The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-07-14
vooDoolsM AND ROMANCE.
The Powerful Mixture That an Adept
Prepared for Her Rival.


Prepared for Her Rival.
(From the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Out on Hand workers. hill, east of St.
Peters cemetery, dwell settlement of
negroes who apparently have not profited
by the advance of civilization. They are
still disciples of the black art as practised
largely in Africa. The superstition of the
negro is well known, and on Hand
workers. hill the negroes are of the most
ignorant class. The voodoo practitioners
have reaped rich harvest of shekels
among them, and likewise have occas-
Toned large number of disordered imagi-
nations. Many black art spell has
been broken, it is said, and haunts and
witches chased away.
There lived on Handwerker's hill a
rather strangely appearing negro woman
OF the name of Belle Ram, who practised
the voodoo art and made lots of money
thereby. This woman has been regarded
| as unusual by her neighbors, and there
was something about her that caused
them to let her severely alone, unless it
was to consult her about the mysteries of
her profession. Many spell this woman
is said to have brought about in love
affairs, and if paid enough money the
negroes believed that she could enlist the
services of the devil, witches, and ghosts
to make miserable the existence of any
person she willed.
There came a time, however, when
Belle Ram had to resort to her mysteri-
GUS power to save her own peace of mind
She conjured with all her power and
failed, and as a result is now in the
county workhouse.
The dart of Cupid, it is said, is liable
any other person, and Belle Ram, not
proving an exception, fell wildly in Low
with a negro named George Lee. On this
blackamoor she lavished all of her powers
both natural and mysterious, in an en-
deavor to prevent him from sharing his
affections with other fema les. The charm
however, failed to work to perfection, and
Lee, who was something of masher,
soon began to pay attention to others of
the feminine sex, notably one by the
name of Florence BIedsoe AS her voodoo
articles failed to work upon the blunt
perceptibilities of George Lee, the woman
concluded that she would give her rival,
Florence Bledsoe, a round OF two.
The intensity Of Belle RAMS love can
only be measured by the careful prepara-
tion she entered into to remove Florence
BledsOe from the affections of her lover,
George Lee. Whether she intended Flor
ence Bledsoe to die or shrivel away and
assume the form of witch is not known.
She tried to yoodoo her, however, and
evidently spared neither time nor pains
in preparing mixture to DO the evil
work. The mixture was wrapped securely
in two bags and placed under the front
do orstep of Florence Bledsoe's home. The
voodoo bag certainly contained sufficient
ingredients, If possessed with merit, to
exert the desired spell, as in it Belle Ram
had placed a lot Of DEVILS shoestring root,
secretion, negro ''0 wool, b bert hairp dnl,
cowhage "a powerful irritant), cock
reaches, tobacco leaves, piece Of alum,
bag of coffee grounds, bag of red aniline,
lock of chestnut colored hair tied with
grass, Jumps of white, ginger, snail shells,
piece of match, an old screw, sassafras
root, crushed tablets of some kind, water
melon seed, rind of pomegranate, pepper
pods, powder of an indefinite mixture,
cardamine seed, and piece of plug to-
bacco. In addition was a copper cent
bearing date of 1890 and large lump of
dragons blood, which is burned in India
with incense to keep witches away.
On day when Florence Bledsoe was feel
ing bad she found the voodoo bag. The
horrible truth flashed over her, and in
fear and trembling she went to negro
male yoodoo doctor near her home and
paid him to tell her how to break the
evil spell which she declared had already
taken possession Of her. She was told to
take the bag to the Mississippi River and
dip 1t into south running water and there
would no longer be evil influence in it.
This the woman did, and came back
swinging the bag in one hand. She made
straight for the home of Belle Ram and
confronted her with the accusation of
trying to make spirit or witch of her
The Bledsoe woman, in fact, appeared no
longer to fear Belle Ram, and abused her
in such manner that the Ram woman
had her arrested and placed under
peace bond by Squire Hudspeth. The
quarrel, however, caused the Bledsoe
woman to lose the affections of the negro
George Lee, and for time Belle Ram
had him all to herself.
The desire for revenge, however, that
IA mixed in the bosom of Florence Bledsoe
did not permit the course of true love to
run smooth very long. She had the
couple arrested for living together as man
and wife without being married. Squire
Coats before whom the case was tried,
fined Belle Ram and George Lee SIS and
costs each, and as they could not pay
they are now in 1.-The county workhouse.