Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-05-08
WITCHES IN THE SOUTH.
Dire Havoc Caused by Them Among
the Coon Dogs.
Received Methods Of DESTROYING a
Witch by Charms Of Various
and Potent Efficacy.


on the altar of their superstition as they
were to die on the plea of a mistaken pa
triotism, writes Goldsboro On. c. cor
respondent of the Philadelphia Times.
The Carolinas. Georgia, Alabama and
other southern states abound in so-called
witch doctors, who will cure your ails
and kill the witch that is troubling you.
Some of these doctors actually be-
lieve in the personal existence of witch
es and in their supernatural power, but
many of them are frauds who make a iv-
ing by imposing ON the credulity of their
neighbors
The negro race is naturally supersti-
tious, but the poor white crackers" are
also ignorant, and for believing in spooks,
spirits, hobgobllns and other natural phe-
nomena, they can give the colored man
cards, spades and aces and then beat him.
The cracker is worse than the colored man.
because he fondly imagines that he is so
much shrewder, and so he does not use
what brains he haA nor does he try to
learn anything. He has thousands of
signs, omens, cures and beliefs that are a
continual source of annoyance to him, and
perpetually keeping him in state of I'M
rest and bred. The simplest incident is
one of sinister and occult meaning to him,
and he is even in tremor lest ill-luck and
misfortune overtake him.
The evil influences manifest themselves
in various ways. and each one seems
worse than the other. His gun occasion
ally hangs fire and refuses to ''go off
properly, and at times is so badly de-
ranged that it cannot be discharged at all.
At other times his favorite coon dog is be-
witched by some evil-minded and envious
person, and then the woe of the cracker is
something painful to witness. If his gun
were not bewitched, why could he not kill
a squirrel with it? And why should his
| dog refuse to hunt coons, when to hunt
coons was his business? These are ques-
| tions that he can answer only by assuming
| that witch has been influencing him and
| his property,
| He employs witchdoctor, to whom he
| pours out his tale of woe and yields up his
hard-earned cash. The doctor cares little
for tt e woe, but the cash is grateful and
celebrating. The doctor is sanguine, and
declares that he has a method of killing
that is strictly original. copyrighted and
warranted to be efectual. in one case
| that | cane across the doctor learned that
an old woman living several miles away
was the suspected party, and he commenced
a campaign against her. He told the
victim to go to her house some night and
stretch white cotton string around the
| building, and tie the ends together with a
''weaver's knot" Then he was to walk
around the house seven times each way,
recite given sentence in front Of each
door while making mysterious marks on
it, and the cure would be completed. The
| directions were followed, and | am happy
to say that they proved efectual. as the
, next hunt resulted in the death of three
! cOOnS.
| Another time small powder was given,
which must be swallowed by the witch
without her knowing it. The old lady
was invited to dinner, the powder placed
in her cup of coffee, and the cure was as
complete as could be desired.
| But the common and old reliable method
Of killing witch is as follows: The doc
tor must catch a glimpse of her and from
memory draw her picture. This need not
be good likeness of the witch, but it
must bear the same general form, and it is
still better if some of the features are ex-
aggerated. Then this picture must be
hung up and shot with silver bullet. If
the bullet hits the picture it kills the
witch, and she can never trouble you again.
| The.Silver bullet is usually made by melting
| silver coin. This whole ceremony, which
is comically absurd, will be performed
with an owl-like gravity and breathless
interest that leaves no room for doubling
| that it is regarded as effectual and is a seri-
! Gus and important matter indeed.
There are some advantages in witch
! craft, as the true believer in sorcery has
a ready excuse to fall back on in an emer-
gency. Should his corn refuse to grow, it
is an easy matter to claim that it has been
bewitched. This is a simple and satisfy
ing statement; and il is, therefore, COM
mon for the shiftless cracker to insist that
it was witches and not weeds that 1endered
his garden unproductive.
About fifteen miles north of here | ran
across young fellow who was a veritable
mine of information in regard to witches
and attendant subjects. He solemnly as
| sured me that the carrying of an ak, hoe or
spade through residence would cause a
death in the family within year. Should
the utensll, by carelessness or accident, be
carried into the house, it must be taken
out at once by the person VINO carried 1t
In. He must go out at the same door
through which he entered, taking as near
ly the same steps as possible, and holding
the tool in the same position. This pre-
caution would, | presume. enable the
family to escape with hard spell of
sickness
He regarded it as bad luck to turn back
to the house after leaving it, even if only
for short distance. He would not say
what particular sort of ill-fortune would
follow such course; it was simply "bad
luck"
On getting up one morning there were
several curls in his hair, making it look
as if a rat had been making nest In his
tangled and matted locks. He gravely
wagged his head and declared that a
witch had been trying to give him a head
ache. All day he was in a deep study
the identity of the witch. The next night
before going to bed he turned around
three times and then got into bed back
ward, thus befuddling the witch and ward
ing of a second attack. He explained to
me that at times he could discourage
weak-minded witch by turning in the road
and walking backward for a short dis
lance. or could fool one by affecting limp
that was deceptive.
Some few days after this the young man,
who seemed to be particularly unfortunate,
put his waist coat on wrong side in front,
and wore it that way all day. An inquiry
developed the fact that this was precau
ton against rheumatism. and was a per-
feet safeguard He actually regarded the
killing of witches as the most important
business of his life. He was always in
state of alarm bordering on terror lest he
should fail in his efforts. and should ever
after he under the SWAY of some awful