Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1860-05-30
THE FIRST AMERICAN WITCHES.

Salem has hitherto enjoyed the bad reputa-
tion OF the mother of American witchcraft. But
this is an historical errors was shown by Mr..
Hopkins in lecture before the New York
Historical Society last week -
&c The first legal enactment on the subject of
witchcraft in this country, appears to have been
made by the Maryland Assembly, in 1868,
which adopted the English statutes on the SUBJ
ject. In 1859, Maryland directly provided for
furnishing with death, sorcery, blasphemy
and idolatry." In l64l, the Massachusetts
laws were promulgated providing that WITCH
craft should be punished with death. Rhode
Island followed suit in 1887 New Jersey
about that time, Delaware in 100, South Car
olina, in 1712, restoring the statute of James
the First, and Pennsylvania soon after. The
laws of South Carolina on the subject remain
ed on the Statute Book until 1887. Delaware
adopted the statute of James the First in 17I9.
He believed that witchcraft existed previous
to 1604-5. The Hebrew motto was, sc the
more women the more witchcraft,'' but his
idea was, that I" they were no longer old and
wrinkled beldames,'' but young, and gay, and
lovely creatures" Connecticut, he believed,
had from 1641 to 1897, twenty lone trials for
witchcraft, although a large quantity of the
State archives containing the authentic details
are destroyed. Massachusetts punished witch
craft in 1748. An anecdote is told of one John
Bradstreet, who plead guilty, but the court
knew him to be so notorious a liar that he was
acquitted. In connection with Salem witch
craft, it should be remembered that in Geneva
there were five hundred witches consumed by
the flames within three months that fourteen
houses in England furnished fourteen victims
to the flames, and that the Salem horrors have
been greatly exaggerated. He discussed the
Salem excitement at length, criticising the part
of Cotton Mather, and Of the witnesses whose
testimony was given in one hundred and thir-
ty cases, mostly against their individual OBJ
jects of hatred. Up to 1865 there is no trace
of any law in New York to witchcraft, and
when it did appear it was confined to the Eng
lish settlements on Long Island out OF our ju-
risdiction. The Indians said the devil would
have nothing TO do with the Dutch. In 1872
Sarah Dibdin was accused of withcraft in New
Jei sey, but fed to Connecticut. In 1858 Will
liam Penn presided over Court in which a
woman was tried and acquitted on charge of
wtchcraft. Virginia had like trial in 1505,
and North Carolina in 1910. Altogether there
were four hundred and sixty accusations of
witchcraft in the colonies, thirty-two execu-
tions, and three more condemned who escap-
ed. New York alone, or perhaps New Hamp-
shire, never condemned witch, or passed a
law oD the subject. OF the methods of dis
covering witch, one Perkins gave eighteen
tests, seventeen of which were insufficient,
and eighteen were impracticable. In conclu-
sion, the paper contrasted the horrible tor
lures, ,cruelties:and barbarities of foreign pun
ishment of witchcraft, and the comparatively
mild form of the delusion in the American
Colonies"