Little Falls transcript., 1883-10-19
YANKEE MOTIONS.
Boiler III wieches, Ghosts, ana He

&s5' z j@. i 1ANxATJE M 41ON0s .%5 = 4:
Boiler IA Witches, Ghosts and Hob
/. COB ins Currene In New England.
Col. George G. Fortesaue has Just re-
turned from tripto New England. He
was met by q Denver News reporter
and asked in relation to hls impression
of the people Of that out Of the " ay
section. In reply to the questions Of
the reporter, he said: :,-..% =:
t'rhe love OF the curious aud the mar
velous is not confined to any race or to
any age OF the world. Though the ac-
tivities OF the present age do not give
people much TINA for superstition
where any opportunit; es for its cultiya-
ton is given It is pretty sure to spring
up in some form or another. In no part
Of the country would one look for su-
perstition more readily than in New
England. The old houses to be found
in such pl ices as Nantucket AMI Salem
seem as if ghosts have one day peopled
ahem. They have passed through long
generations of men, and their timhers
still hold together. They have seen
births, bridals, and burials. In Nau-
tucket there used to be old families OF
rich shippers-manY of whom found
watery graves in the great deep where
their activities lay. The whale fishery
went down on account Of the discovery
of petroleum in Pennsylvania, ut re-
minders of it still exist in the old houses
with a lookout built on every roof, in
wharves now used by excursion steam
ers, and the general aspect of place
that is still fifty years behind the times
in many things. In Nantucket the
popular vehicle with the old settlers is
still small one-seated cart, kind of
tip-cart, although not so heavy as the
vehicle of that name so much used on
] New England farms. The best families
still go to ride and make calls in their
carts, which are apt to tip up when one
gets out of them. In Nantucket there is
another peculiar feature. TIE announce
ment of meetings, concerts, entertain
ments, and pubic gatherings generally
is always made by crier who rings q
bell when he wants to collect an audi
ence.
Salem and Nantucket look alike, but
Salem is i'll many respects the more an
ti9ue of the two. In the adjoining town
OF Peabody there is still to ue seen Witch
hill, where SO many innocent people
suffered II ,m New England superstitions
The houses are still tanding where the
Judges of that tlne lived, and on one Of
the principal Sale n streets is to be seen
| a quaint old gabled house. where one of
the supp sed witches is said to have
lived. The hou-e is now inhabited by a
corn doctor, who is making fortune
out OF wi!ch-hazel ointment. In anoth.
| or part Of the city the credulous stran-
| ger is pointed to house that is said to
| be- the original Of Hawthorne's house OF
seven gables. Hawthorne used to live
in Salem, and probably gained q good
! inspiration tor his tales and novels from
| the old house and their strange history
There are no witches in Salem, but there
are to pe seen there some of the hand
| soonest and best preserved matruns and
some of the prettiest young ladies to be
found in all New England. There is an
air Of romance about the place yet, and
| it is no wonder that those who have
| visited it, who have passed through the
| quaint old streets, and have learned the
history of its earlier days should be 80
prolific in writing novels and essays,
! and histories pertaining to the Salem
| witchcraft.
but it is not of Salem, but of Lynn, a
seaport city some ten miles away, known
all over the world for it's shoe manutac-
| lures, that remember the most tradi-
tlons. In the days of the revolution,
and before it, that part Of Massachusetts
was not so we'll knoWD for it's manufac
turies as now. What is now Lynn, Ma
| hant, and Swanpscott, was at that tim G
e quaint New England locality, quite as
| noted for its superstitions as Salem H.
self Having pretty fair harbor, it
used to be favorlte resort for pirates,
| privateersmen ard other notorious char
acters. People in these precarious CAL
ilngs are always prone to believe in
witchCraft and tortune-telling. and it is
no wonder that Mod Pitcher used to
gain so much money from telling thest
| men OF their past and future. 1t is re-
| lated of her that a man at one time went
| to her and asked her what his end
! would be. He Wus sea captain Of rarh-
er doubtful reputation and was popular.
| ly supposed to be a pirate.
Tine old woman was silent for few
moments ana sat smoking long clay
pipe. Suddenly she stopped and let the
| pipe fall to the floor. 'That,' said she
to the sea captain, will be your fate
lt Is said that some years afterward this
same captain fell from high prccipice
and was dashed to pieces. The moral Of
| this story seems 10 be that it is never q
good plan to fool around fortune teller
| # she smokes pipe
MOL Pitcher certainly had an exis.
JenCe, as ner descendants are now nun.
bered among the first families of Lynn
but perhaps another fOrtune-te]ler has
quite as much Of local celebrity as
Mother Pitcher has.
This last-named person was named
Debby Saco. She was an Indian by
birth, and claimed to belong to the now
evtinct tribe of Saco Indians, from which
one Of the towns IN Maine derives its
name. Old Debby Saco used to peddle
herbs on the streets. and in this way
gained a. great deal Of information as to
peoples doings and whereabouts, which
was great help to her in her divina-
tions. She had great faculty OF put
ting this and that together, and in this
way was able to tell people things about
themselves which quite astonished .hem.
Had she lived in the present day she
would have been valuable acquisition
newspaper staff.
The vicinity Of Lynn is one of the
places which is popularity supposed to
90 the place where Capt Kidd. OF doubt
ful memory, buried h.s treasures. Dun
geon rock was the place where man
named Hiram Marble and his family
dwelt for wears and dug and drilled
patiently being led on, as they supposed
by the spirits. Unfortunately they
never found anything, but they sue
ceeded in making good deal of money
out of visitors.