Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-10-13

The Myssexss4. fosser Esesclsed -
kensacky Negro
Absue siss eioss Of ths TAr . po~<r-
fufly-s.ils nssro esiling btn<e,f Elishs
Brosdssax made h1s appearances IN The
v1ciassy a Rassellvilts. Ny. Al that
tzns. 49, sbs s. Lont Gioee-psno-
sx.l hs sEYsared 90 be sboet srxsnty
y~srs old. thouxh vizosous - = mule.
he s.sNoisshed himself In The smsli
hDx Aat which ne hA@ oeeupied eentia-
uously since TIE new arrival imus-
tlstely became . NAN q prominsnee in
. p~cali>x wsy amozg the negroes Of
thfs entire section o. the es.osry.
They were unable 90 prcaooncs the
cid n<gro-s name. aud II was eorruPtsa
Into ~'Liee Broad Ar Before the
old nan hsd resided In NE Vicinity =
rear miraculous powers were nttrie-
utet 10 aim oy the iguorapt negroes
A few Of VIC coio<ed people were too
intsIligcnt 20 Be deceived. bat his In
n,xnce with the majority WAS %
great that those better informed were
nos anxious 40 assent their skepticisrn.
To sc1as Li~,e broad Az wax a vcodo,
to<e<rr aud controlled life and death;
% others ne was the high priest Of
black magic and In league with the
devil. eo<nmuning - viii with demons
aid departed spirits To ell his race.
with few exceptions, he wss the en-
bo<,irnent Of good and evil as he pre-
ferrod 20 exercise hiz influence. and q
terror generally. Even 10 the white
population Uncle 'Lige.- as he was
commonly known. Was always an
enigma In their presence he was
universally polite and humble. though
among his colored acquaintanees ar
rogant and commanding. To the white
children the AGED negro was never
known 20 be otherwise than kind.
though the fear he inspired among the
negroes By his reputation as \ voodoo
doctor was shared In an exaggerated
form by them He was known 20 do a
heavy traffic In charms. Amulets, etc.
among The negroes The purchase was
supposed 10 carry good luck or impart
misfortune. az the old voodoo priest
dictated They did not doubt bis power
% trick anyone who had incurred
bis displeasure, though when ques-
toned by white person as 20 the
miraculous powers attributed to him
by the negroes the old negro always
hastily denied such claims and vehe-
nently protested that they were merely
the inventions of his enemies To the
negroes. however. old 'Lige would de-
ny that he bad ever told the white
folks" that he was not a high priest Of
voodooisn. possessed of divine attri-
hutes aud fxnilisr with the mystery
Of human existence.
For the past quarter Of century the
locality has been disturbed periodically
by accusations against the old wizard
by members Of his race who believed
that they had been placed under a
spell" for some faneied slight or be-
cause he was paid 10 do 40 by their
enemy. These Complaints were of
various forIrS In one case the victim
OF the old 'sro's pretensions alleged
that he had forced him 10 swallow a
piece Of corn knife IN his sleep He
could feel the point cutting its way
through his flesh. He was examined
By physicians and appeared TO be snf.
tAAff tAtI vi AZ IL. Ak4C4AEDt " TIC
Introduction Of metallic substance in
The human stomach. After lingering
several days in awful deliriurn. In
which he repeatedly claimed that he
bad been '.tricked'' by old 'Lige Broad
Ak. the victim died. A post-nortem
Investigation was made The stomach
Was frightfnIly swollen and infiaIned
but IL. ~ was believed. the negro had
been poisoned. the drug used was 50
subtle a. 10 defy surgical skill 70 de
tect IT, presence. This only served q
convince the negroes more thoroughly
OF the voodoo doctors knowledge ol
the black art.
The old voodoo doctors influence
among the negroes of southern Ken
lucky has increased of late years This
l. partially attributed 10 the fact tha,
though he has resided here more than
= quarter Of century. he has not per-
ceptibly azcd since that time. tie Is
almost ss vigorous now as when hs
made his appearance In this locality
I The best authorities agree that the
I old negro Il more than one hundred
years old. lie il not positive Is 70 his
age. Familiarity with events early Ia
the present century indicates that he
wss probably born in the Last decade
Of the eighteenth century. lie wa
brought 20 New Orleans In is0o by a
French platter who left Cuba 90 the
+ outbreak Of the war between Francs
and spain. The cd soo-ioo priest pie
+ fers 80 be silent on this subject. a. he
desires - impress his race with the
fact "a his great age. he declare,
that he il one hundred and forty year
Of age. aud that be will never die. hav
ing discovered the elixir ~ immortal
~ Many q these neTrsc- assert
that the se~rct Of bis Ioagcvity II thai
he occs~iorsily takes the form 81 .
E vampire and rpars his shattered
constitution With The blood 81 AZ
younger victims. The power Of Oh
Tsige - inha5it The body q anima:s 81
vii - not questioned ~ many "a
thsssr antler his lnfaence
E.fsast~ 81 cstnttaff,..l ,s~erefr..a A.,