Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-05
BLACK ART TRAGEDY.
"A Murderer Claims to Be the Victim
Of Heathenish V0od0oism.
HIS QUEER STORY OF A CHARM
That Was to Send an Objectionable Wife
Into the Spirit World.
TRACES OF THE EXPERIMENT FOUND

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPATcH.l
NEW YORK, MAY 4.-James L. Hamilton,
of Flushing, the negro who is charged with
the murder of his wife, Anne, on Sunday
night, at Winfield, L. l., wasseen by a re-
porter this morning in his cell. The story
Hamilton told was like romance. He ex-
pressed his belief that his wife was killed
for SIS by practicers and believers in black
art He told his story in straightforward
manner, using good English and as few
words as possible. He made the following
statement:
Il first heard of the woman who was mur-
dered on Sunday, and who was my wife,
some four or five years ago. was then a
student at the Lincoln University, studying
to become a minister. In the class with me
was young cCiored man named Mahoney.
] met Annie Brooks through Mahoney, and
married her. About year ago decided to
try TO get divorce.
A Victim of yoodooism.
Here Hamilton stopped for minute.
''It sounds strange to you, sir, he went on,
s'but YOU have heard of black art. My pa
rents brought me up to disbelieve all that
sort OF stuff, but among the colored people
on Long Island there are thousands and
thousands who believe in it, and dozens
who are known as doctors or men who heal
by black art. In Great Neck there is one
man who is known all the country over as a
great man in black art. He, it is said, can
do almost anything, and then negroes be-
lieve him a great friend of the evil one.
"After my bill for separation fell through
this man came to me, and he said to me:
WHY don't YOU send your wife away?
Don't YOU want to send her away?' l re-
piled that l did, and had tried to get rid of
her He laughed, and said: 'Oh, there are
other ways of sending her away than by di-
vorcing her
Yes, by killing her, answered.
"'Oh, don't mean such thing as muir
der, he replied. But there are other ways
OF sending her far away as bird can fly
AT then said in a peculiar voice: DO
YOU dare do it,?
"'What?' said L
The Formula for Working a Miracle.
"'Take an AK he said, with his ewes
closed, go to the east side of black oak
tree, cut d chip about three inches long out
OF the bark, draw on the bare space thus
made the figure of a female as near as you
can Take nail aud put it where the
heart is Tap it lightly, and every morning
for nine days tap it again on the head On
the ninth morning drive the nail up to the
head. Then make a wish with your face
toward the rising sun; wish that your wife
was far away and she will disappear
L laughed at the man and he went away,
but still after he was gone l decided to try |,
it anyhow l did as he told me. L drew
The picture of woman with a lead pencil,
and it is there now on the black oak tree
near my fence, Just below the house. But |
she did not disappear
"a few days later the doctor came to me |
again as L was standing with my head out |
OF my tagging box. He asked me it she |
had left NE. told him that she had not.
I told him hal no faith in his cure. He |
then said: Let me do it; told him to |
so ahead and l told him it he could get her |
AWAY L would give him SIS. Mind,
though, had no idea he meant murder. |
He then said again that he would send her |
away 'as far as bird could tiy.' L asked him |
how he would do it, and he said he would |
tie a note with a string to birds body and |
set the bird free and then my wife would go |
too L asked him when he would get her |
away and he said: ''Oh, by May, at the |
latest
Not pIood Srain Found