Los Angeles herald., 1905-05-14


at my house in the country" said a
Port au Prince business man yester-
day. "They drink and chant and dance
almost necessarily for several days and
nights, swaying to and fro rhythmical-
ly while others are going around. In
their patois they keep OH singing and
praying to the spirits, and when they
swing their knives as they circle about
a fire they arc really horrible. on
these occasions they sever the heads of
chickens and then seize the bodies to
drink the warm blood. They pull out
the heart and certain other organs
which they deem sacred and devour
them raw. There are many children
\ who disappear and who are sacrificed,
but there are very few prosecutions as
a result"
i The man and woman were convicted
through the efforts Of mother whose
infant they had stolen. The little body
when found was terribly mutilated, in
dicating cannibalism.
Convictions Not Popular
There are said to have been very few
precedents for a conviction after a
voodoo murder. All appeals for COM
mutation of the death sentence have
been denied.
; In Cuba the government is having
similar experience. A dispatch to the
) Herald says that nothing ever so
aroused Havana-in fact, all Cuba-as
) the recent trial of voodoo doctor for
the murder of twenty-months-old
child named Zola. It's little body was
found mutilated and its heart cut out.
1t has been known, of course, that
voodooism was still practiced in the in
terror of the island, as it has been ever
since the negroes were brought from
Africa, centuries ago, but it was sup
posed the practices now in vogue were
comparatively harmless Investigation
of the death of the child Zolla, however,
has disclosed that practices of a most
) revolving character, even going as far
as cannibaism, are still carried on i'm
the more remote districts
king Boucourt negro of African
birth, is accused of being the chief III
the murder of Zolla. Juana Tabares,
to him to be cured of an illness of long
standing, and he is said to have told
her that the only remedy that would do
her any good was to get the heart of
a white person.
The woman's faith in the voodoo doc
tor was implicit, and she and her
friends at once made plans to kidnap
white child. The first attempt was un-
successful. A child was seized but it's
absence was discovered in time and it
was recovered. In the case of little
Zola the warning was too late.
Judge Landa fastened to Guira de
Medena, the scene of the tragedy, and
as the result of the evidence he OBJ
| tanned Boucourt is now on trial. About
a dozen other negroes have been ar
rested, charged with being accessories
to the crime. 1t is not doubted that
Boucourt will be punished by death,
but extreme difficulty is found in max
ing the witnesses tell anything about
the voodoo practices, as they fear they
will themselves become marks for
vengeance,
/ In Cuba, as elsewhere in the West
Indian countries, voodoo ceremonies
are invariably held in the night. and
consist of prayers to a snake. which is
exhibited during hysterical manifesto
tions by the priest and priestess. A
dance is given which is marked by the
widest debauchery, according to the
slight testimony on the subject and oc-
casionally by the sacrifice of human
child.
The verdict which was rendered by
the five judges in the celebrated
witches trial was rather a surprise to
the community at large, though be-
cause of the nature of the actual evil
dence it was difficult to fix the respon-
sibility accurately. The death penalty
was asked for the principals, but the
court decided that only Victor Molina.
who had been convicted of the actual
murder, should suffer the extreme pen
atty of the law, and he was sentenced
to be garroted. Domingo Boucourt, the
chief witch, who planned the deed
which his followers executed so faith
fully, was sentenced to life imprison-
ment. The Tabares, man and wife. re-
ceived twelve years and one day. Ru-
perto Ponce. who, with Molina, abb
Quoted the child, received fourteen
years and one day. and Julian Amara
and Jorge Cardenas, as accomplices.
were sentenced to six years and one
day of Imprisonment.
i $S
Dont's for Settlers
Here are some don'ts for intending