The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-07
VOUDOOlSM.
Poisonous Craze That Has Brought
Ruin and Death to Many home.

| A POISONOUS Craze That has Brought
Ruin and Death to Many home.
From the San Francisco Examiner.
The most friRhtful outbreak Of voudoo-
ism ever recorded in Louisiana, where it has
had its headquarters and final develop
mont, occurred in the latter part Of 1875 and
the beginning of 1876. In the southern and
eastern parishes of the state poisoning ragged
| like All epidemic IL was traced TO the
voudoo teachings and doctrines. What are
| called voudoo doctors, both male and fe-
| male issued secret orders to the blacks to
satisfy their personal vengeance against an
enemy at whatever cost Of Innocent life.
The cornfeld colored man, whose moral
sense Of responsibility is as blunt as stone
fence. at once acted on the directions given.
The consequences were appalling. In
Iberville parish its ravages were worst.
Household domeStics who had any special
grudge to satisfy, however trivial, against
either black or wkite, deliberately poisoned
food or drink for general family consump-
ton. In one family the cook placed arsenic
in the bucket Of drinking water kept for
convenience on the veranda. She had a
crow TO pick with another domestic, and In
reaching her she administered the fatal
drauRht to five people, all Of whom died.
In another family in East Feliciana
parish, three deaths resulted from poison in
the soup; four people were carried off in
neighboring parish by similar means
Right and left this awful epidemic spread
and ragged like a pestilence. There were
scores OF victims.
Under the baneful orders Of the voudoos
the blacks decimated the ranks Of Innocent
men, women and children until such a
reign of terror swept over the entire state
that the people touched each morSel Of food
and placed each drink OF coffee or water to
their lips in mortal dread that the act
would be their death warrant.
1t would be unnatural to suppose that
the whites would calmly suffer such tidal
wave of assassinations TO roll over their
families. Whey banded together to stamp
out the epidemic, and the means employed
were not specially legal or delicate. When
ever this pois ming crime was traced to
negro, male or female. summary vengeance
was found at the end OF a rope.
For time JudgeL ynch held high carni-
val in the afflicted parishes until the reign
of terror shifted from the white race to the
black, and then the infamy ended.
Those who can recall the heated political
campaign of 1876 will remember how prom
inently these outrages upon the blacks in
louisiana were brought forward by the
north. Only a one-Slded view Of the sltua-
ton was then given. but the poison pesti
lence con largely account for the summary
Justice then melted out to the colored race.
For many years now this Borgia specter
has not appeared on the Louisiana planta-
tions. The people have been in friendly
relations with their colored employees, and
the best Of good order has prevailed as
rule.
Suddenly the old ghost stalks again.
Mysterious reports come Of the proselyting
presence Of the baleful voudoo. he is
again secretly infaming the blacks to the
old and almost forgotten deeds OF VEN
geance.
Insidious as a snake, voudooisu lies con-
cealed and never Kisses till it strikes. 1t
never goes hunting with brass band. In
the depth Of almost impenetrable cypress
groves, in caverns almost unapproachable,
in the recesses Of the Swamps, the colored
men meet these voudoo witches to hear
their awful incantations and join in the
orgies.
by any and all means. is the platform.
Human life weighs no more than a feather
in their fiendish calculations. TweRty
innocent souls eau perish il needs be TO &C
complish a desired act OF vengeance on one.
The first temperance of this alleged
voudooism and its monstrous agencies is
near the town Of Rayville, about Atty miles
due west OF VickSburg, and not far from
the Arkansas state line The disease came
in its old pestilential form--a wholesale ad-
ministration OF poison for the purpose Of
accomplishing revenge on one single party.
Here again was the same hatred and
dreaded display Of utter moral obliquity-
the girl confessng that she didn't care
how many were hurt 30 long as she could
reach that man.
1t is not TO be marveled at II the awful
train of bygone calarnities rose before the
people. They were frenzied by the mems
DRY Of wanton and uuprovoked assassina~
tions nearly twenty years back, when this
vengeful spirit Of voudooism left its deadly
track in their households. This colored
girl-answering all the symptoms of a
dreaded disease-and to them the incarna-
ton of a fiendish propensity of her race,
famed into fresh virulence by voudoo agen-
cies, and threatening to again spread death
and ruin in their homes.
Vengeance. swift and summary, seemed
the only way to kill this serpent in the she'll.
II the deed appears craven and cowardly
it is only fair to recall the dreadful scourges
of voudooism in that state and remember
that the provocation was sharp and keen.