The Wahpeton times., 1891-05-21

Ac0EUMN NDGN0Tg0T0T TH8'tle-
TEREOTs or THE YOUNG.
irandrna's Witch 6tory--Dorl<y's1
May -Rasket--lkAtlo's Contri-
butio n--Ths Cars Back.

8 Ay.6aokNe..tHetto'0 Contrt. III
butio n--Ths Cars Back.
orandma's Witoh story.
NO" said grandma, as we sat cozi-
~ talking in the short winter twilight,
II do not believe in witches; it is all
the work Of the devil, !" she said in her
positive way. aAnd yet 1 can remem-
ber when some people kept q gun
loaded with silver bullet in order to
kill them" (,
'"Tell us about it, grandma, we
children cried in one breath.
Well I knew man q long time ago
whose child was sick and having fits.
He thought certain woman in the
neighborhood had bewitched it, and
he loaded his gun with silver to kill
her with if an opportunity presented
itself. Afterward he was told if he
could get her to come to the house,
take the child in her arms, and say
God bless YOU the spell would be
broken. In order to get the poor
old woman to go through with this
performance q number of women of
the neighborhood were requested to
assemble at the house and take a part
in the mystic proceedings, the suspect
ed witch among the number. The de-
sired effect was not reached, for the
child grew up into hopeless idiocy,
from having 80 many fits. It after
wards transpired that the parents
had been accustomed to frighten the
poor child into obedience by threaten
ing to carry it off into the woods and
abandon it to the mercy of some
dreadful monster. Thus had it been
frightened into convulsions.
But grandma, don't you know any
other witch stories? Any really witch
stories?" said little Max, laying his
fair head in the dear old lady's lap.
"Well my dears," she said, as her
aged fingers stroked the shining hair,
81 know one told by one of our early
settlers man of truth, a good, re-
ligious man, and what we called in
those days an exhorter. He was
plowing in his field one day, and upon
gong to the house on some errand
found his wife churning and much dis
couraged. She complained bitterly
of the length Of time she had been
laboring with the dash, and still no
signs of butter. Mr.. Walker suspected
at once that the ecream was bewitched,
and believed that mysterious old
man in the neighborhood was at the
bottom of the trouble. He at once
heated a horseshoe nail red hot, and,
putting it into the churn, bade his
wife not to remove it upon any ac-
count, no matter who mi ght come and
demand its removal. He then went
back to the field, and she resumed
her churning. In q few minutes old
Glllard, the reputed wizard, appeared.
He entered the door, almost bent
double, and begged Mrs. Walker to
take the nail from the cream. She re-
fused. He said the hot nail was in his
stomach, and he would die if she did
not remove it; and down he rolled on
the floor. Frightened, she took the
nail out of the churn, when he arose,
Strengthened himself out and walked
away. v
"Your great-grandfather used to tell
about a place in Virginia called :.Wiz-
ards clip In a room in certain
house there was a chair in which q
man, seated for a few minutes, would
find, upon arising, that the whole seat
of his pants had been cut out. Grand
father had heard the story, but did
not believe it. He went, therefore, one
day to investigate. While there, q
gentleman elegantly dressed in broad
cloth came to the house. He, too,
was a disbeliever, and readily sat
down in the chair, after carefully ex-
amining everything about it to see
that there was no fraud. Presently
the scissors could be heard distinctly,
'CEippety clip, clippety clip The
young man arose, and behold, his
trousers were ruined. Grandfather
did not investigate any further, pre-
ferring to keep his trousers intact,
and went away unable to explain the
mystery, though he always thought
there was same humbuggery about It. ("
Katie's Contribution.
A friend of all young people, and es-
pecially of those whose lives are pass
ed in the poverty and squalor of the
great city of New York, sends us the