Republican vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1857, 1850-04-08
MISCELLANEOUS.
w1TCIlCRAFT IN NEW JERSEY.

The following report OF a trial in West Jersey
for Witchcraft, is preserved in an Almanac pub
lished in the year 1907. TIL trial took place i'll
Burlington county, in the year 1870, a little
more than a century ago, and as an incident of
the good old times Of which we often hear,
has some interest for the modern reader. We
find it in the Mount Holly Mirror
"Were there no other reason for promoting an
increase of knowledge, it would be desirable for
the sake OF humanity only, to give such informal
ton as exhibits the singular Ignorance Of for
mer ages and the Improvements Of succeeding
generations. The following account taken froln
the Pennsylvania Gazette, of October 1880. is
inserted to evince not only the absurdity, but
the cruelty, of a superstitious error which about
that period, infected not merely the common
people, but the eXpounders of law and dispen-
sers of justice. We may now 1iatter ourselves
that the terror of WitchrraIt is no more and
that a poor woman may be both cid and ugly
without being in danger of hanging for being
too light in the water, or drowning for being too
heavy.
BURLINGTON, Oct. 10, 1880.
Saturday last at Mount Holly, about eight
miles from this place, near three hundred peo-
pie were gathered to see an experiment or two
tried on some persons accused of witchcraft. 1t
seems the accused had been charged with max
ing their neighbours sheep dance in an uncom-
mon manner and causing hogs to speak and
sing psalms, etc, to the great terror and amaze
ment Of the Kings good and peacable subjects
in this province; the accusers being very posi-
tive that if the accused We're weighed in scales
against a Bible, that the Bible would prove too
heavy for them,o or if they We're bound & put in the
creek they would swim-the said accused, de-
sirous 10 make their innocence appear, volu1-
| torilu pffa~a1 IN I1n1prro tho co;J +,,1, r. $780,
of the most violent OF their accusers would be
tried with them.
Accordingly the time and place were agreed on
and advertised about the country the accusers
were one man and one woman and the accus-
ed the same. The parties being met, and the
people got together, a grand consultation was
held before they proceeded to trial, in which it
was agreed to use the scales first and a COM
mittee of men were appointed to search the men,
and so also the women, to see if they had any
thing of weight about them, particularly pins.
After the scrutiny was overa huge great Bible.
belonging to the Justice of the Peace was pro.
vided, and q lane was made from the JUSTICES to
the scales which was fixed on a eallows erected
expressly for that purpose right opposite to the
house, that the Justices wife and the rest of the
ladies might see the trial, without coming a.
mongst the mob and after the manner of Moor
fields, a large ring was also made. Then
came out OF the house a grave tall man, carving
the Holy Writ before the supposed wizard, etc.
las solemn as the sword bearer of London before
The Lord Mayor) The wizard was first rut in
to the scale, and over him was read a chapter
out OF the book OF Moses, and the Bible was nut
into the scale, which being kept down before,
was Immediately let 60, but to the great surprise
of the spectators, flesh and bones came down
plump, and out weighed that great good book
by abundance.
After the same manner, others were served.
and their Jumps of mortality ~severally were too
heavy for the big ~book-plump they came
down.
This being over, the accusers and the mob.
not satisfied with this experiment, would have
the trial by water accordingly a most solemn
procession was made to the mill pond where
both accused and a~ccusers, being partially strip
ped OF their Clothing, were bound hand and foot.
and each placed III the water, length ways from
the side of a barge, having for security a rope a.
bout the middle of each which was held by a
person in the barge. The accused man being
thin and spare, with some difficulty began to
sink at last, but the other three swan very light
ly upon the water. A sailor in the large Jump
ed out upon the back of the man accused, think
ing to drive him to the bottom; but the person
bound without any help, came up some time
before the other. The woman accuser BEING
told that she did not sink, would be ducked a
second, time when she wan as light as before,
upon which she declared that the accused had
bewitched her to make her so light, and that She
would be ducked a hundred times,b but she would
duck the devil out of her. The accused man
being surprised at his, own swimming, was not
so confident of his innocence before, but said
sft | am a Witch it ismore than | know.o The
more Thinking part of the spectators were of O.
plnlon that any person SO bound and placed in
IN the water, unless they ere mere skin and