chap, hi .] WEST INDIES. 293 
very sight of the ragged bundle,' the bottle, or the 
egg-shells, which are stuck in the thatch, or hung 
over the door of a hut, or upon the branch of a 
plantain tree, to deter marauders. In cases of 
poison, the natural effects of it are by the ignorant 
negroes, ascribed entirely to the potent workings 
of Obi. The wiser negroes hesitate to reveal their 
suspicions, through a dread of incurring the terri¬ 
ble vengeance which is fulminated by the Obeah- 
men against any who should betray them: it is very 
difficult, therefore, for the white proprietor, to dis¬ 
tinguish the Obeak professor from any other negro 
upon his plantation; and so infatuated are the 
blacks in general, that but few instances occur of 
their having assumed courage enough to impeach 
these miscreants. With minds so firmly prepos¬ 
sessed, they no sooner find Obi set for them near 
the door of their house, or in the path which leads 
to it, than they give themselves up for lost. When 
a negro is robbed of a fowl or a hog, he applies di¬ 
rectly to the Obeah man or woman; it is then made 
known among his fellow blacks, that Obi is set for 
the thief; and as soon as the latter hears the dread¬ 
ful news, his terrified imagination begins to work, 
no resource is left but in the superior skill of some 
more eminent Obeah-man of the neighbourhood, 
who may counteract the magical operations of 
the other; but if no one can be found of higher 
rank and ability, or if, after gaining such an ally, 
he should still fancy himself affected, he presently 
falls into a decline, under the incessant horror of 
impending calamities. The slightest painful sensa- 
