The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1910-02-15
WITCHCRAF !?
Blame Deaths of Seventeen
on d Witch.
"HOODO0" DOCTOR CURES
Reading. Pa. Fsmily's Great Attic
ton Attributed 10 Black Art.
All Eut Three of 30 Chill
dren Waste Away.

Reading. Pa. Feb. 14-That seven
teen OF their twenty children died from
witchCrait Is the belief OF Mr. and
Mrs. Frederick Carl. Of 61S North
Thirteenth street this city They have
just buried the seventeenth child. a
daughter. Laura. The parents have
never been ia day. while the chill
dren wasted TO skeletons
The regular physicians who were
called said the children were afflicted
with a dis, So that wasted the flesh.
while several pow-wow" doctors de
clared the infants were stricken by
witchcraft and that the person who
took their resi-" was a woman. Some
Of the children scratched their mother
on the neck and face. screamed for
hours and manifested other graver
symptoms until they died.
One day a practicing physician said
one OF the children who was IN might
not live through the night At the sug
gestion of neighbor a hoodOo doctor
was called ~ having the reputation
of curing people from whom rest"
had been taken. He hung something in
a bag around ;hc child's neck and gave
II two kinds OF medicine saving the
child was htwitched by a woman. but
would give M name From that time
on the child began to recover and is
now well
Strange Old Man Cures Babe.
Mr.. Carl father 81 the children de
clares that he was speaking one day
TO an acquaintance about the illness Of
one Of his little girls and the loss OF 50
many chilar,n. when an Old man who
happened % hear the conversation said
he thought he could help the child.
and So he was invited 20 try
With q piece OF muslin. a needle and
a thread q pen and red ink and the
Seventh rook OF Moses IN one hand
he examined ihe child and said Its
rest" had been taken by a woman. He
pow-wowei and then copied from his
book tho following on a slip of paper
using his red ink and put the paper
in a little muslin bag and hung il at
the heal of fho cradle. and from tha;
time on the b 90 began 10 improve:
The Pow-WovN" Prayer.
The paper read as follows:
''Trotter head forbid thee my
house and PREMISES I forbid thee NV
horse AMI COW stable forbid thee
my bets'.si that thee mayest not
breathe uron me. Breathe In some
other house until thou hast counted
every fenre post and until thou hast
crossed o'r:y water and thus Dear
Day may come sEain into my house"
Mr. Gari said each persons who
POW vuvei" gave particular instruc
tons not io accept anthing from any
| person nCr give anything whatsoever
TO any one Tor nine DAYS. The woman
who IL WIS supposed bcwitched The
children. died seven years ago. and the
children who have died since were de
clsred 10 have consumption. The three
sur, n.ng children are In good health
They are. Katie. twenty-five years
old; LEROY l.. nine years old. and
Raymond six years old.
Record Of Seventeen cravea
FolloWisr is list Of the children
who died Emma. born 1878. aged {
months ard s DAYS: Lille. born 1879
aged 10 days Laura May. born 1882
aged 2S years. I month. ~ days. Ida
born 1858. ased 4 months: Clara. borr
1856. aged "A days: william born
1855. aged . months and % days: An
! uje, born 1859. aged DAYS: Mamie
- ! ss-SQAg -. ~ raSss'h and : davs:
al | born - 81 a,----;- ~ iffis-.a-> "a :
he Rosa. born ls92. aged ? months II
IS days: Jennie. born 1894. aged
q ( months and - DAYS. Harry born II
ed aged . months and 20 days: Florer
en- born 1897. az d months and % da
to Ralph. born 1898 aged DAYS; Fl
erick. born 1850. aged - years; Ma
nd born 1898. aged l6 years
he Mr. and Mrs. Carl have experien
he more afliction in the death Of child
he than any other parents in the hist
- | ~ Readiug