The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-10-05
vOuDoOIsM IN FLORIDA.
High links of Typicll Voudoo Doc
tor and his Erd in jail.
From the Netr York Su11

tor and his Ed in jail.
From the NeiC York Sun.
JACKSONVILLE, Sept. 26.-The arrest
here of ''Dr." Strovert, a er-colored
voudooist, mesmerist and healer, has re-
vealed a queer phase of negro belief in YOU
dooism. Strovert is a sharp, fairly we'll
educated man, and be has adapted bis
methods to the wants of his patients. He
came here about six weeks ago and, getting
in with the ministers. his plausible tongue
soon won for him great influence, while the
cures reported to have been done by him
brought him numerous victims. He has
taken frogs, snakes, pins, pieces OF rusty
iron, and many ether things, from the
stomachs of his patients, if his and their
stories are to be believed, and has lived and
waxed fat on the superStitious fears of his
dupes.
| One of bis patients was a negro named
Bell who had slight fever sores on his body.
| The doctor gave him pills made from rattle
| snakes flesh. He then had him stripped and
| laid on the floor. His wife was directed to
| catch u big rooster, kill it, ard after letting
it bleed fifteen minutes it was to be cut up
in small pieces and plsstered all over the
mans back. This was done. Next the
woman was sent out for a brick, and di-
rected to get one from certain place. This
the doctor had heated, and then made the
WOuldU EuO IL OFGi H6T EtCk. 1ahlDR zee
brick the doctor poured fluid from a vial
upon it and set it on fire. 1t was instantly
planted on the mans naked side, provoking
big howl. A pail Of water was then
dashed over the man and he was then bun-
died into bed.
This treatment was continued for several
days, but still the man grew no better.
It's bad hoodoo," said the doctor. On
his next visit he brought five big feathers,
and these were bound around the mans
waist. The doctor banished all the watch
ers to the rear Of the room, and, Selling q
sheet, suddenly threw it over Bell, mutter-
ing lot of nominations He plunged his
finger into the mans mouth, and then
showed a huge green frog that he said he
had caught in the mans throat More brick
application followed, and red cords of fan
mel were tied around the patients ankles
The next day the doctor pulled out a score
of rusty pins from the mans neck, then a
small snake. This time, as the patient
seemed no better, the doctor said that gold
must be used to fight the spell. First S.
gold piece was given him, then gold ear
rings, and jewel-y, and when all the poor
mans gold trInkets were gone silver was
called for.
Fin ally the d cor eaid he wanted money :,
S2S, no more and no less. So the small
piece of ground that the family owned was
sold, and the doctor got $50. He then be-
gan all sorts Of capers-got Che man to get
up at midnight and run twice
around the house without clothing, to go
out and roll in sand every hour after
o'clock at night, etc. But just then. luckily
for the man, the doctor was arrested,
charged with practising Medicine without
a license
Many other tales are told of the ridcu-
lous practices followed by him. One old
woman afflicted with rheumatism WAS C mn
Had trak, 1,isri md
times around the house aud thea kill q
chicken and sprinkle herself with the blood.
Another patient was wrapped in yellow
flannel tied with red cords to cast OIL q
spell that made ner nearly blind. Sill an
other was told to eat raw catfish three times
week for consumption. One had TO sit i'll
a room that was hung with red flannel, not
being allowed to go out till after O'Clock
D. M, whea the "spell was not so strongn
Still another cure was for the patient to go
out some dark night aud plant chickens
leg and part Of the gixzard in front of the
door of the person who had cast the spell,
also hanging up bit Of colored flannel over
the door that the person suspected had to
| pass through.
An old woman in La Villa, a suburb of
| this cily, was voudooed the other day, so
! she said, and the neighbors were kept v axe
for a week by her lamentations over her
| approaching death, as she felt sure that the
| spell meant that she was to die soon. Sew
| eral old members of the community got to-
gether and said that this must be stopped
and that the voudoo must be removed. An
! old negress who lived on the outskirts OF the
| settlement. and who had reputation as a
| witch-destroyer. was called in. aud the
fight began. She chose three old women
| and two young ones to help her and began
the campaign. The afflicted was stripped,
washed with water as hot as she could
bear, and was thea bundled up in red aud
| yellow flannel. A chicken was killed and
| the parts buried around the house, each one
of the party burying her share where none
of the Others could see it. All this time the
old lady was yelling and crying that the
voudoo was fighting her and trying to
strangle her. A big crowd had assembled ,
and the scores OF torches In and around the
yard made the scene weird one.
The Voudooed person was next placed
| upon the floor, and oil five danced around
| her singing, the refrain being taken up and
| joined in by persons outside. After fifteen
minutes of this they suddenly stopped, aud
all ran outside and three times around the
house to chase Off the spirits that they had
cast out. Returning, they changed the pa
TENTS covering, putting on yellow entirely,
| this being fatal color for spirits. This
| continued for several hours, winding up
with q severe beating on the patients back
| with switches
| AI dUOuG uAyllRnL the nVe women COW
cred their heads with red and yellow hoods
and ran out among the houses near by. Sud-
| denly one stopped and began digging near
| small cottage. Its owner stood by with
| quivering features and clasped hands.
! Digging down foot or so in the soft sand
! she stopped all at once and held up big
! bone tied with piecs of blue ribbon. This
| sign greeted by the crowd with bowls,
and rush was made for the alleged vou-
dooer. who fed. The five then returned TO
| the cottage where the old woman lay grosn-
! ing and showed her the voudoo She
stopped screaming. and tears Of joy rolled
down her cheeks. All joined hands oncs
more and danced around her, and then the
exercises we're over. The voudoO was cast
out
The crowd dispersed and all was still, as
not negro would venture out for fear OF
the cast-0ut vOudoo's taking up its abode
18th him, as IL would do II IL caught any
body within six hours after II had been cast
out. The cd woman was all right next day,
and her faith 10 VCuiooism Is greater than
over.