The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1890-09-12
VOUDOOlSM IN FLORIDA,
A STRANGE TALE FROM THE LAND OF
FLORIDA.

q an" i'iack Pcople Flockiug to tn
Hut OF Negro voutoo Doctor. ,yb
Il claims that he Can DO any Thing bc ;
1 Paid for.
5 SAVANNAII, Sept. 4.-Maxwel.
! n"iniet In Florida seven miles south o
: baldwin, on tho Florida Central an,
, Iehinsula Railroad, is becoming ra
NOUS Judging from the numerous pas
sehgcrs FOR that place the past month
or oWo7 The town has store and three
honses' and the surrounding country is
sparsely settled. Ordinarily not more
thansthree or four I1assengersua week
4 4 fttJ 6Ss 1noNez>,
the number increased ,tosSe1Sh tg-Ifve,
and then to one hundred and fifty, the
persons under whose notice the increase
came begun an investigation Your
correspondent made dying trim To
Maxwell yesterday, and interviewed
Dr. Llsha Wilkinson, the great magic
healer and voudoo of the negroes For
| hundreds Of miles around.
| 1he reporter arrived ut Maxwell at
night, and had to ride Il mule back two
miles through the deep pine forests be-
1ore reaching the doctors habitation
| On the way camp OF some fifteen or
more colored people was passed. who
the guide said, had con @ from North.
ern Georgia to consult the doctor.
they were all ranged around big fire
holding an excited consultation, and
examining 4 big sheet of paper that
one OF tncn held. As the reporter ap-
proachcd they ran off into the woods
and nothing CoLld indr ce them to con,
verse with him. Tho guide said thnt
THIS was the usual custom, the paper
being some kind OF magic youdoo or
spell the doctor had given to them. and
they Thought that j [ strangers sawit it
would lose its force and power. The
party approached the house and the
newspaper man wer. in. A short.
stout man, with o, e eye bandaged. ap.
pfoacheu him, say ing, II was expecting
you, and shook him by the hand. This
upset the reporter, and for q moment
he stood still looking ut the celeb .ateI
doctor. Ills rugged, tanned face was
one or shrewd determination, and his
small gray eyes twinEled with unusual
1orce. n slouch hat was over his rr,y-
Whltc halr, while a rough flannel shirt
Jean trousers without SuSpenders. and
big brogans completed his costume.
doctor, said the reporter, ave Got
rmeumatism the worst way in nv back
what can you do for me-" The doctor
m0tloncd Tor him to ba"c his back. lie
ulu so. Inc doctor then ran his open
hand over the bare flesh i'm circles and
then did the sainc, using ms muck I'M
ger alone. An uncomfortable feeling
AZ aSTI. t.inispihsstsd itss!1 and i seemed
lie stopped shortly and abruptly told
the reporter to resume his clothing.
Taking up Il small square of pasteboard
ruled into ft ur squares, with the num-
berS !, 10, IG, 81 in them, he gave that
to the reporter and told him 10 read
those off back ward every night as Ire
retired for u week, and after that the
rheumatism would never be felt again.
The reporter expressed his gratitude,
and then had 4 long conversation with
the "healcr."
He said that this power to cure by
touch any disease, wound or hurt was
bestowed upon him when young man
by an utter stranger, ard that he has
practiced it for sixty years. 81 can
cure dropsy. rheumatism, cancer, etc,
| by looking ut the patients, sometimes
not even touching them,' said he. II
can't say what this pc yer is. but, do all
| | can to cure them, and succeed when
lots of doctors have given up the job.
/ can make absent and separated
couples return to each other, make Il
woman love you, and find stolen and
lost property. knew to-day that you
were coming" The reporter soon found
out that the old fellow would not give
any real details OF his work, and so
sought out some of his ncighbors.
| "What do the niggers say about
him?" repeated one OF the oldest set
tiers. "Why they come hundreds of
miles just to see him on all sorts of
business. have known them to come
from the Carolnas, Georgia, Alabama,
and from all parts of this State. They
camp out when they come here and
won't have anything TO do with white
folks. I've seen many queer proceed.
ing in their camps while here, dancing
around the fire, .voudoo' practice, anC
all that sort of mummery. They thinh
the world of him, and they will &c
without their last dollar to pay him ;
big sum. You see, he dOsen't charge
, them anything. Oh, no, He knows
trick worth two of that. He tells then
to compliment him, and they strive t,
see who will give IN the largest ant
1 most expensive compliments in TIN
10 ;%"G f,of, of money; a I've know him to TAX
gether. TN TRey % e him i'm f65ff Of iGSaisytet2
G make some woman look upon then
h for spells to injure an enemy, or eve
@ to kill some one. lie will look on on
i of them when brought before him an
d tell him II go back home, and that Ii
a will he well when he gets there.
r "But the whites are helping Cutie
Q. to fill this Lads Golfers. He gets frol
is fifty to two hundred letters wee
s many of them enclosing money, askln
for advice. lie c?Inot read a line an
these letters are simply opened. Il
money taken out. and the letters bur
., ed. He has never been known to a
~ swer letter of any KIND, even
= proxy. lie a; Sures his dupcs that
i can treat them rs well when they a
rs at home as WI Ell n r him.
ne "White women from New lol
IL Chicago, Cincinnati, and other plac
" visited him here last winter, and I'll
Us summer hundreds of white ladies frc
or towns within 200 miles have go
IN IN through the mummeries that he som
sI times practices. He is worth ma
ts thousands of dollars gained in this W;
ms He has no bank, but buries his mon
eu i'm the Uround near his house and SIi