence. In which she con
tinued her fixed gaze, her eyes sointiilat
ing with an influence that peryaded the
room, and seemed to subject all Other
volition 10 her own will.
She concentrated her attention upor
Eta. A quivcr ran through the girls
frame; her eyes flew open with startled
gaze. The woman drew back four ei
Eve steps with a hasty, but most grace
full movement, still looking intently
into the eyes of the sick girl. Hel
body swayed TO and fro. Keeping tim,
to its rhythmic motion, she chanted
slowly "A weird, fantastic, barbaric air
unlike anything had ever heard. Thu
words were in a foreign tongue. Tn,
undulations of her body brought hel
near enough to touch the girl upon tn,
shoulder, upon whom the effect wa,
electrical. Again shiver ran through
her frame, and she looked intently upor
the voodoo woman as. changing the air
she chanted in Il low, sweet key that
sounded like IA staccato wind beating up
ON un Eolian harp:
You loyed him! You loved himl
!. He's gone!"
Then pause followed, filled only
with the throbbinB pulse IN my ears
Again she sang: "IIe's gone! He went
to the fields While here he worked
He worked He put his hands TO hi,
head, and sald, Tin sick"
At this Eliza rose from her seat on tho
doorsill and turned. Through il all the
poor father and mother did not look up
but made low moaning and sobbinl
that fitted into the chant like minoi
accompaniment, and so excited my
nerves that could not restrain the tear,
from rolling down my face. The woman
continues:
1T is this that ails you and not the
medicine in the vial! The old woman
did try to stick you! The vial is undei
the house! But 1t will not be empticd
have sent it back to where IL cam,
froml IL has gone down, downW anl
she pointed to the floor. Its gone
now," she repeated, introducing "a sooth
: ing note into the song. THAT In moi
what ails YOU. You loved him and he.
dead! He's deadp' Here the song was
wall.
Eliza, who was listening with strained
attention, threw her arms above he
head, cried out In n piercing voice: ''lt'
true! It's true! II was my son, and he
dead, he's gone" and fell across. th'
foot Of the bed, burying her face in thu
bedclothes.
: The strange woman passed her han,
over Etta's brow two or three times
raised II, and, stepping back three o
four. steps. said, in u voice Of command
'Arise!"