The Savannah morning news., 1903-03-17
wITCHCRAFT IN PHILADELPHIA.

Our dispatches a day or two ago
told of the arrest in Philadelphia of
George Hossey, a negro herb doctor"
and Mrs. Catharine DAnz, on the
charge of having murdered Mrs. Danz's
husband. The investigation which
has followed is of such character as
to cause the police authorities to be-
lieve they have struck upon a profess
sional poisoner and worker of witch
craft whose dead victims number not
less than thirty and probably more.
1t seems that alleged necromancy,
clairvoyancy and fortune telling are
quite popular in Philadelphia, espec-
tally among the women. Many of the
most popular and successful of the
fortune tellers and spell workers" de-
cline to have any dealings with men.
| Their clients are women exclusively;
and so numerous are the women who
have dealings with the fakirs of oc-
cultism that many of the latter have
grown rich.
George Hossey. the negro herb doc
tor" it appears, has been operating in
Philadelphia for more than thirty
years, casting spells" "conjuring,"
telling fortunes and otherwise playing
upon the ignorant, superstitious and
criminally inclined among his cli-
entele. To read of Hossey's methods
makes one wonder if the narrative has
not to do with Central Africa, or Hay
ii, or San Domingo, instead of the
great, intelligent and civilized Ameri-
can city of Philadelphia. Hossey was
an adept in voodoo rites, practicing
all sorts of lamentations and preparing
for his customers amulets and charms
of various kinds. He made use of
powdered leaves, dried roots, strands
of hair, bones of frogs. teeth of ami
mails, etc, all of which he claimed
were possessed of supernatural pow
ers. He prepared effigies to represent
the persons to be hoodooed. Some of
these were shot with silver bullets;
others were dropped into a stream to
drift away just as the victims life
would drift out of the world when his
mysterious powders were administer
ed.
ders, as is believed to be shown by the
Danz case. The powders contained a
poison. which, administered as the
negro directed, would inevitably pro-
duce death. That the herb doctor
was in the business of dispensing Dois-
on for the purpose of putting people
out of the way was shown by the
visit to him of d detective in the guise
of a patron. The detective intimated
to HosSey, in the course of their con-
tidential interview, that he had a wife
who was in the way and of whom he
would like to be rid. The doctor
told him that could be easily arranged,
and gave him a powder to be admin
stered to the fictitious wife, receiving
| therefor a certain fee. The powder
was taken to a chemist and analysed.
and was found to contain a certain
active poison. The connection of Hos
sey with the Danz case followed, and
he was arrested. In his rooms the
police found clues which they say war
rant them in the conclusion that the
negro was connected with not less
tndu llAlIly pOiSOHlHS cases. lndI lie
was, indeed, a wholesale poisoner, and
one of the most dangerous men known
to police circles for years.
1t does seem strange that in a city
like Philadelphia, where civilization is
we'll advanced, churches abound and
| collections for foreign missions are lib
eral. there should be so fine a field for
0f
craft, and of murder through them.