chap, hi.] WEST INDIES. 305 
since her arrival from Africa, and was the terror of 
the whole neighbourhood.—Upon this he repaired 
directly, with six white servants, to the old wo¬ 
man’s house, and forcing open the door, observed 
the whole inside of the roof (which was of thatch), 
and every crevice of the walls, stuck with the im¬ 
plements of her trade, consisting of rags, feathers, 
bones of cats, and a thousand other articles. Exa¬ 
mining further, a large earthern pot or jar, close 
covered, was found concealed under her bed.—It 
contained a prodigious quantity of round bails of 
earth or clay of various dimensions, large and small, 
whitened on the outside, and variously compounded, 
some with hair and rags, or feathers of all sorts, and 
strongly bounded with twine; others blended with 
the upper section of the skulls of cats, or stuck 
round with cats teeth and claws, or with human or 
dogs teeth, and some glass beads of different co¬ 
lours; there were also, a great many egg-shells filled 
with a viscous or gummy substance, the qualities 
of which he neglected to examine, and many little 
bags stuffed with a variety of articles, the particu¬ 
lars of which cannot at this distance of time be re¬ 
collected. The house was instantly pulled down, 
and with the whole of its contents committed to 
the flames, amidst the general acclamations of all 
his other negroes. In regard to the old woman, 
he declined bringing her to trial under the law of 
the island, which would have punished her with 
death; but, from a principle of humanity, deli¬ 
vered her into the hands of a party of Spaniards, 
wht*>, (as she was thought not incapable of doing 
Vol . If. q q 
