The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-11-07

can or a bottle that held a white mans
schnapps are all equally potent variously
for rheumatism, unfaithful wives, bad
crops, rainy weather or the affliction of
witches. providing the proper charm is
wrapped around them when they are soldl
to customers.
AS thoroughgoing as David Belasco are
these savage black physicians in creating
the proper sort Of atmosphere for the
effect they wish TO produce. Clad in
beads and featheks, surrounded by
horrific ghost chasers and spirit placators
carved out of wood, and wearing fright
full mask that completely covers head.
face and neck, the Bachoke medicine man
awaits his patients in his dark hut.
The medicine he distributes after
properly blessing it depends upon the fee
he receives. A man of the middle or
an enemy to the sufferer with rheumatism,
may for few beads or a chicken buy a
pair OF carved field mice to wear at his
belt as protection against the pains. but
a man of wealth who can afford to pay
at least goat or a sheep can be COM
pletely insured, according to the medicine
mans schedule, against further recur-
renee of the malady. HIS medicine takes
the form of an deliberately carved fetish,
Oh WHICH a mole mas
been cut and filled with a substance too
sacred even for the medicine man to pro-
nounce. its name-perhaps a brass tack
or a piece OF blue clay
But, IL after all, the pains actually do
recur? Well. contingency of this sort
has been carefully provided against by
the medicine man. Such things have been
known to happen. But the reason for it
is this: Some other man in the tribe,
..sL- -
has been going to a rival medicine man
and paying higher prices for more potent
medicine. which permits him to karass
the rheumatic patient with evil spirits,
hence the pains. But il the rheumatic
patient wishes to pay little higher price
for stronger medicine. then he in turn
may set evil spirits to affecting his
enemy, all of which the medicine man
will be glad to arrange for the proper
consideration. 1t is to be seen then that
once the drug or medicine habit is fast
ened upon a Bachoke he is never able to
get from under a system that mulcts him
in a steadily increasing ratio.
Likewise the medicine man is the
Anthony Comstock of the tribe. Upon
him falls the judgment and the punish
ment Of breaches of faith between man
and wife. II a man is hailed before the
medicine man, say as correspondent in a
divorce case, the medicine man brings
out an elongated animal which is sup
posed to be modelled after a hippopota-
mus. The back of the animal, which is
more frightful than the original model
by far, is flat and upon it the medicine
man seriously slides back and forth q
block OF wood.
II the wood stops or slides with great
difficulty then the correspondent in the
case is guilty. II the wood slides freely
he is innocent For of course the spirits
which control such things are infallibIe.
But it has been discovered through much
experimenting that the spirits are
amenable to gifts of strings Of beads ard
leaves OF tobacco. II the accused CORE
spondent deposits with the spirits. or
with the medicine man as their inter-
mediary, sufficient beads, tin cans or
plug hats the wooden block seldom. il
ever. sticks in its course across the back
OF the animal. The correspondent. who
is but a man OF the people in nearlv all
cases, is found guilty and his wife 10
granted a divorce by the simple exped.e1t
OF poisoning to death the guilty husband
But the wealthy correspondent, even IL
the wooden block happens to stick never
dies. Through the clemency Of the spirits
he is enabled to throw off the poison
which is administered to him before its
fatal work commences while both he and
the medicine man look knowing look
at each other whenever they meet ON
subsequent days.
With these interesting people cleanl- Z
ness is next to medicine-manliness. II
Mr.. Rapp is to be believed they are dis
gustingly clean. Examples of their
cleanliness are inevitably shown ON
forced marches Whenever a party of
whites Is in a particular hurry to cover
the distance between two places nothing
delights the Bachokes more than thor
oughly to battle themselves at every
river. brook, creek and streamlet that ia
crossed and in the African jungle, IT has
been said by some enthusiastic travellers.
there are upwards of q million streams
to be crossed to every mile.
At these streams, big or little, clear or
muddy, the blacks lay down all the bur.
dens they are carrying and In face of dis
couraging and encouraging remarks, and
other curses on the part of their white
employers. battle themselves Ieisurely,
completely and many times over. Mr.
Rapp for one finally came To the con.
clusion that cleanliness with them was
considered not 50 much as being next to
godliness as 1t was the handmaiden and
abettor to lasiness.