Newport weekly independent., 1902-12-19

as peach-soft brown eyes, dimples, budding lips, and all that. l was out hunting one day and spied pretty young fawn with horns that looked like gold. 1 shot at it and shot at it and shot at it, and each time it would leap away and then look at me as though laughing. l knew it was a witch, so 1 went home and molded a silver bullet (out of a silver dollar l took from mothers wallet), the only kind of a bullet that will kill witch. When l returned the fawn was gone. That evening l went to spark the little girl with the brown eyes; what do you think? Another fellow was there, and she handed me the mitten proper. 1 put two and two together; she was the fawn l made the silver bullet for.
 Well, l kept studying the witches and finding out more about them until was sure anyone could be witch and do the things they did if he only had witch wisdom. One day mother came home from visiting a widow woman who was a neighbor, and said that the widow had vowed her poor husband came to his death by pneumonia brought on by cold caused by expo sure while being ridden by witches. According to the widow the witches rode him about every other night, sometimes leaving him in the doorway where she would find him in the morn- ing, almost unconscious, and some times in the stable with the horses. She declared that every time her hus- band went out at night they caught him and rode him about over the coun- try. One cold, snowy morning she found him in the wagon shed all but frozen solid, and he was witches mount, in the flesh, at least, no more. He had bottle in his pocket which had contained rock candy and whisky, but it was supposed that the cruel witches deprived him of it's warming powers.
 That tale made a terrible impress sion on me, and 1 resolved to be pres ent at a witches conclave that very night. l had learned that before go- ing out for a time of it the witches
 
 place to recite their incantationS. I had long suspected that our smoke house was one of those meeting places, and that evening after dinner l got away from the other boys and stole quietly into it and secreted my self behind a hogshead I waited aud waited, and was just falling fast asleep, when 1 heard some one say:
 'What'll it be to-night?'
 IA ride! A ride!' was the weird answer from several voices. I peeped out and saw 13 witches stand ing around the big kettle of lye in the middle of the floor. each holding a candle in his or her hand. They were so disguised with black veils couldn't tell if l knew any of them, but there was one just the size of the brown-eyed girl, and I'm sure it was she. l could tell they were women, because their hair was loose and hanging down their backs.
 "'A ride it shall bel exclaimed the leader. This shall be the rigmarole for tonight. Each witch shall first touch the nose on the right side with the foretinger of the right hand; then stick the finger in the I've up to the first joint; draw it out and make a circle with it three times say ing: "Around and around and around and out l go!" Blow out the candle by sneezing. and then you will arise and pass out the tlue hole and alight on some object to ride. l go first!'
 "The leader went through the rig marble, sneezed out the candle, and shot up through the fue hole. One after the other went out-th way un- til all were gone and the smokehouse was left in darkness. l jumped from my hiding place and struck a match; they had taken the candles with them. l wanted to try the rigmarole, so l began striking matches and look ing for candle. I found piece of one on the salt barrel, lit it, ana took my place by the kettle of lye.
 "l touched the right side of my nose with the foretinger of my right hand, and stuck the finger into the I've up to the first joint, drew it out, and described circle, repeating the words of the rigmarole: Around and around and around and out I go! Before 1 could wink I sneezed, the candle went out, and l felt myself rise.
 ''l passed out the flue hole anI alighted astride one of my daddy's yearling calves. It jumped up with a bawl and away we went across the meadow after the other witches. Up the hill we went, and down the hill we went by the dark woods to the creek. At that place the creek was fully 40 yards wide, but the mounts of the witches cleared it easily. Some of the witches were on horses and mules, some on cows and calves. and others on hogs. When exercising the witches incantation you must not even whisper sacred name; if you I