The morning news., 1899-10-19
REDUCTION
In the Subscription Rates
--of-s
The Morning News.
STRANGE STORY of A HOoDOo.
Health officer Brunners Discovery
of a Yamacrnw Frenk.


A strange instance of the credulity and
belief in hoodoo and voodoo of large part
Of the negro race is found in a story that
or opped out yesterday. For six hours Or
longer a crowd of 300 or 400 negroes sur
rounded d house on West Bryan street and
discG ssed in awed whispers the strange
happenings that had occurred there.
About noon, Nellie Small, a midwife who
phys he~ profession in the locality, walked
as rapidly as increasing age would permit
into the Office of the health officer and an
nounced that a negro woman named Gra-
Gle Shines had given birth to a strange
monstrosity, that had the face of a coon
raccoon. that is, and The body of cat
Dr. Drummer jumped to the conclusion that
ne was ON the trail of a scientific curiosity
and drove in his buggy TO the house in
which the phenomenon had been said 10
have taken place. He found the woman
groaning in the bed and curiously shape1
and carefully wrapped bundle lying on the
table in tine room. The doctor had it
wrapped up still more carefully and carried
it back to his office in the City Exchange
There he made a closer examination of his
prize and discovered il was what he after
wards declared it to be, "A Tom cat,
skinned and a Yamacraw Tom at that"
The health officer was properly indignant
and made a second and equally hurried
trip TO the house of the woman.
The woman fatty and sullenly said that
the creature was hers and could not be
induced to vary her tale. OF course, she
had chosen fer some reason to attempt TO
foist the preposterous story upon her nus
band and friends. In this latter effort she
succeeded beautifully, for they all declare
that she has been hoodooed and that her
| misfortune is but the fultilment of a pre-
diction previously made by a woman of
the neighborhOod.
There is evidence to show that the wo-
man prepared the cat herself, and mat
she is knowingly and wllfully attempting
the deception, for some private reason of
| her own. What this reason is no one has
| been able to fathOm and unless the wo-
| man breaks down and tells, 1t is probable
that 10 one ever will. 1t is obscured by
the frealsish and superstitious fancies that
! cloud the minds of the more ignorant of
the negro race and that are absolutely un-
| ineligible and unsolvable to the inteli-
| gence of the Caucasian.
| If it was her purpose to raise some ex-
! citement in the neighborhood, she succeed
| ed most certainly in this attempt. For
/ hours, from about II O'Clock in the morn
| ing until the late afternoon, when the wo-
| man was removed to the Georgia Infirm-
| ary, the street was packed with an awed
mob, the individual members of which re-
1 tailed to each other previous instances OF
! such enchantnents and their dire results
! that had come under their personal obser-
| walton and commented on the futility OF
| tempting to resist the potent and evi
! lamentations Of the witch doctors
! Two negro women, who were among the
| first to reach the scene. were arrested and
! o,31ed up at the station house. One OF
/ thtm worked in the house, and says that
wh,n she went 10 the door of Oracle
! Shires' room, a half hour before, the lat
| ter started to scream and howl anC
! knocI.ed, she was denied admttance
! Oracle said "she was fixing something and
did not want anyone to come in" 1t was
probably the cat.