Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-02-22
TWO WEIRD STORIES.
PEOPLE IN PENNSYLVANIA SAID TO
BELIEVE nv WITCHES.


entertained by many p.ople in this Berks)
county Hearing OF several men in the city
who were said to bt able to give well
authenticated cases of witchcraft, or hex
ing, rs It is called here, your correspondent
visited ono OF them ans. vas told the follow
ipG story
Several years ago family with whom
was well acquainted lived Oh Cedar street.
this city, and directly opposite them on the
same street lived u wor, al who was known
20 be hex lthe Dutch for witch There
was child born In the Iamly of my friend
It was beautiful child had the sweetest dis
position of nny youngstnr | evar knew, and
| never cried OF gave its mother any trouble at
| all " hen the child WIS about three months
old this old hex came iutu my friends house,
and taking il out of thb cradle, hugged and
kissed 1t, at tue same time Inuttering in the
language III which the tibio was first written.
| When sue loft il was at once noticed that the
| child was as completely spotted as u leopard,
and it cri@l continually, rs though suffering
| great pain Il would c.y at night as long as
| the 'hex' across tho street. remained at the
| window, but as soon as tho witch would re-
| tire its cries would c,>lse and it would get
| some rest This stat, of affairs kept up
| for some time The regular doctors could do
| nothing tor the child; gvcryhod knew the
| poor little thing WIS Iehcxed' tbewftched,
| aud the mother, worried nearly TO death
through anxiety and l,ss of sleep wlile at
| tending the little sufferer, would not be sat.
isfie,l until thoy sent Tor a witch doctor the
Identical doctor still lives in this city.
| EASY ENOUGH wuEy Yop KNOW HOW.
| He came III answer % ther call, but pre-.
| vious to his arrival had sent them a note,
| warning them not to speal, II word to him.
| Ic wrote several words in the Ethiopian
language on piece OF paper, placed it in
certain place In the Bitlc, and after putting
the book under the ctilttAs pillow, informed
the mother that il they would refuse tho hex
across the way everything she asked for her
baby would get well The same day the old
hex sent over for some triilos-I think il was
for smoothing iron CT u pinch OF tea-but
| the mother refused to lat her have them, and
| from chat moment the child commenced to
| got better
The third night after the witch doctor
had been there big black cat came to the
bedroom window and scratched to get 10.
Tho cirilds father, knowing that the old hex
had sent tho cat9 eied up his boot, and,
hurling it through the window, sash and all,
struck the thing and knocked it To the ground
The fact is, when the boot struck tho cat it
struck the witch bersef, for she had turned
herself into cat iu order to get into the
room at that CHILD The next morning the
hex came limpinS around and said she had
fallen down stairs dur ng the night, hut she
never bothered my friends child any more
and everybody knew well enough that the
words the doctor had put in the Bible were
too strong for the dsyil In the hex This,
my dear SIR, is fact, c nd the child who was
| hpwifelasi iS n N and hos rAlilAraD 0f
his own, and works on the Philadelphia and
| Reading railroad "
Your correspondent felt a very preceptible
chilli course its way up along lis backbone Of
ter listening to this rec tai, and the old gentle-
man noticing that SOM )CiIing was wrong con-
| tinued
''You probably dott believe in witches,
but l know there are witches IN this city to.
day who can do just o. they please with you
or me, Why, they sign q contract with the
devil, with u pen dippei IN their own blood,
and he gives them the power. knew a man
living in the neighborlIoOd o? Boyprtowp. In
this county, who was bcwItched by man
living on Tenth street in t!;ls city, ten miles
away from hlGl Whot do you think of that,
the witch would cone TO his house in the
dead hour OF the night, sometimes on horse
and at other times in Il big stone wagon, and
|
turing The mans daughter could res the
window fly up whcn tao witch came into the
room, and could see md hear the window
fall when he went out, but could not see the
witch himself Flo would sit ON the poor
mans breast and hammer and pinch him
dreadfuliy, and wouid keep it up nearly every
night until he had him sor0 that he could
scarcely move around 1t oil
MAILING TIE WITCH.
''He came to Eeadiny one day and consult
ed the witch doctor, " no wrote soma words
on slip of paper, folded it up, and, giving
the man horse shoe nail, told linn to go to o
certain tree early in the morning, before sun
rise, sticl; this nail through the paper and
drive it into the side Ct the tree next to the
sun, just far enough to hold the paper to tho
tree. This. he said, would hurt the witch
and probably keep him awny. II tho witch
would not stay away he was to hit the nail
another tap the next morning, but WOE
warned not to drive the nail clear through
the paper or he would kill the man who was
the witch. The witch continued to trouble
| tho man, however, ana when he went out to
tap the nail The thiri morning he was SO
angry that, taking the Gz in his hand, he
struck the nail so hard that he sent 1t entirely
through tho paper
Upon the instant the natl penetrated the
paper he saw the form Of his tormentor fall
dead before him, and no went to the depot
and told several parties that he had killed
such and such man 10 Reading that morn
ing. They laughed Of him and said he was
crazy: but sure enough the witch, who was
walking il his garden in this city. ten miles
away, o. tho doctor 60 he would do and as
the man said he had done, fell dead in bis
TRACKS just At that time. Tie man who
killed him got well ard was never troubled
again"
Tho names Of the parties were given In
both the above cases, and the old man told
his story with such an air of sincerity that
after leaving him rnl de inquiry in the local
ities he had mentioned and found tho opinion
generally prevalent that just such things had
7 occurred. More espec ally was this the case
in reference TO the man who was said TO have
dropped dead in the garden; and there are
not few in this city who would swear that
1t is true substantially rs herein given, Witch
and ghost stories, implicitly believed by those
who narrate them, can be gathered by the
dozen In this county. They are told by the
muscular farmer lovei to his buxom country
sweetheart. are relate to the children In eu.
phonious Pennsylvania Dutch by their pa
rents, and are the subject of many long
arguments and conversations in the country
stores.-Rsading Pa.l Cor. Phladslphia
North American.
In ono year Frank Davis, Des Moines
youth, got into jail, broke out, seved twc
BOYS from drowning, discovered aud put out
l. IL ixxxrN ot,<