Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-09-12
euPERSTlTiONS IN THE
CUMBERLAND MOUNTAINS

The mountaineer is great believ.
o. in signs and portents. Personally,
] confess never happened to meet
any one who claimed to be witch
or wizard, though | knew several
who were said to possess charms OF
one sort or another. There was still!
living not long ago. in one locality
which visited, an old woman who as
serted that she could cure almost any.
thing, including cancer. She said that
IN order to work a cure. however, she
must first know the full name Of the
person, together with the mater" OF
tho trouble, and that then she had TO
go out and look at green apple tree,
saying a few words of ceremony"
These were her secret She could
not reveal 1t to another woman with
out losing her power. For woman
could tell it only to three men, and a
man to three women. She herself had
been taught the charm many years
before by an old man who, In turn.
may have received II from another
woman, or from the devil himself.
For there are those in the mountains
who are supposed to have sold their
souls quite in accordance with the
best Faustian traditions.
In the Cumberlands there has new
er been felt any of that odium thee,
logicum toward witches found else
where In modern times. They have,
II Is true, been feared and, If we are
to credit the tales current in the coun-
try, individual witches have when
taken. been subjected to cruel punish
ments--even put to death But there
has never so far as I have heard,
been any systematic persecution Of
those suspected of diaholical practices
and this accords with the simpler
and more natural sentiment on tho
subject in primitive Catholic, rather
than Protestant, countries, where
there are always adequate means with
which to combat this particular spr
itual evil
There are, Of course. no priests in
the Cumberlands to make the sign
of the cross, sprinEling a little holy
water on the infected place or on the
person suspected Of suffering from 4
malefice. But there are almost as
many witch doctors as there are
witches, and their charms make it
very dangerous for the latter to al.
tempt anything serious against human
life. Besides, witches are always La.
BILE to painful accidents in the pur.
suit of their unhalIowed profession.
Many years ago a mans wife, who
was a witch, went one night to attend
a meeting Of the witches In the guiso
OF black cat she came holle to
where her husband was sitting by the
flreslde and threw her paws upon his
knees. Not especially In love with
the salutation Of this strange visitor.
he chopped one Of her paws off. and
Immediately the hand OF a woman lay
upon bis knee The next morning his
wife complained Of sickness, and was
not disposed to get out Of bed, Tho
husband was suspicious and askel
her to reach out her right arm She
did so and the hand was missing
have also heard another story OF
the same sort, concerning q woman
who every night turned young man
into a horse, and rode him 80 hare,
that the following morning he was
exhausted A stranger who happen.
ed TO be staying in the house where
this occurred observed the young man
wasting from day TO day, and sus.
pected the woman of sorcery. So he
lay awake one night and saw her
come to her victims bedside, shake
a bride over him. and say three
times, "Up devil, put on bridle'
Then. as be changed shape, she leap
ed Oh. his back and dashed thror=s
-