Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-07-09
THE WITCHES.
"Crazy at Night and Sensible in
Daytime"
Full Details of the Alleged Witch
craft Gases in Iliinois-The NIyste-
~ Attributed to Poisonous Drugs.
From the Duquoin (Ill.) Tribune.

ing the following account of reported
witchcraft in this community may in
terest your readers, l place it at your dis
posaL
About five miles southeast of this place
resides one Mr.. James Williams, who has
two daughters, aged respectively about
sixteen and eighteen years. For some
time they have had strange symptoms, in
dicating il sanity. Their father took them
to Kentucky, hoping q change in sur
rouudings would help them. For time
they seemed better, but after returning
home the former symptoms soon returned.
This state of things lasted till about ten
days sgo, when the entire community,
miles around, was thrown into feverish
excitement, and reports Of witches, and
their wonderful feats, filled the air which
ever way one turned. The following are
some Of the rumors which wild excite
ment, with wonderful amount of credu-
lily, circulated with winged rapidity,
many believing them. Every evening,
just as twilight came on, these young
ladies were
ATTACKED BY WITCHES,
when, with wonderful agility, they
would climb the house, or rather Jump on
top of it, run and dance over the roof,
sing beautiful songs, lie on the comb of
the roof, glide down on its edge and
swing off, holding by their teeth TO the
cave, then suspending themselves in the
air, throw themselves back again on the
roof, pass over the gable end, and go
through small opening 10 by II inches
into the garrett with as much ease and
rapidity as q squirrel, and then come
down and commence hunting bins and
flies to eat. They never failed to catch q
fly, and could pick up pins anywhere on
the floor OF in the yard; the house had
been swept, and they surrounded by g
circle TO watch them, and they would
pick up pins on the clean swept boards
when no other persons could sJe one.
Some affirmed they had jumped from
the back door of the residence on thetop
of the house on which they performed
their fests, which stands about thirty feet
distant and then jump from this house
on to tree thirty yards off. These spells
would come on as night came, and leave
them with the return of day. During the
day they would remain rational, and con-
hClCO AlINlI w khClA OODI4llOI-
The following was reported ss their
own version of the matter:
One evening shortly ago, Just at twi-
light, the Oldest saw a woman witches
are always women ride up to the gate on
a beautiful gold and dspple gray horse,
who invited her to go to meeting with
her; she refused, when the woman put
the tip of her foreinger on the tip of her
(the girls forefnger, and without an eff
fort, placed her on the horse behind her,
and rode off; finally they arrived at a
house where were cOngregated a great
many most beautifully dressed women.
Taking her to a cell entered by hatcE
way, the woman opened it, and told her
to so in, then
GIVE HER SOUL TO TIE DEVIL,
and she would become q witch, and be
able to do any thing she wished in this
word; this she refused to do, when in
stsntly she found herself seated on
pole in her fathers barn. Since then
every evening the witch comes and tors
ments her for refusing to be a witch.
she says she can see the woman who
does it, and knows her, but whenever she
attempts to tell who she is, she chokes
her and throws her into spasms.
Such is said, by those who talked with
her, to be her story. Hundreds 60 every
night to see the sight; and, not being |
afraid Of witches-for l do not believe |
there was ever such q thing in the world, |
or out of i'll concluded l would go and
see for myself what foundation there was |
for the reports. So en- Saturday night l |
rode down to witness the scene. Ca
the way | was asked what l thought of |
witches; if l believed in witches2 How
witches were made, and who made them? |
If thought it was the witch of En- |
dor, etc. To which l replied. |
l don't think of witches: l don't |
believe in witches; don't think they |
were made at all; don't know any thing |
about the witch of Endor; have not found |
her name IN my Bible where Samuel was |
raised from the dead, etc., and thus rode |
brsvely on till we came, just at twilight,
in sight Of the house, and there they were,
right on the top of The house, standing, |
side by side, singing, waving their arms,
and turning round and round. | never |
had, l aver l never had, never have |
ard never will believe in witches, and | |
was determined to be courageous; but as
their beautiful voices rolled out from the |
house-top on the still twilight, plaintive,
mOurnful, sweet, their arms waving, bod |
les turned in this way and that, looking |
in their light dresses more like fairies, |
ghosts, or any unearthly appaTition than |
human beings, wave after wave of chill |
came up my back, and l felt light almost |
as air. While 1 did not believe in witches,
it seemed the only suitable place had |
ever seen for them; and if such things |
could be, they surely would be there, and |
then, right then We hitched our horses,
and | told mine
NOT TO LET THE WITCHES RIDE
him, as | must ride him home that night,
and, examining his name to be sure that
there were no stirrups in it, we walked to
the crowd, who stood gathered around the
house on which were the young ladies.