Witchcraft is sometimes practised by the people to produce butter in
the churn, the most efficacious being to stir the milk round with the
hand of a dead man, newly taken from the churchyard; but whoever is
suspected of this practice is looked upon with great horror and dread
by the neighbours.
A woman of the mainland got married to a fine young fellow of one of
the islands. She was a tall, dark woman who seldom spoke, and kept
herself very close and reserved from every one. But she minded her
business; for she had always more butter to bring to market than any
one else, and could therefore undersell the other farmers’ wives. Then
strange rumours got about concerning her, and the people began to
whisper among themselves that something was wrong, and that there was
witchcraft in it, especially as it was known that whenever she churned
she went into an inner room off the kitchen, shut the door close, and
would allow no one to enter. So they determined to watch and find out
the secret, and one day a girl from the neighbourhood, when the woman
was out, got in through a window and hid herself under the bed, waiting
there patiently till the churning began.
At last in came the woman, and having carefully closed the door began
her work with the milk, churning in the usual way without any strange
doings that might seem to have magic in them. But presently she
stopped, and going over to a box unlocked it, and from this receptacle,
to the girl’s horror, she drew forth the hand of a dead man, with which
she stirred the milk round and round several times, going down on her
knees and muttering an incantation all the while.
Seven times she stirred the milk with the dead hand, and seven times
she went round the churn on her knees muttering some strange charm.
After this she rose up and began to gather the butter from the churn
with the dead hand, filling a pail with as much butter as the milk of
ten cows. When the pail was quite full she dipped the dead hand three
times in the milk, then dried it and put it back again in the box.
The girl, as soon as she could get away unperceived, fled in horror
from the room, and spread the news amongst the people. At once a crowd
gathered round the house with angry cries and threats to break open the
door to search for the dead hand.
At last the woman appeared calm and cold as usual, and told them they
were taking a deal of trouble about nothing, for there was no dead hand
in the house. However, the people rushed in and searched, but all they
saw was a huge fire on the hearth, though the smell of burning flesh
was distinctly perceptible, and by this they knew that she had burnt
the dead hand. Yet this did not save her from the vengeance of the
neighbours. She was shunned by every one; no one would eat with her, or
drink with her, or talk to her, and after a while she and her husband
quitted the island and were never more heard of.
However, after she left and the butter was brought to the market, all
the people had their fair and equal rights again, of which the wicked
witchcraft of the woman had defrauded them for so long, and there was
great rejoicing in the island over the fall and punishment of the
wicked witch of the dead hand.