The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-02-05
voupoo IN JaRsEY.
Wonderful Powers Ascribed to a
Ycu9g Negro by dis Ne ghbors.
Fyou, III Natr Vo~. S1tn


cred in the court Of quarter sessions at New
ark yesterday afternoon to see Doctor"
henry Wilson, the alleged voudoo worker
sentenced. Wilson pleaded guilty to
charge of defrauding q colored woman
named Ella Harris, who lives at 442 Main
street, East Orange, out OF $25 by pre-
tending to cure her of rheumatism. Miss
Harris alleges that the doctors" course of
treatment consisted in having her stick
needles aud pins into wax candles while
reclting certain formulas, which she did
with no perceptible effect upon the mAladY
from which she was suffering. Wilson
also prescribed a poultice, which was as
Intellectual as the candles. and after giving
hin S25 IN fees she lost faith and had him
arrested.
When Wilson, who is q dapper, we'll
dressed, and intelligent-looking young mu-
lattO. stepped before the bar to receive his
sentence bis glance fell upon half dozen
coioyed men who sat III the front row Of the
specta ors' seats. When the men saw the
"voudoo" looking at them they became
very uneasy. Some of them furtively made
| a sign with the left hand, supposed to ward
off the ''evil eye;" the others looked down
| at the floor, up at the ceiling, out OF the
window, or anywhere to avoid meeting the
doctors" glance. Finally the two nearest
the door quietly slipped out OF their seats
and left the court.
Judge Fitzpatrick asked the prisoner il
the charge against him was true.
Partly, sir" replied Wilson. "Pm a
| herb doctor"
Ibid you ever cure anybody with your
herbs?"
Yes, sir, very often"
you didn't cure the Harris woman, and
! yet you got S25 out Of her" said the Judge.
How many times did you visit her"
"Four times"
"Didn'J you know that 1t was against the
law to practise medicine without hcense?'
Not until | was arrested"
w llson was sentenced to six months in
the penitentiary, To a sun reporter be
positively and emphatically denial that he
Dracticed or understood voudoo.
| some of these people may think Pm
voudoo worker" said ne with smile. II
can't help that. All do is to doctor with
| herbs. Pve got a poultice that'u cure rheu-
matsm. It's secret preparation of herbs
| that l learned from my father when he
di d. He lived in tina West Indies He told
me 1t was first used by his great grandfather
who was native, and it had always been
kept secret. Idly father travelled through
| Europe curing people OF rheumatism with
the poultice. | used it for time in the
! West Iudies, and eight months ago l came
| to this country, going to California first.
! had good success with it and made money
! All talk about my knowing charms and
| bewltching people is made up by my enc
nIes.n
After the ad iournment of court the re-
porter went TO the small, 2-story frame
house at ~ Arlington street, where the
| doctor" had his office. The window cur
tains were down, and repeated knocking
| ELECTED no response. A big negro, who had
cen watching the reporter from the next
! corner came up aud volunteered some in
| formation.
"Dey ain no one lives dere now, =" said be-
CDR. Wilson, he JUS got six months. an
his woman, she's gone away to live"
How do you know he's got six mouthsP'
| asked the reporter. at isn't half an hour
since he was sentenced. We're you in
courtp
The big negro grinned. mo. wasn't in
court, boss" seid he IAN didn't have to
| De- Dey ain a colored man r woman r
chile in dis city aln' heard already about de
voudoo doctor bein' sent up"
"How do you know he's a voudoo? Did
| you ever have anything to do with himP
mo, boss, he ain never hoodooed me,
| But heard be wears a string roun' his
neck with de lef' him foot of a graveyard
rabbit on it. An las fall ev'ry midnighU
be useter go out de city to road where dey'a
a big buckeye tree an wait for de first buck
| eye horse chestnut. dat always falls at mid
! night, to come down. He wears 'em on de
string" The man looked around to see
| that no one was near, and with a precau.
| tionary glance at the doctors house, he Dire "
| a step nearer to the reporter and cons
! tinued in whisper: Il know a colored
| lady what come along here one night an
peeked in through a hole in DIR. Wilson's
curtain. She say she seen de doctor an' a
| big black cat sittin' an talkin' to each
other, an dOy wasn't no light in de ROOM
only de light from dey eyes, an dat lit up
| de whole room. she couldn't hear what
| dey say, but de doctor make motions with
| his arms an de smoke come out his mouf
| When de lady take her eye away she was
stone blind In dat eye for a week. Here,
| Tommy, come over here an toll dis GENT
man about Mrs. Stone"
This was shouted to a colored boy across
the street, who came over and corroborated
| the story, adding that the doctor had looked
| cross-eyed at a little girl who lived near by
and bad thrown her into commissions SO
thoroughly do the negroes in the colony
near whore DIR" Wilson's Office Is belisv o
in the doctors" malign power that last
night was q time of rejoicing over h 8 re-
! mogal from among them, for a time at
| at least. From what little they say, for they
have a great fear of talking about the YOU
doc, Wilson must have reaped a rich
harvest from them, as large portion of
the colored people In that part OF the city
have been brought under his influence and
paid literally for his medicines, nominally,
but in reality to avert his ill will.