The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1862-02-15
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I
that deeds so dark should have ever
blAckeRed the American name, has GOV cred
up that year Of tragedies with obscurity
that few have sought to brush away. II
were well il the memory Of that dark
year could be blotted from the memory
Of men. But enough has been preserved
among the records of Salem to show what
wild fanaticiSm can do when let loose
among a people calling and believing
themselves a religious community.
Among the twenty men and women
who persisted on the gallOws and by be-
ing pressed TO death by heavy weights,
end Of the fouF- hundred who we're torn
from their homes and thrust into prisons,
and suffered at whipping posts and in
public stocks, the National RerieW re
cords one touching incident, which we
present. Who can read it and not be
filled with wonder, when he remembers
that the bloody-handed perpetrators Of
the deed were the famed Pilgrim Faith
erS"-the reputed founders Of civil aud
religious liberty in this land:
-" Five females were arFaigRed, and upon
evidence similar to that given in their
primary examination, they were found
guilty, and sentence Of death was pro-
nOunced against each Of them. In their
trials a novel test was applied in order to
convince the jury of their guilt, and that
was TO require each Of them to repeat the
jLorj,s PRAYER. and any halting, omission.
N>,yr, lro,anlOn, Ur Improper aUCenng oi
words, was noticed and declared by the
Court to be proof conclusive Of their COM
plicity with Satan. For instance-one,
instead of saying D." IIallowcd be Thy
namc," expressed herself ~ followed be
Thy name;" and another said, Deliver
US from I'LL evil" instead Of "Deliver us
from evil" Trivial aud absurd as this
may seem, yet il frad great weight with
the court and jury, and no doubt exists
that in more than one instance i. operate j
to decide the fate of the accused. On the
10Th of the following July, these five fe-
males were publicly executed. With a
single exception, they were persons of eX-
cmpary pirty and church members in
go0dStanding until suspicion was directed
against them. They met their untimely
fate with degree of fortitude and Chris
tan faith that awakened doubts and fears
even in the minds of the most blind and
big0tted zualOts in the community. One
of them was beautiful girl just budding
into womanhood. Endowed with every
grace, both of mind and body, which
adornS aud renders lovely her sex; imbued
with all the virtues which command our
admiration and esteem, she Seems to have
been one calculated to carry joy and a
blessing to every one she encountered
She was an orphan, and her life, brief as
it was, had been clOuded with sorrow and
sadness. Born in England, and losing
both her parents when about the age of
sixteen, she was bequeathed by dying
mother to the care OF an uncle residing at
Salem. Alone and almost fIiendlesS she
crossed the ocean and found home be-
meath the roof of her relations. We said
home, but such it was not to her. She
was merely tolerated as an unwelcome
burden, and despite her winning attributes
Of character and her earnest efforts TO
gain foothold in the affections of her
Puritan relatives, she could not succeed in
securing their regard. 1t was her fortune
to be the child Of minister OF the estab.
iished church of England, aud to have
been reared in that faith. This fact of it.
self was sufficient to close the hearts of
her kindred against her, and erect bar
rier between her and them which could
not be overcome. She was regarded As
but little better than an idolator and an
outcast from the fold Of grace. But in.
her England home, across the great deep,
there was one who had been her playmate
in childhood, and who now, in early man
hood, loved her with all the strength and
fulness Of an undyiug devotion. And his
love was returned with that intensity and
iervor which often characterizcs the first
heart-utfcring of Il true woman. In all
the trials which the orphan girl was called
upon to undergo, thisgreat and absorbing
love was her snlace the final anchor of
her hope; it huoyed her up amid the vi
ciS>itudcs and fluctuations Of 'unkindness
and oppression, and during the last days
of her life, when awaiting frlon's doom,
with no sympathzing heart to share her
sorrowS. bnt abandoned and fursaken by
all VINO Shoulu nave supported anu conSO-
led her, it was her comforter aad her last
earthly JOY.
Accused by her own kindred, with no
friend to defend or protect, her fate was
soon scaled; and, on that calm and bright
July morning, this pure and beauteOus
being stood upon the Scafold, surrounded
by an excited aud clanorouS crowd, that
thirs:ed for blood. She gazed wildly
around, but saw no loving face nor fearful
eye; then stretching forth her arms, as il
to some person in the distance who was
visible to her, she cried ont, in voice
that thrilled the heart Of every one that
heard it, Mother" 1t was the last
word to which her mortal tongue gave ut
terance; and the next moment her body
swung in the air, and her spirit took its
flight to the celestial home where that
mother dwelt The crowd was awed into
deep silence; and with hushed breath and
a sudden wonder, like a fear of deadly
crime fallen upon their souls, the people
separated. But long years afterwards
was that touching invocation remembered
with tenderness ami unavailing regret.
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