The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-06-01

A DARK. deep hollow ran be-
~ tween low hills where the
hemlocks. pines and spruce
trees crowded so thickly that
they made it darker than ever and gave
1t a gloomy and mysterious aspect at
All times. Few birds seemed to haunt
Its depths except crows, who cawed
there from morning until night inces-
sanity.
A narrow road, that was little more
than a footpath. threaded through the
TAN grass under the dark trees, and it
led to a small house in the very lowest
part of the hollow. This little dark val
ley was called Witches Hollow" more
Than a century ago, when everybody
believed i'm witches. Nowadays hardly
anyone, except the most ignorant, be-
heves in them at all, and when you say
witch to even a little boy or girl she
viii laugh, for she knows at once that
It's going to be a fairy tale.
Goodness gracious, it's getting 50 now
that children won't believe in fairies,
nor dragons. nor mermaids. nor any
thing that little children used to be
frightened 70 death to hear about, and
If YOU should point a witch out to a
little girl it's quite likely that she
would walk right up to her and ask her
60 please turn some bad boy that she
knew into a Maltese cat, just to show
her how IT was done.
Still we have TO have witches and
such things for stories. for we children
don't want to hear about falling in love
and getting married or fighting and all
that sort Of thing that gr0wn-ups read
about. So. when / tell you that the
witch Huldah Limewater lived in the
little house in the deep valley, you will
be ready for a regular witch story.
Huldah LimewateT was a real WITCH
one of the kind that had a big, black
cat with eyes of fire, and whose house
was just filled with dried snake skins;
mysterious herbs. dried and hanging
from the ceiling. with which she
brewed awful magic spells to make
COWS get sick. children have the hives.
chickens the pip horses the heaves,
babies have wind on the stomach at
midnight. so that their fathers would
have TO get up on awful cold nights and
hunt around for the paregoric and stub
their toes against the sharp points of
the rocking chair; and other evils. such
as everybody knows witches are always
doing
She made nasty tasting messes to
bring back lost love. she sold spells TO
turn the wind 60 keep potatoes from
sprOutug. milk from sOuring. to make
bread rise quickly. besides others more
mysterious and dreadful about which
the people were almost afraid to talk
except I'm whispers after the children
We're I'm bed and sound asleep. She was
tall thin woman. very old. older than
any of the old gfannies about there,
ffa,ra hon Har.
were little-and she was just the same
then. She wore a big black sunbOnnet
the only biack sunbonnet ever seen
there. and away back I'm the depths of
its shade her eyes cleaned like tive
Goals Of fire when she looked at the
Youngsters. who called "Old Witch
Limewater, Old Witch Limewater.'
at her as she passed through the VIII
lage street They always ran away
very quickly afterward for they were
all dreadfully afraid Of her. They
thought she'd turn them into some
thing mighty suddenly if she could
catch them
Jasper Goes to Witch's Aid
wen. after a time somebody noticed
that she had not been seen in the vii
laee for several weeks. and everybody
began Co think that she had died. No
body dared to so TO her house to finC
out but they all talked about her unit
it came 90 the ears Of old Granny
Whitemark. and she told her LITTLE
grandson. Jasper Smitch, about il.
No. Jasper Smitch. although he LIVED
in the village. was not like other boys
He didn't play with the other children
nor tn fact. did he Dlav much anyhow
for ne had determined to become presi
81. nd ~
his time reading and studying arithme
tie. astr0l0gy, navigation, law physics
geography. glyptics. telepathy. archi
lecture. frescoing. brewing, finance
tanning. geometry. painting and Pho
tosraphy landscape gardening, hors'
breaking and oratOry. FOR all these ar
things that a president or any rule
has 10 know. besides lot more. whicl
IS the real reason 4 didn't want 10 b
president. for ] didn't want 20 have m.
head added and my brain curdled viii
such mess OF knowledge
He listened patiently to what hi
grandma had 10 say about the Witcl
Limewater's supposed death, laying
aside his book of social science unit
she had finished. Then he said.
7 think the good people OF the vi
iage. while they are the best-meaninl
folks In the world. are set of Ol
mommycoddles. The poor wOmai
whom they think is a witch is probabf
ill and has no one TO help her at al
Why do YOU not take her some OF you
nice broth and some pound cake an
pickles. as well as some of your won
derful spruce beerF'
Mercy on us" cried Mrs White
mark. as she dropped the sock she wa
darning. Il wouldn't 90 near her 70
the United States mint she'd surel
uui spell on me-
Nonsense said Jasper. Il viii e
to her e you win find me a basket Wit
provisions, and iii stay there and hel