Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1894-07-19
ORGANISM IN THE WEST INDIES
A Hideous Form of Witchcraft Which
Is Practiced Among the Natives.

A long residence in the West Indies
made me somewhat familiar with
obeah, a kind of witchcraft which the
negro brought with him from his ma.
tive land, says Il writer in the Brook
lyn Citizen. There are obeahmen and
obeah women, but the former are the
most common. They are generally
well-known to their neighbors, none of
whom. however, would dare to give
the obeahman away to the authori-
ties. The rites Of obeah differ accord.
ing to the tribe from which the per-
son who practices it comes A com
mon enchantment is to gather herbs
and boil them and scatter the herbs
aud sprinkle the water near on the
dwelling of the person to be obeahed.
Another practice is to bury certain
things in the earth and lay sticks in
particular position, muttering incanta-
tons over them. ] know 1t is fact
that an obeahman, IL properly paid for
it, will not only LAY obeah' to destroy
person, but poison the person IL
necessary to carry out his contract
with the party who employs him For
1t is to be understood that the obeah-
man works for fee and reward, and
will not exercise his art without It.
Not far from my residence in beau
tiful valley was thrown up sugar
estate. Three Englishmen IN success
sion hired the place and died very
soon afterward. When the property
was abandoned after the abolition Of
slavery, the former slaves squatted
upon 1t and finally came TO look upon
it as their own. They wanted no one
to interfere, and when the white man
leased the place and went to live in
the great house and began to exercise
the rights Of tenant and to prevent the
negro from encroaching, il was re-
solved to remove him. The obeahman
was consulted. He prepared slow
but sure poison to remove the white
man. The negroes appeared to submit
to the tenants demands, and he fiat
tered himself that everything was GO
ing to be pleasant. But the black cook,
who so cheerfully and ably prepared
his food, and the servants who laughed
at his jokes and were 50 watchful for
an opportunity to serve him, were all
In league with the obeahman.
When the tenant was taken sick the
negro cane to the house with stealthy
step and subdued voice and asked ar
ter Buckra's health with many excla-
nations of sorrow at the answer that
he was no better The negress came
and offered her aid around the house,
and sympathized with Buckras wife
and family, and other words of con-
dolence mixed with strangely garbled
verse of hymns and OF scripture. When
death came the negroes and negresses
attended the funeral In a body and
manifested every sign of sorrow. II
tho family didn't speedily remove The
next thing was the sudden sickness
Of a child. That invariably induced
the occupants Of the pesthouse to
move away as soon as possible. A
negro Of wealth and influence, and one
OF the best men, white or black, j
ever met, told me the facts above mar
rated, adding that the authorities
might sweep the valley OF all the ne
groes In II, but they never could get
at the guilty parties to punish them.
A negro who was very industrious
amassed some wealth and put up for
himself a pretty cottage on the side
Of a gully, down which a pure noun
tain stream ran. 1t was as sweet
little spot as ever saw. The foundn.
tons were good and the house stood
upon pillars formed OF the trunks Of
huge trees This man offended one Of
his neighbors and he employed an
obeahman to destroy him. One night
In storm the house with everything
In 1t was swept into the stream, which
Lad become roaring torrent. Every
black man. woman and child stood
agiast, and whispered, "Obeah." This
one and that said how they had seen