Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1892-05-24
THE GAZETTE.
In League with Satan.
A question which is agitating the

A question which is agitating the col
ored people living in the suburbs of
Rolla, Mo-, is whether Henry Rice is
in league with Satan or not. This is a
queer question, but they are consider
ing it with all seriousness and have rea-
son to believe that the answer is in the
affirmative. Henry is an old crooked
black man, who lives in q hut made
from old dry goods boxes and the bark
of trees. He has many mysterious
ways and tries in every way possible to
make the negroes think that he is pos
sessed with supernatural powers which
he has obtained by selling his soul to
the devil.
He openly says that this is fact and
says that no one on earth has any pow
er to do him harm and that he will suf-
fer for nothing, but that when he dies
the devil will get his soul. The old
fellow keeps aloof from the other ne
groes, but is not averse to talking to
whites about his bargain with Satan.
To a correspondent he told the follow
ing strange story and as he showed the
ma. KS inflicted he had something to
corroborate his tale =
II am just poor old niger, sab, but
I has power that many a white man
would like to have. | have no power
to harm the white man and he can't
hurt me either, but when it comes to
working the niggers can do just as |
please with them and all that belongs
to them. know that you folks think
that I am an old liar, but what l am
telling you is the truth and nothing but
the trnti. I have sold my soul to the
devil and know that when I die will
60 down to the place where there is al
ways a fire, but while am on earth
| am better off than anybody else unless
he is in the same fix I am in.
You see, it was this way. ] was
slave belonging to very bad man. l
was sold to him with my wife and two
children, and after he got us he used
me so bad and killed my WIFE by his
harsh treatment, and then sold my
children away so that was i'll most
desperate fix. I was terribly worked
up over what he had done, and one
night I just went down to the place
where the niggers said the devil some
times showed himself and there / pray
ed for the old man to come and buy my
soul.
II had tried the Lord until l was
sure that He would not care for poor
old nigger like me, and then went to
the other place. went down there for
seven nights, and then one night l was
most scared to death by the old devil
coming out of a hole in the rocks and
asking me why called him so much.
/ was too scared to talk at first, but he
talked so nice to me that felt more
easy in my mind, and told him that |
wanted to have some way of getting
even with my master, who treated me
so bad.
''Well, I sold myself then, and, to
make the bargain sure, old Satan said
he would have to place his mark on me
and then he would give me power to
work harm to my master and to all
niggers, but to no other white man. He
put his mark on me and then told me
the secret which has done so much good
since that day"
The DEVILS mark which the old fellow
showed was the appearance of a cloven
foot which looked as if it had been
bnrned into the flesh right over the
heart The negro said that the devil
had made him take off his clothes and
then placed his foot there and it burned
in, leaving the mark just as it is now
SEEN