The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1910-02-17
DEAD CHILDREN
WERE BEW|TCHED
Garls Of Reading Say Seventeen
Have Died of an Evil
Spell
POW vows SAVED THREE
Charms, Potons, Drove Out Evil In
fluencc-Those Who Perished Lost
Witchcraft in America.

Reading, Pa, Feb. 17.-Seventeen
of their twenty children died because
they we're bewtched; an evil spell
was put on them; they wasted away;
the dwindling flame of their lives was
snuffed by some weird breath.
so decided Mr.. and Mrs. Frederick
Carl Of this city today; the seven
teenth child they have lost a daughter
Of twenty-eight years old, died last
week.
The parents declaration is another
proof that ancient superstitions sur
vive in this county, Berks, and coun-
ties surrounding. where colonies were
planted long ago whose members have
been slow to forget the mysterious
folk tales of their Old Country ances.
tors.
Mr.. and Mrs. Carl employed witch
doctors" "pow-wow DOCTORS" but their
charms, incantations and potions did
not save the Carl chldren's lives. Ply
sicians of established schools say
some of the Garls died of marasmus,
which is loss Of health, flesh and
'iAailis, tausCu OiltutSl Ny
Others OF the children died Of tuber-
,culosis, say the regular doctors.
Mr.. and Mrs. Carl deny this.
Both OF us are perfectly healthy;
neither has been i'll for day." is their
argument. "Our children were born
perfectly healthy. They were be-
witched, that's all. The witch took
their rest; would not let them sleep.
and so made them waste away"
when one of the children was TAX
en- Ill called in regular doctor who
said the child would not live over
night" said Mr. Carl. "a neighbor
suggested that ! engage a 'pow-wow
doctor who has the reputation of cur.
ing people whose rest have been TAX
en-. | did so. The pow-wow doctor
said the child had been bewitched by
woman. but he did not tell who the
woman was. The doctor put some.
thing in bag, hung the bag around
the childs neck and gave him two
kinds of medicine. From the moment
child 1t improved, and Is one of the
tnree le1t 10 us.
Another daughter fell ill.," Mr.
Carl continued. "One old man heard
me telling neighbor about losing so
many children. The old man said he
could cure the sick girl and | asked
him to try. He brought a piece of
muslin, needle and thread. pen and
red ink and the fifth book of Moses,
Deuteronomy. After examining the
child he said its rest had been taken
by witch woman. He powwowed and
copied verse on slip of paper, writ.
ing it in red ink. He put the paper
in little muslin bag and hung it at
the head OF the cradle. The verse
said:
An lncantation.
"'Trotter head. forbid thee my
house and premises. ! forbid thee my
horse and COW stable. / forbid thee
my bedstead, that thou mayest not
breathe upon me. Breathe in some
other house until thou hast counted
every fence post and until thou hast
crossed every water, and thus dear
day may come again in the name of
God, the Father the Son and the
Holy Ghost. Amen
THE little girl got WELL" concluded
Mr.. Carl.
When DR.. r. K. Strasser was Coro-
ner recently he made a crusade
against the "powwow" doctors, but
they are still doing active business in
Berks County. and will probably con-
tinue to do so until more drastic ac-
ton Is taken to put them out OF busl-
ness.