Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1892-07-02

Er;.n- ivrnIn mud la S-w J:.I Inn :.
Wiicncraft is at the l,r,'o,i,! !iin. w.
linv"d in by a majority OF the ci'z ~, If
the United States. The larger nu'tlhr If
immigrants from the continent ~ Eur lie
are more or less in fear OF suc:l paw .rs.
To these must be added no inc,n>llrr,bla
portion of the persons of En- ,lish and
Scotch descent; for a strong vein of
superstition is disc rnihln in mnuv
Irish, Scotch and some English. whose
lore" diffused in nursery tales and
ucighhorhood gossip, has entwinr,l itself
strongly about the fihres of spontaneous
subconscious mental imagery. Among
the more ignorant members of the
church OF every nationality the belief
produces a mysterious dread, against
which men and women cross thcm,,lvrs
and resort to various rites supposed to bc
efficacious.
Where colonies of immigrants hare re-
mained isolated, retaining the Use of
their own language, the influence of
witchcraft is more easily traced The
interior of Pennsylvania affords better
illustrations of this, and on a larger scale
than any other State. 1t has been but
two or three years since suit was brought
by man against his mother in one of
the counties of Pennsylvania to recover
damages for dog which he charged her
with having killed by witchcrnft; and he
not only brought suit but obtained julg-
ment from justice of the peace. Va
rious witnesses testified to their expe-
riences in witchcraft, and only one said
that lie had never had friend or relative
who was bewitched.
In divers villages in Pennsylvania,
some of theW in the Dunkard settle
ments, are women who are supposed to
not to apply their arts for strangers but
to those whom they know, as stated in
newspaper article some years ago. they
will sell charms to ward off lightning
from buildings, dry up the wells of the
enemies Of applicants, force cows to give
bloody milk, cause sickness in the family
destroy beauty, separate man and wife
and reunite estranged lovers.
In the interior parts of the Southern
States, where large proportion of the
white population can not read, and there
is little admixture of society, there ar.
switch doctors. who, assuming that all
disease is caused by witches, secure
thriving practice in counteracting their
influence. The Philadelphia Times, on
the authority of reputable correspond
ent, who gives many facts to sustain his
representations, says: "For generations
the poor whites have believed in witches,
and the belief is deep and incur.
able"
The African population brought this
belief from the Dark Continent, and it
exists among them to this day, though
the progress of religion and education 10
doing something to check it.
| have recently noted in various parts
of the United States more than fifty suits
they claimed had bewitched them, but
under existing laws the accused could
not be prosecuted except where money
had been obtained under false pretenses,
or overt acts of crime had been sug-
gested or committed.
During pedestrian tours in New Eng
land, in various parts of the West and
in every Southern State have frequently
stayed for the night at the houses of poor
farmers, laborers, fishermen and trap.
pers. In such journeys have invariably
listened to the tales of the neighbolhood,
stimulating them by suggestion, and
have found the belief in witchcraft crop
ping out in the oldest towns, in New
England, sometimes within the very
shadow of the buildings where a learned
ministry has existed from the settlement
of the country and public schools have
furnished means of education to all
classes. The hor5eshoes found in nearly
every county, and often in every town
ship, upon the houses of persons, sug-
gested the old horseshoe beneath which
Lord Nelson, who had long kept it nailed
to the mast of the Victory, received his
death wound at Trafalgar.