The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-26
THE WITCH VILLAGE.


THE WITCH VILLAGE.
A Name That Keeps the Memory of Three
Old Women Fresh in Pennsylvania.
A snecia1 CORRESPONDENCE If thu Now
York Sun from Hexepshded'l Pa saws.
Possibly this is the only settlemant in
the United states that has for its name
witch vilIsge - for that is tI7,. meantime
of the Pennsylvania German word Hey.
enshded1 The village is a century old
and the nractices which gave IL lis Mann
are nearly as old.a,A man % wars Of
age. a former resident of the paighhor
| hood. gave this version of the origin of
the name:
1T must have been rs wears ago" he
said, when we Young men heard of a
| politician who came down from T cha
non to consult a woman on the noun
tain side as to whether he was going 70
be elected The old woman fold her
visitor that he would win, but would die
before he was in office three months.
and as true as 7 live 1t came to mass
GHOST nponle are too younp to 20
member that. That old woman was then
20 wears of age She wandered all over
South Mountain, She had dead cheek
| That is to saw sh;, had a mari, that was
said to be the print of a witch below
her left eve, Wherever a witch touches
the flesh dies She said she received her
mark on the night she became a witch
and ever thereaf ter she. too. had the
| mower of uniting a blight unon living
flesh wherever she touched it. She nad
two female friends middle aged IT is
safe to saw thew had never read or
even heard of S,hakespeare. bur when
together on the hill in the moonlight
with their canes and hoods. .h.av resem-
bled for all the world the three witches
in Macbeth THESE women knew rho
| bible from end to end. that !, 10 saw
| everything in the Old and Nav rests
ment that in any Way related TO the
black art, People were afraid Of her
and her companions. They were eIad
enough TO LET them alone inst so thev'd
be let alone and not hayp A smell MIA ced
upon them, Why, I well remember a
spell placed on a girl for q months All
| that time she could not oct o,,t If n
chair Finally the father of the girl
came down from the mountain one day
and met one of the witches at a sprinr,
He determined to face her. SHE was
dipping water into washboiler and
he volunteered to carry the boiler down
the hill to her hut whfch has long since
crumbled into ruins. She accepted his
offer When they reached her door she
laughed in an unearthly manner, made
a couple of signs by swinging her arms
and exclaimed, She's we'll again When
the man cached home his daughter and
the whole family we're singing a hymn
for the girl was well and strong as u.s.
ual. That was onlv one of the very
MANY stories told in olden times. I,
the windows in the hamlet ratified al
night when there was no wind. the peo.
pie believed the witches were abroa Il
If one farmers corn disanneared from
his crib and was found scattered owe,
the fields of a neighbor, it was the work
of the witches. | can well remember
when a farmer made affidavit that halt
his well-filled haymow had been spir.
tied away at night. and the farmer who
discovered il in his wagon shed the
next day was kind enough to haul II
back where it belonged. No, il was no
stolen depend on that NV own grand.
mother declared to me that her bake
oven was so bewitched at one time that
no fire would burn in it. She sent wore
to one of the witches on the hillside
that if the smell was not removed the
hays would have to quit the neighbor-
hood. That night the family heard ar
unearthlv veil. Looking out of the
window on the moonlit snow scene they
could see nothing human or devil. The
next bake day that oven was all right
"Mysterious tanning of farm bells a,
midnight was common. NV grand
ather took me along on the wagon once
and we met one Of the old women or
the level of the hill now known as tn,
Texas farm. NV grandfather snol,p u
her as we drove mast. what were yo,
doing with orr hell last night D h,
asked. The old woman laughed as if sh,
understood il all and answered Il wa,
out for a frolic.' SHE pretended eh,
could send ber shirt from her bodv
that it would take the shane of a hat q
something ana go saddang ABOUT a
sa7,.n 20 I'll NJ uons q.
$500. 70 - piaiin7' HA. iiiu, iiiis Ia!
SioiioIotuei sent iel d Siiidl od6 u