The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-06-05
Have you made no contract with the

! ANU see IL tulS were NnfS person tllat hur
them; and so they all did look upon her
and said this was one of the persons tina
did torment them. Presently they wer,
| all tormented.
"Sarah Good, do you not see wha
you have done? Why do You not tel
rs the truth =? Why do YOU thus tor
ment these poor children y"
I do not torment them"
Who do you employ then ?"
employ nobody; | scoru it,"
| How came they thus tormented 2"
What do I know? You bring 9th
er5 here, and now you charge me- will
it,"
| Why, who was it?''
| do not know, but it WAS some one
Won brought into the meeting house with
you."
1--WE brought you into the meeting
house"
But you brought in two more"
Who was ii then that tormepted the
children 2"
at was Osburn."
what is it you say when you go
mnttering away from peoples houses %
eff / must tell, L will tell.
| "Do tell us"
"Then if 1 must tell, will tell it is
the commandments. L may say my
commandments, l hope"
"What commandment is its"
If | must tell you, will tell-it is a
PSALM"
| "What psalm ?" (After long time
| she muttered over some part of n
| psalm.)
Whom do you serve?'
"The God that made heaven and
| i, hu y,
mention the word God. Her answers
Were in a very wicked, spiteful manner
rejecting and retortins against the au-
thority, with base and abusive words,
with many lies she was taken in. 1t
was alleged that her husband had said
that he was afraid she either was
witch, or would be one very quickly.
The worshipful Mr.. Hathorne asked
him why he said so of her-whether he
had ever seen any thing BY her. He
answered: "No, not in this nature =
but it was her bad carriage to him,
land indeed" saith he, 81 may say
with tears, that she is an enemy to all
good"
This examination, closed here, speaks
for itself as to its candor and Justice.
But upon the whole, it may be said
with truth, that the appearance of ''the
worshipful Mr.. Hathorne" in this pas
sage. and his demeanor toward the poor
person before him, was in no wise essen
tally different from his exhibition of
himself, in all the preliminary e8amina-
tions. His assumption of the prisoners
guilt. his leading questions his brutal
dealing with numbers of the accused
made the investigations a farce. The
accused persons, in all the trials, never
had any counsel, never had any method
of presenting their side of story in
open court as can be determined. Aud
almost all we know concerning those
who we're arraigued is from adverse
sources.
The prisoner Good was removed to
make room for Sarah Osburn. This
was a bedridden woman, with two sons
Her second marriage, to Osburn, had
been unhappy, and trouble had dis
tracted her mind. She had once held
reputable position socially, but having
become the subject of scandal, was a
good subject for the "afflicted to
pitch upon.
Her examination is preserved in full,
but cannot be given. She denied, as
Good had done, all the contract with |
the Devil, and that she hurt the chill |
dren, or employed any one to hurt them,
declared that she had not seen Sarah !
Good for two years and in reply to |
that woman's accusation, said, 81 do |
not know that the Devil goes about in
my likeness to do any hurt"
The children stood up and looked at |
her, and said this was one that did !
affiict them they had constantly seen |
her with the very habit she then had
on. Her husband and others stated
that she had not been at meeting for
three years and two months. No
strange matter, as a charitable mind
will think, for bedridden person.
Goody Osburn being taken out, the
Indian slave Tituba was brought for
ward. At first she too denied all famil-
iarity with evil spirits, or that she hurt |
the children. She said, indeed, that +
the Devil came to her, and bid her
serve him, and that she had seen four
woman sometimes hurt the children.
Two of them she named, Goody Osburn
and Sarah Good. These two, she de-
ciared, wished her to hurt the children,
but she had refused. She had seen,
also, tall man from Boston. All three
had told her to hurt the children, but
she would not.
A deposition made by the Rev. Mr.
Paris is preserved-that during all
these days Elizabeth Paris, Jr., Ann
Putnam, and Elizabeth Hubbard were
and that when Tituba con-
fessed they were all relieved. He says
that Tituba herself, when she began to
confess, was very much afflicted. She
accused Good and Osbnrn of doing
his to her. OF these three prisoners,
Mrs. Osburn died in Jail, May 16
rituba lay in prison for thirteen
months, and was then sold to pay her
all fees, and Sarah Good was hanged.
At the close of these examinations,
linty-nine out of every hundred per-
nto the torrent OF delusion and alarm.
The physicians had given in their opin-
on. The ministers had approved it.
The Rev. Mr.. Paris was making it the
opic of prayers and preaching Sunday
y Sunday. The girls were suffering
aore and more keenly, and the convie-
ion that the authors of the mischief
must be found out and put away became
cry strong. Thus the time drew near
or accusations of more reputable per-
ons. Solicitude to know who were the
wo other women making up the four
rev to be intense. When everything
vas ready, the girls began to give out I,
ignificant descriptions, and then to call
ames. The third victim selected was
Iartha Corey, third wife of Giles Corey, =.
man eighty years of age. Mrs. Corey
7as a member of the church. who had
ot favored these proceedings, going so
ar, indeed, as to express a lack of faith
n the children. In this season of ex-
ftement, she had, however, renewed :
er prayers, spending hours in devo-
on. Her husband being carried away =,
18th the delusions, she even tried to
eep him back from the gatherings at !
ne village. All this was doubtless /. .
nown there |; certainly it had been given !.
ut that soon some persons in great re- .
Not far from Dover lies the little !
OWN of Shrewsbury, then quiet ham
1t, now invaded by the cottages and :
ilias of Long Branch pleasure seekers. '
Iere lived Taber Chadwick, brother-in :
wv to Mr.. Polhamus, and intimate with |,
Co., 81 | l.