The Philipsburg mail., 1899-08-18
DEVILS AND THE LIKE.
MEXICAN PEOPLE HAVE QUEER
BELIEFS.
A Woman Suspected of Witchcraft Put
to Death Near the Capital of Our
Sister Republic--Ghosts and Haunted
Houses Galore.

CuTlC us case Oh SupeTSlltlOIl OC-
CURED the other day on lonely ranch
In the state of Mexico. Senine Gebaro,
poor woman, wife of one of the la
borers on the ranch Of Suchi, was sus-
pected by her neighbors of being a
witch. She was accused of casting IA
spell over people and making them i'll,
and OF breaking up love affairs. The
talk grew in the cabins of the place,
and Indignation waxed high. 1t was
flnally decided that the witch must die,
and four men were selected 10 dispatch
her. They went to her in the advanced
hours OF the night put knife to her
husbands throat to stop his giving an
alarm, and dragged the witch woman
out into a lonely field cut off her
arms and stabbed her many times,
leaving her dead. All the assassins
have been caught ana will surely be
shot the state government being in
censed at this outbreak of barbaric
cruelty. But it is worth remarking
that this lynchng was not done in the
Hsht OF day, and no trains were run to
take the best citizens of a town with
church steeples to see the murder. In
the remoter parts of Mexico the poems
believe in witches as implicitly as did
our New England forbears, and as do
the negroes of the black belt of the
American union today. Among the
lower classes belief in the evil eye is
universal and many hold the belief
that witches exist and can upset ones
internal economy. have seen man
servant frighten household of wom
en- servants by pretending to a power
OF enchantment, threatening to con-
vert them into cats and dogs, or to
make them do strange things
Spiritua!ism is hourishng in the
City Of Mexico, even under the shadow
OF the church. and there are nightly
seances in that city, of which marvels
are related. Astrology is heard Of oc-
casionally, and palmistry is coming in
| should say that an accomplished
palmist. knowing Spanish. could make
a great deal of money in the Mexican
capital.
1t is curious custom there. even
among wealthy people, to leave their
old home when member of the fam
lily dies. Often homes of almost gen
Grafton are leased to strangers by peo-
pie who have lost father or mother
There exists a remarkable horror, al
mos childlike. of death. And yet in
the November feast days one sees
candy skulls and collins. tin funeral
oars. toy coftins of wood, and in
genlOus wooden skeletons, sold to all
the children from the great booths
hurriedly set up in the great plaza.
But, undeniably, death is regarded
with a sort OF blank horror by tAe
mass of people, although they meet it
braVely enough. A well known gem
tieman died in Mexico City the other
day at past 10 lie was not superst-
tiOus or inclined to any morbid fan
cies, but eight days before being taken
mortally i'll he told his friends as he
went from house to house that he was
going to die. He looked the picture
of health and was, despite his age,
most active; but he had so strong a
premonition OF his departure from this
life that he could not refrain from
bidding farewell to all his friends
This case has been much commented
on
People there often leave alleged
haunted houses and in one recent case
family who abandoned house they
had just rented and handsomely fur
niShed gave as an excuse that doors
were opened. things dragged about,