New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1929-01-15

Seek Aid for Children
Many mothers rush to pow WOW
doctors when their infant children
fall ill, and the stragic thing about
this is that they have such implicit
faith in the mystic fakirs that they
fail to call In reputable physicians
until the baby succumbs to neglect
ed treatment or ignorance In spite
OF the juggler OF words and secret
signs.
Four pow WOW doctors. two OF
each sex, lived in the same block
in Mount Carmel. Pa. where the
writer lived for q years. One OF
their most conscientious followers
was (name deleted) who refused ia
attend a motion picture show. being
SO superstitious she openly stated
that The devil Is in them or they
couldn't move"
Some of the old timers are dead.
A railroad man, a car inspector,
/ still practices his evil cult In that
section and many believers in the
| powers of the devil doctor" 60 to
/ him rather than a physician.
When Nellie Carpenter was but a
few days old an old woman entered
the home of her parents in Mahan-
oy City and borrowed some matches
from the family. From that day on
Nellie became hysterical at a certain
time each day, sending piercing
screams throughout the house. In
stead of changing Nellie's food or
having the family physicians exam
inc her for collie, neighbors said she
| was "bewitched" and witch doctor
was called in. The witch doctor
! told the parents that next day they
would see an old woman with a
white cloth on her head fighting
with some men in the street. This
woman. he said, was the one who
put the spell on Nellie. He pow
vowed for Nellie and she got bet
ter. Whether the old woman show
ed up, no one remembers. Whether
Nellie got her milk warm instead
of cold afterwards had nothing to
do with the cure, according to the
spirit medicine man.
Nellie's cousin Ethel also was be-
witched. She became hysterical
when nine years of age. and suffer
ed from Authorizations, saying a
man was holding her foot. Ethel's
folks journeyed 20 miles to Potts
vile where witch doctor had
them look into bucket of water
Here they saw the face Of an old
woman from Tamaqua. How they
knew she was from Tamaqua, has
never been explained. The old wo.
man from Tamaqua was assumed to
be the witch. But the pow WOW
mans medicine was stronger and
the witch was sent skiting across
the face OF the moon on her broom
stick, never again to bother Ethel.
Pig Sits on Her Chest
Sarah Duncht, also Of Mahanoy
City was bewitched. In her case the
witch took the form Of a pig and
when Sarah lay down on her bed
the pig. possessed of the spirits of
evil, like the swine in the Bible.
came and sat on her chest. Sarah's
parents knew nothing of asthmatic
troubles SO instead Of sending Sarah
to lung sanitarium they called in
a pow WOW doctor. He also describ.
cd the broomstick-riding old hag
who was the cause. of all the trou-
Bile and pow vowed the evil spirit
and the mythical pig into oblivion.
Whether this particular swine ran
until it came to the sea is not
known, but Mahanoy Creek. a black,
coal dirt tainted stream flows
through the town, and the = orker
from the internal realms" may have
returned to his Luciferian home by
way OF the creek.
Mrs. Crowley remembers that her
grandfather, who lived in Bucks
county on a farm was harried by
witches. Every night the old farm
er placed two crossed broomsticks
at the foot Of his stable door
Crossed broomsticks are an impass-
able barrier to witches. Had he
forgotten this for one night, he had
no doubt that all his cows would
have given bloody milk the next
day.
In addition to the belief in
witches and hex doctors, evil chas-
ers, etc, the patrons OF these old
hocus pocus, hood winking hoaxes
also embrace many of the popular
superstitions of minor nature. A
police chief faithfully carries in his
vest pocket the left hind foot of a
rabbit, which he believes protects
him from harm. That his natural
caution for remaining away from
dangerous places had anything tt
do with the protection he does not
believe. Almost everyone believes
that seven years bad luck will fol.
low the breaking Of mirror, tina,
3 is unlucky. Friday is unlucky and
a combination of both is almost
deadly. The breaking OF the wish.
bone Of a chicken. or the hanging
Of it unbroken over the mantel Ii
attended with all seriousness.
Night in Haunted House
Horseshoes are used in variou,
forms of decoration. The writer
once spent a night in supposed,
haunted house. where the parish
priest, much against his own better
Judgment, was prevailed upon t.
carve crosses over the doorway and
sprinkle holy water throughout the
house to drive away ghosts. Chill.
dren still believe a hair from a