The Mineral argus., 1884-02-28
YANKEE NOTIONS.
Belief In Witches. Ghosts, and Hob.
COLLINS Current in New England.

turned from a trip to New England. lie
was met by a Denver News reporter
and asked in relation to his impression
of the people of that out of the ay
section. In reply to the questions of
the reporter, he said:
"The love of the curious and the mar
velous is not confined to any race or to
any age of the world. Though the ac-
tivities OF the present g do not give
people much time for superstition
where any opportunities for its cultiva-
ton is given. 1t 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 places as Nantucket and Salem
seem as if ghosts have one day peopled
lhem. . They haYe passed through long
generations of men, and their timbers
still hold together. They have seen
births, bridals, and burials, In Nan
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, Tut re-
minders of it still exist in the old houses
with a lookout built OF every roof, in
wharves now used by excursion steam
ers, and the general aspect of a place
that is still fifty years behind the times
in many things. In Nantucket the
popular vehicle with the old settlers is
still q small one-seated cart, a 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 n
gets out of them. In Nantucket there Is
another peculiar feature. The announce.
ment of meetings, concerts, entertain
ments, and public gatherings generally
is always made by a crler who rings a
bell when he wants to collect an audi
ence.
Salem and Nantucket look alike, but
Salem is In many respects the more an
tique of the two. In the adjoining town
of Peabody there is still to be seer Witch
hill, where so many innocent people
suffered from New England superstitions.
The houses are still standing here the
Judges of that time lived, and on one of
the principal Salem streets is to be seen
a quaint old gabled house. where n of
the supposed witches is said TO have
hNCOs Lie AOlcG - hOh lltldDllGu ny IL
corn doctor, who is making a fortune
out of witch-hazel ointment. In aRoth-
er part of the city the credulous stran-
ger is pointed to a house that is said to
be the original of Hawthorne's house of
seven gables. Hawthorne used to live
in Salem, and probably gained a good
inspiration for his tales and novels from
the old house and their strange history.
There are no witches in Salem, but there
are to be seen there some of the hand
soonest and best preserved matrons 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 so
| prolific in writing novels and essays,
and histories pertaining to the Salem
witchcraft.
but it Il is not of Salem, but of Lynn, a
seaport city some ten miles away, known
all vel the world for its shoe manuiac-
lures, that | remember the most tradi-
tons. In the days of the revolution,
and before it, that part of Massachusetts
was not so well known for its manufac-
turtles as now. What is now Lynn, Ma
liant, and ~Swampscott, was at that time
a quaint New England locality, quite as
noted for its superstitions as Salem it
self. Having a pretty fair harbor, it
used to be a favorite resort for pirates,
privateersmen and other notorious char
acters. People in these precarious cal
lings are always prone to believe in
witchcraft and fortune-telling, and it is
no wonder that Mol Pitcher used to
gain so much money from telling these
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 was a sea captain of rath-
er doubtful reputation and was popular
ly supposed to be a pirate.
The old woman was silent for a few
moments and sat smoking u 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.'
1t Is said that some years afterward this
same captain fell from a high precipice
and was dashed to pieces. The moral of
this story seems TO be that it is never a
good plan to fool around a fortune-teller
if she smokes a pipe.
MOL Pitcher certainly had an exis-
Lence, as Der descendants are now mum.
bered among the first families of Lynn
but perhaps another fortune-teller has
quite as much of a local celebrity az
Mother Pitcher has.
This last-named person was named
Debby Saco. She was an Indian by
birth, and claimed to belong to the now
evtihct tribe ofSaco 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 a great help to her in her divina-
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