The Washington times., 1921-02-13


An item Of evidence against Bellegarde
ut his trial was sea bag" full Of chill
dren's bones which Lieutenant Cukela and
q couple of marines had dug up from the
devils cemetery beneath the sacred
Voodoo tree near the shed aforementioned.
In the course Of his trial. when permitted
TO speak in his own defense, Bellegarde de-
clared that, II condemned to death, he
would come back in the form of a crocodile.
or in the shape of swarm of mosquitoes,
and devour his judges!
Nevertheless, he was sentenced to be
executed, and would by this time have beet
hanged, had it not been for the interior
ence of the Judge Advocate General Of the
Navy. who said that, inasmuch as Belle
garde was not an American citizen, the
death penalty could not lawfully be in.
flicted upon him by an American court.
Accordingly, the cannibal high priest re-
mains in prison, with an excellent prospect
OF getting out later on, and escaping fur.
Their punishment when American authority
has been withdrawn from the island
So much for the distressing deaths Of
the three American soldiers. 1t remains to
explain how the barbaric superstitious that
cost them their lives happen to exist SO
close to the United States.
Voodooism comes straight from Africa.
1t had its origin on what is called the
Slave Coast of West Africa, the district
between the River Volta on the west and
Porto Novo on the east. The word comes
from a native verb, NO." meaning to make
afraid; "du' is descriptive noun, signify
ing a god. The combination means liter.
ally 'the god who makes afraid" The
term is not applied by the natives to any
particular deity; 1t is descriptive OF any
god, since, as they believe, all gods are
things to be feared. Down in the south.
eastern part Of the Slave Coast the tribes
worship the python, which, as they think
1t god, they call vodu.
Back in 1874 the Amazon armies Of the
Dahomeyans invaded this country and sold
thousands of these serpent worshipping
people into slavery. These slaves were
shipped to Hayti to work the plantations
and brought, of course, their serpent wor-
ship, or vodu, with them. From Hayti the
religion spread to Cuba and other West
Indian islands, and also into Louisiana.
For many years the Cubans have waged
a steady warfare against 1t there. Human
sacrifices are frequent among the inland
blacks. Even In Louisiana sporadic cases
occur.
1t mus. not be thought that all the fol-
~ L.. -
cannibalistic rites. Far from 1t. In
Africa the serpent gods sacrifices are
mainly white goats. Those who carry on
the other ceremonies call their human sac
rifce "the goat without horns" Those
who stand by the older and milder ritual
abhor the 'hornless sacrifice" But they
are bitterly afraid Of those who practice
II, since although they themselves shrink
from 1t they believe its brutality gives its
practitioners vastly increased power for
evil Also they never know when one of
their little ones will disappear forever in
the pots Of the cannibals. o..
There is brief description by NJ de la
Pare, a French observer, of one of a child
sacrifice at one of the moon feasts" OF the
Voodooists.
ut was the first night Of full MOON" he
writes. 81 was hidden behind the thick
brush Just at the edge Of the sacred clear
ing. The altar was a great stone and at
its base / saw a wooden box. A pot was
boiling not far away.
ION one side Of the clearing were the
drummers and assistant priests. The papa
loi, or high priest, entered, carrying a black
baby. He placed It on the stone altar.
Then to the throbbing OF the drums he be-
gan a wild, barbaric dance, fourishing his
sharp machete around his head.
"The drumming grew louder. The light
of the rising moon broke through the Jungle
tangle and fell upon the altar Instantly
the papa-loi darted upon the baby. The lid