The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-04
wITCHCRAFT IN EARLY DAYS.
John Fiske, the Historian, Talks of
the Widespread DeIusion.

From the Boston Herald.
The Lexington (Mass) Historical Society
observed forefathers' day with a public
meeting, held in the Hancock Congrega-
tional Church The special feature was
an address by John FislSe of Cambridge,
on THE Salem Wltchcraft," who spoke
as follows:
THE sixteenth and seventeenth centu-
ries were the fiourishing days of the
witchcraft delusion WHchcraft in The
early ages was considered one of the
greatest of crimes as much SO as muir
der, robbery. or any other serious Of
Tense against the law, and the belief in
ID was shared by the whole human race
until the latter part of the seventeenth
century.
I'm England in 1861 two women We're
tried before SIR Matthew Hale. charged
with bewitching several girls and baby,
and they were put 90 death, for al that
time the evidence seemed perfectly ra-
tional. In 1915. in Genoa, 500 people were
burned TO death on the charge of witch
craft. Il was the proud boast OF noted
executioner in Northern Italy at that time
that in fifteen years he had assisted in
burning 800 persons charged with sorcery
In Scotland. between 1860 and 1900 S,OJO
persons were put 90 deaf tn. an average OF
200 a year. The last execution for witch
craft in England took place In l7l2, IN
Scotland i'm 1722, in Germany in l749, ana
in Spain in 1871.
"On the whole, ID Is remarkable that so
few were sentenced 10 death during the
sixty years after the settlement of Bos-
ton there being but twelve In all. the
first case was that of Margaret Jones OF
Charlestown in 16lS This woman had
some advanced ideas in regard 20 the
practice of medicine, curing by herbs,
f4a.a1 IN
some of the doctors, She was accused oil
being In league with uhe devil and was
convicted and hanged. on the day OF hef
execution a terrific gale happened in Con-
necticut. blowing down trees and doing
other damage and this Gov. Winthrop
deemed evidence of her guilt.
"In 1916 Mrs. Ann Hutchinson was tried
before Gov. Endicott, found guilty, and
hanged on Boston Common. In the next
twenty or thirty years there were a num-
Der of cases tried, and, strange 10 say,
number of those charged with the CRIME
were acquitted. John Bradstreet OF BOW
ley was accused of intimacy with the
devil and sentenced TO pay fine or be
whipped.
"A noted case was that of a woman en-
ployed by the Goodwin family in 1888, IN
the fact that Cotton Mather took an ac-
tive interest in the case. The woman
confessed, thinking that cfemency woul1
be shown her, but she was nahBeu'
Prof Fiske gave a brief resume OF Ma
theirs life. and said that early historians
had not done him justice, and that MS
memory had been he'd up as that OF one
who. more than any other man, stlmu-
lated the delusion of witchcrat This
the speaker said was not so, and the hrss
man 10 do him justice was the poet Long
fellow, in 1868. and, later, Wlpliam treu-
eric poole. the latter giving a most accu-
rate view of the case.
The speaker then came to the Salem
cases. He said that in 1882 the circum-
stances favored AN outbreak of witch
craft. Everything in Massachusetts was
going wrong; it was believed that the
devil was in their midst, ana the reVeIses
I'm Indian wars and other Affections had
wrought the minds of the colonists up to
I a high pitch