Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1895-01-02
GHOSTS AND WlTCHCRAFT.
Region in Now England Where Super
StitiOn Thrives.

a Region in Now England Where Super.
stitiOn Thrives.
This wild, wooded and rocky ribbed re-
g1on, less than days journey from Gen
eral Putnam historic wolf den, in North
eastern Connecticut, is full of superstition,
writes New York Times correspondent
from Gloucester, K. I. 1t els one of the
queerest OF localities. In the center of
Gloucester lies Ponagansett Lake. and all
about the shores of this lake are the dwell
lngs OF hale and hearty people, who make
this country, far from the busy haunts of
men, veritable wonderland of legend and
"Reminiscences. The old men delight in tell
Ing ghost stories, and the young people like
to listen. Gloucester lies in the crooked old
Indian trail which ran between Connecticut
and the Providence plantations.
For generations back the Gloucester
farmers have believed in wizardry. They
VIII do much OF their work only during the
full OF the moon Otherwise they would
expect to die or to have very bad luck.
Planting must not be done until the signs
OF the zodiac are propitious, and gardens
must never DC plowed on Fridays. Even q
tooth must not be pulled unless the stars
are right; if it is, it will come hard and
cause great suffering
Pork, If killed during the small of the
moon, will shrink to nothing in cooking, while
that butchered at the full of the moon will
continue white and firm. To insure luck in
the management of domestic animals the
sign OF the zodiac must be in the leg The
WlshDones OF all fowls are preserved on
sticks. Some families keep hundreds on
hand all the time. When the zodiacal sign
is in the head, then the Glouchester people
believe one can do the most at catching
n1R<RrPl A. 1. -
Hence the almanac hung by the kitchen
fireplace in all Gloucester houses is a thing
the settlers could not live without. Itg
study, If one would reap good harvests,
''catch" good claiming tides and avoid mis-
fortune, is imperative.
These people also believe that if YOU take
upa black snake and bite it your teeth win
never decay; that if the nails are parcd on
Friday toothache will be prevented, and
that child born in the heat of the day can
see lnto the future, and will be exempt from
influences OF witchcraft. 4 ship that has
such one on board they say will never
sink.
Perhaps the most curious belief still
haunting these "reminiscences of interior
Rhode Island is that relating TO the char
acter of the little fish in Ponagansett reser-
volr. This pond is the source of the Paw
tuxet river, which flows easterly into Mar.
ragansett bay, and years before the build.
ing OF the dam across the outlet of the lake,
herring from the salt sea used to swim up
the stream to the shoal waters of the lake
10 spawn. The old settlers who have lived
about the lake all their lives aver that the
sinners which now glisten In its crystal
waters are naught else but the degenerated
descendants of the herring race. and show
the same characteristics. One OF 1.-The Bowen
boys' at the lake frequently says that INV
father used to say there was no sinners be
fore any dams was built TO fence out the
herrin 81
A recent circular issued by the Treasury
department proposing to ship free Of charge
to persons desiring them niekels and non,
nies IN certain quantities or recent of the
face value mas suggested soI.s inquiries in
regard To the cost of these coins to tia
United States, and how it is that they can
afford to ship them at par value, paving ex-
press charges upon them. The result of
these inquiries has been the discovery that
the nickel costs at the Elint less than three
quarters OF a cept, while il is ps,t IA circuIa-
lion al value CT Gge cents.
Probably most persons are rot aware thai
n addition to the regular Alaer;can e.
mere IS an ofs,cial Eess nE tho President which
he alone is authorized to use end which
Is never displayed except IN his honor. Tia
Tag IS dark blue, with a white eacle with
outstretched wings and holding shield IN
its claws. Above this eagle AID between
tts tglrgs are seven white stars aDa beneath
It, taif on eseh siae, are SIX Esoro, tIsa tiiir-
teen being ezableEnaticsl OF the original
states THIS same design was the Official
nag OF PresI6sIt " ashington and it has not
Dee1 altered 70 the present time,