The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-03-04

| drink OF the juice Of some noXiOuS herb
| v hich made them crazy and caused their
| teeth, halls and hair to fall out. One or
| their number partook OF 4 poisonous
| liquid which threw him into a cataleptic
| Gt. He was buried for dead by his friends
| and afterward dug up by the negroes.
who carried him to the altar OF the YOU
doc god where they crushed his skull and
| devoured his brain. There Is a supersti-
ton among these people that in this way
they may acquire the Intelligent, skill
and knowledge of their victim. They also
mix blood with rum and drink II at these
ceremonies.
Mr.. Feldman at first refused TO believe
that there was any truth In these tories,
and II was for this reason that General
Prophetic arranged TO have him witness
Voudoo orgie. The ex-minister's nephew.
Mr.. Raoul Prophete. a young mulatto, Of
fered to act as his guide and on the night
of December ii. 1882 he conducted Field
man to a place in the woods where 1t was
expected that the negroes would assemble.
AS II would have meant sure death TO
any white man seen during such a cere-
mcny, the two explorers sought the woods
several hours before the time at which II
was thought II would begin. They climbed
TO the top OF tall tree overlooking a
clearing in the dense forest. having pre-
viously blackened their faces and hands,
so that no white spot would be visible IL
the leaves should part.
The negroes OF Africa, from which the
Haytians are direct descendants. have a
blind alteration for the serpent, an Afri-
can name OF which is "Hoodoo." The ma
tive Haytian viper Is consequently the
idol to which the Haytian negroes make
their sacrifices, as their fathers before
them did 70 the african snake
In the Voudoo religion. law Is the syn
onym Of divinity. The priests OF the al
vinity. therefore. bear the name OF Papa
Law" tFrench. papeloD. that is. fathers
in the service Of the law. or fathers in
the service OF the gods. Their assistants
ire called "Hoogans." Both the Papa
Laws" and the "Hoogans" wear their
woolly hair hanging in long thick braids,
and by this token they are known at sight
TO be men Of sacred character.
In the clearing near which the two men
had concealed themselves stood rough
altar, the "honfour." on the top OF which
was placed the "sobagni." or tabernacle,
In which was confined the sacred viper or
god "Hoodoo." Around the sobagni and
on top Of the altar were piled a number
Of bracelets and amulets OF metal which
the "PapaLaws were to bless during the
ceremony, and thus endow them with
mystic virtues. These amulets are SOLD
to the negroes for large sums and are
called "hoongas," which. literally trans
lated. means mascot The priests who
sell the hoongas obtain great influence
over the minds OF the believers. Papa
Law" takes the role OF high priest OF the
sacrifice. lie is assisted by some favorlte
woman, who takes the role Of Mamma
Law" 1t Is her duty to superintend the
cooking of the victims. II is thus evident
that with their naturally cruel .empera-
ments these "Papa-Laws" and Mamma
Laws have the power TO commit most
awful crimes TO satisfy their passions
and their caprices. and especially 20 pre-
serve over The minds OF the believers I'm
Voudooism an occult power against which
no organized law can have any effect Not
only do they poison people and inoculate
the germs of catalertic fits in order to
dispose Of their enemies, but they even GO
so far as to bury people alive and take
them up at night in order to practice upon
them their horrible cult.
On this night of December II, 1850. the
sacred drums were beaten at dusk, and
II was not long before three or four
hundred negroes-men and women-had
gathered IN the clearing near the tree,
at the top Of which sat the two men.
The divinities were loudly invoked with
the aid of the three drums and by an
Iron triangle beaten by steel bar. These
noises constituted the first part Of the
ceremony. They were followed by the
drinking Of tafa, a kind of cheap rum.
The victim, child about six years OF
age, put to sleep by some stupefyng
drug and called the "calf without horns"
was placed upon the altar. Then began
dancing about the altar, or rather the
wild oontortion of limbs and bodies. to
which has been given the names OF
"Bamboula" "Chica," "Calinda." &c.
The dancers howled their songs TO the
god or Voudoosm, the words OF which
are somewhat to this effect:
"Oh, powerful diyinities, question the
graveyard 1t will tell you truly which
gives you the most victims, death or our
cult"
The negroes rapidly became intoxi-
Gated from the effects OF the tafa. Inc
men and the women In their frenzy tore
of their clothing and danced wlldiy
about. their black. naked bodies shining
by the light of torches Of tar, which had
been placed in the ground about the
altar. When the dance was ended the
"Papa-Law" seized the victim by the
back OF the neck and held II on high
with his left hand. while the negroes
sang a chant somewhat like this:
En- Eth! Bamba-eh!
Canga Moune. no de lie!
Canga, Canga, do XII "a!
Canga ka II, Canga la!
At the end OF the song the Papa
Law" plunged the sacred knife into the
throat of the innocent victim, and the
chld's blood fell into sacred vessel
held by the Hogan. Rum was mixed
with the blood. and the Mamma Law
passed 1t around 10 be tasted by every
one present. The fanatical fury or some
of the negroes became so great after
having tasted of this that they threw
themselves upon the victim and tore tne
body TO peces with their nails and teeth
and devoured the flesh like cannibais.
Then the priest cut in pieces what re-
manned and passed II to the Mamma
Law" who placed 1t over fire in pot
with rice and red beans. When cooked
the hideous meal was distributed among
those present. and more tafa was drunk.
The disgusting scene became indie
scribable The alcohol and the excite
ment OF the dancing drove the naked
negroes into an insane fury Seemingly
insensible 10 any pain, they injured them
selves with their own knives, and
plunged their hands into the burning
caldrons TO get the last morsel or the
victim. They jumped into the air and
fell upon their heads; they piled them
selves one upon the other: all giving vent
10 the most inhuman howis. Sensual ex-
element succeeded this phase, and the
forest became the scene OF the most
brutal exhibitions of animal passion
This lasted for hours. while the sim
lister drums kept on melting the negroes
with these cigarettes. Merit. not schemes,