A considerable number of bewitched persons deposed that it was Martha
Carryer or her shape, that grievously tormented them by biting,
pricking, pinching, and choking them; the poor people were so
tortured, that every one expected their death upon the very spot, but
that on the binding of the prisoner they were eased. Moreover, the
looks of Carryer then laid the afflicted people for dead; and her
touch, if her eyes at the same time were off them, raised them again.
It was testified, that on the mention of some having their necks
twisted almost round by the shape of this Carryer, she replied, it's
no matter though their necks had been twisted quite off. B. Abbot
testified, that the prisoner was very angry with him upon laying out
some land near her husband's. She was heard to say she would hold
Abbot's nose as close to the grindstone as ever it was held since his
name was Abbot. Presently after this, he was taken with a swelling in
his foot, and then with a pain in his side, and exceedingly tormented.
It bred a sore which was lanced by Dr Prescott. For six weeks it
continued very bad, and then another sore bred, and finally a third,
all which put him to very great misery. He was brought to death's
door, and so remained till Carryer was taken and carried away by the
constable. From which very day he began to mend and so grew better
every day. Abbot was not only afflicted in his body but suffered
greatly in the loss of his cattle in a strange and unaccountable
manner. One A. Toothaker testified, that Richard, the son of M.
Carryer, having some difference with him, pulled him down by the hair
of his head; when he rose again he was going to strike at Richard, but
fell down flat on his back to the ground, and had not power to stir
hand or foot until he told Carryer he yielded, and then he saw the
shape of his mother, the prisoner, go off his breast. One Foster, who
had confessed herself a witch, testified, that she had seen the
prisoner at some of their witch meetings, and that the devil carried
them on a pole, but the pole broke and she hanging about Carryer's
neck, they both fell down and she received a hurt by the fall. Many
other evidences of her mischievous conduct were produced, which I
omit; the last was this. In the time of the prisoner's trial, one S.
Sheldon, in open court, had her hands unaccountably tied together with
a wheel band, so fast, that without cutting, it could not be loosened.
It was done, says Dr Mather, by a spectre, and the sufferer affirmed
it was the prisoner's.
* * * * *
There is something in the foregoing proceedings during the memorable
events at Salem, that seems to surpass all our conceptions of
impartial justice, christian charity, or humanity. It is humiliating
to our nature to reflect, that a class of the most profligate wretches
were brought together on the stage, and their base intrigues tolerated
and encouraged, fanciful experiments witnessed, and little else than
fictitious evidence of accusation received to condemnation; while all
pleadings for mercy, on the score of innocence, were of no avail. Not
a solitary instance is found on record of the voice of pity and
compassion being raised in behalf of the friendless, ignorant victims
of suspicion. They were subjected to barbarous tricks and senseless
experiments, calculated to encourage fraud and imposition, and then
consigned to the gallows for the consequences. Better that ten guilty
persons escape, than one innocent should suffer. Unfortunately, no
lawyers were at that time employed in criminal cases. Had our present
court and our state prison been then in existence, the good people of
Salem would not long have been molested by witches and bewitched
girls, with their invisible ropes and chains.
But while we contemplate the melancholy errors of judgment in our
predecessors, we ought in charity to cherish the belief that had not
their minds been clouded in superstitious darkness, their posterity
would not have been called to mourn over imbecilities so lamentably
exemplified. But we would attribute to our venerated fathers no moral
corruption, no perverseness of temper, no desire to swerve from the
dictates of stern justice. Their task was most arduous, their path of
duty obscured by novel occurrences, and their decisions unavoidably
swayed by popular clamor and vulgar prejudice. If, unhappily, their
intellects were tinctured with superstition, it was the effect of
early education, fostered and confirmed by concurrent sentiment and
opinion, propagated in books of the heathen and papist.
Much importance was attached by the magistrates to the effects of the
witches' eyes upon the sufferers; but no explanation is given why the
same eyes could produce no mischievous effects on any other person.
Great stress was laid on the circumstance, that in the trials the
sufferers were revived from their fits by the touch of the hand of the
reputed witch, but not by the hand of any other person; but instances
of the contrary can be adduced; the experiment was ordered to be made
in a court in England; the afflicted girl's eyes being blindfolded,
and she being touched by the hand of another woman, recovered as
speedily as if touched by the accused witch.
The Rev. Dr Increase Mather, then President of Harvard College, may
be considered as among the best authorities for the prevalent
doctrines on the subject of witchcraft. On the 19th of October, 1692,
he went to Salem and conferred with eight of the confessing witches,
all of whom freely and relentingly recanted their former confessions,
declaring that in making them they had violated the truth, being
compelled to it by pressing threats and urgings, by which they were so
affrighted as to agree to anything that would rescue them from their
awful situation. But they confessed with anguish of soul that they had
committed a great wickedness for which they implored forgiveness. In
his 'Cases of Conscience,' published in 1693, Dr Mather has particular
reference to the trials at Salem. In this work he observes, that 'the
gift of healing the sick and possessed, was a special grace and favor
of God for the confirmation of the truth of the gospel, but that such
a gift should be annexed to the touch of wicked witches, as an
infallible sign of their guilt is not easy to be believed.' If it be
as supposed, by virtue of some compact with the devil, that witches
have power to do such things, those who encourage them in the
practice, whether courts or individuals, must be guilty of sacrilege.
The accusers pretended to suffer much by bites, and the prints on the
skin would compare precisely with the set of teeth of the accused, but
those who had not such bewitched eyes, have seen the accusers bite
themselves and then complain of the accused. It was true, also, that
some who complained of being pricked by pins sticking in their flesh,
were their own tormentors, for the purpose of effecting their wicked
designs. The pins thus employed are still preserved at Salem. Dr
Mather, in the work just quoted, judiciously affirms, that the
evidence in the crime of witchcraft ought to be as clear as in any
other crimes of a capital nature. He is decidedly opposed to the
employment of spectral evidence as being alone sufficient to justify
conviction. But he considers a free and voluntary confession as a
sufficient ground of conviction; yet the reverend author himself cites
one remarkable instance of false confession for the avowed purpose of
effecting her own death in consequence of the cruel persecution which
she suffered from suspicion only, and she was burnt at the stake. In
most of the instances at Salem, the confessions proved false and
deceptive, those who made them being totally ignorant of the nature of
witchcraft. Our learned author further observes, that if two credible
persons shall affirm on oath that they have seen the person accused,
_doing things which none but such as have familiarity with the devil
ever did or can do, that is a sufficient ground of conviction_. It was
on this ground that he justified the condemnation and execution of
George Burroughs, the minister; it being testified before the court,
that he had been seen to lift a barrel of molasses or cider, and to
extend with one hand a heavy musket at arms' length. Nothing could be
more sophistical than evidence of this description, for there are
persons who can lift a solid body of six or seven hundred pounds, and
can extend a king's arm at arms' length, when held at the smallest end
with one hand, and no jury in our day would condemn such to the
gallows as wizards.
It is among the most unaccountable facts, that those who, to save
their lives, belied their consciences, and confessed themselves guilty
of having formed a league with the devil, and of committing horrid
crimes, should be spared and suffered to live in society, while
others, relying on their innocence, honestly despised those tempting
conditions, should be consigned to the gallows. In fact, false
confessions, fraud, and counterfeit, were so palpable, that the halter
might with more justice have been applied to the accusers than to
those who actually suffered.
But such, at that time, was the state of the public mind, that the
more extravagant the tale, the more implicitly was it regarded. The
hostility to witchcraft was so prevalent as to give a general bias
unfriendly to the fair development of truth, or to the impartial
examination of facts and circumstances. The unhappy victims were
without defence, and their total ignorance subjected them to the most
cruel treatment and sufferings. In one instance on record, there
appears to us to be a profanation of the Lord's Prayer. The woman
being required to repeat it before the court, instead of 'deliver us
from evil,' expressed it 'deliver us from _all_ evil;' this was
considered as referring to her own condition, and she was ordered to
repeat it again. On the second trial, instead of 'hallowed be thy
name,' she expressed '_hollowed_ be thy name.' Thus by her using the
_o_, in place of _a_, it was concluded that she could not say the
Lord's Prayer, and she was committed to jail as a witch.
In Dr Mather's 'Magnalia,' we have the following instance of
witchcraft.
In the year 1679, the house of William Morse, at Newbury, was infested
with demons. 'Bricks, and sticks, and stones, were often by some
invisible hand, thrown at the house, and so were many pieces of wood;
a cat was thrown at the woman of the house, and a long staff was
danced up and down in the chimney, and afterwards the same long staff
was hanged by a line, and swung to and fro, and when two persons laid
it on the fire to burn, it was as much as they were able to do with
their joint strength to hold it there. An iron crook was violently, by
an invisible hand, hurled about, and a chair flew about the room until
at last it lit upon the table, where the food stood ready to be eaten,
and would have spoiled all, if the people had not with much ado saved
a little. A chest, was by an invisible hand, carried from one place to
another, and the doors barricaded; and the keys of the family taken
some of them from the bunch where they were tied, and the rest flying
about with a loud noise. For a while the people of the house could not
sup quietly; ashes would be thrown into their suppers and on their
heads. The man's shoes being left below, one of them would be filled
with ashes and coals and thrown up after him. When in bed a stone,
weighing about three pounds, was divers times thrown upon them. A box
and a board were likewise thrown upon them, and a bag of hops being
taken out of a chest, they were by the invisible hand, beaten
therewith, till some of the hops were scattered on the floor, where
the bag was then laid and left. The man was often struck by that hand,
with several instruments, and the same hand cast their good things
into the fire; yea, while the man was at prayer, a broom gave him a
blow on his head behind and fell down before his face. While the man
was writing, his ink-stand was by the invisible hand snatched from
him, and being able nowhere to find it, he saw it at length drop out
of the air down by the fire. A shoe was laid on his shoulder, and when
he would have catched it, it was snatched from him and was then
clapped on his head, and there held so fast, that the unseen fury
pulled him with it backward on the floor. He had his cap torn off his
head, and in the night he was pulled by the hair and pinched, and
scratched; and the invisible hand pricked him with some of his awls,
and with needles, and bodkins, and blows that fetched blood were
sometimes given him. His wife going down into the cellar, the trap
door was immediately by an invisible hand shut upon her, and a table
brought and laid upon the door. When he was writing another time, a
dish went and leaped into a pail and cast water upon the man and
spoiled what he was about. His cap jumped off his head and on again,
and the pot lid went off the pot into the kettle, then over the fire
together. A little boy belonging to the family was a principal
sufferer, for he was flung about at such a rate, that it was feared
his brains would be beaten out. His bed-clothes would be pulled from
him, his bed shaken, leaping forward and backward. The man took him to
hold in a chair, but the chair fell a dancing, and both of them were
very near being thrown into the fire. These, and a thousand such
vexations, befalling the boy at home, they carried him to live at a
doctor's. There he was quiet, but returning home he suddenly cried out
he was pricked on the back, where was found strangely sticking a three
tined fork belonging to the doctor, and had been seen at his house
after the boy's departure. Afterwards his troublers found him out at
the doctor's also, when crying out again he was pinched on the back,
they found an iron spindle stuck into him; and on the like outcry
again, they found pins in a paper stuck into him, and a long iron, a
bowl of a spoon stuck upon him. He was taken out of his bed and thrown
under it, and all the knives in the house were one after another stuck
into his back; which the spectators pulled out, only one of them
seemed to the spectators to come out of his mouth. The spectre would
make all his meat, when he was going to eat, fly out of his mouth, and
instead thereof make him fall to eating ashes, sticks, and yarn.'
The foregoing has all the air of an exaggerated narrative, and it is
probable that Dr Mather, in his love for the marvellous and wonderful,
recorded the circumstances without due examination, but merely from
the uncertain rumor among the credulous neighbors. The same story is
found on the records of the court at Salem, but with the following
explanatory circumstances as I have received them. It so happened,
that one Caleb Powell, an intelligent seaman, suspected that a boy,
the grandson of Morse, who lived in the family, was the cause of all
the mischief, and watched for an opportunity of detecting him. Going
one morning to Morse's house, he saw through the window, the said boy
throw a shoe slyly at the old man's head. Upon this, Powell told Morse
that if he would let his boy come and live with him a short time, he
_guessed_ that with a little astrology and a little astronomy, he
could unravel the mystery. Morse reluctantly consented, and his house
was not molested during the boy's absence. This, Morse acknowledged,
but yet, unwilling to suspect the boy, he and his neighbors concluded
that Powell had studied the black art, and had by that means been the
cause of all the mischief about Morse's house. Powell was accordingly
apprehended and tried at Salem. The testimony against him was
singular. One testified, that he had heard him say that by a little
astrology and a little astronomy, he guessed he could find out the
cause of Morse's trouble. Another testified, that he heard it said
that Powell had studied the black art with one Norwood, a famous
magician beyond sea. The result of the trial was, that although they
could find no positive evidence of his guilt, yet he had given so much
ground for suspicion, that he deserved to bear his own shame and the
costs of court. Morse's wife was at another time tried for witchcraft,
and condemned to be hung, but was afterwards reprieved, and died a
pious woman.
The following is an amusing story, well told, but it is from newspaper
authority, the Galaxy. About the year 1760, the fury of the
inhabitants of New England had declined towards suspected old women,
but their believing fear was not altogether quelled. At this time, a
case of witchcraft occurred in Billerica, under the ministry of the
Rev. Dr Cummings, who related the story with much satisfaction, as the
last which came within his precincts.
An old woman, of very peaceable character, lived pretty much alone in
a shell of a house near the meeting-house and the clergyman's
dwelling. She was suspected of witchcraft by a family who lived at two
miles' distance, in the west part of the town, and they brought
accusation immediately to the parson; who in those early times,
exercised not only the spiritual, but the temporal power of the
parish; he was often counsel for both parties, and was judge and jury,
without subjection to appeal. He was, moreover, a peace-maker. Mr C.
accused Mrs D. of witchcraft. 'How do you know she is a witch?'
'Because she has bewitched my mare.' 'How do you know that your mare
is bewitched?' 'Because she won't stand still to be saddled, and the
minute I get on, she kicks up and throws me off.' 'But what makes you
think that Mrs D. has bewitched her?' No answer. 'Have you had a
quarrel with her?' 'Oh no! I have had no quarrel.' 'But what is the
matter? surely she would not bewitch her for nothing.' 'Why I carried
her some corn on the mare about a week ago, and I didn't know but I
might have made a mistake in the measure so that it fell short, and
so'--'And because your corn fell short, you suspect that she found it
out, and is so angry as to bewitch your mare.' 'Yes, that's it, and I
want you to go and lay the devil.' 'Why, if you have raised the devil
by cheating in the corn, you had better lay him yourself.' 'Yes, but I
don't know how.' 'Go then, directly, and carry the balance of the
corn, and take good care never to commit such an act again: the devil
is always busy with people who do not perform all their duties
honestly.' The man slunk away home at this unexpected rebuke, and
failed not to carry corn enough to make full measure; which, however,
he feared to carry into the house to the old woman, but emptied it
down upon the door-stone. But the mare ceased to kick as usual;
whereupon Mr C. came to the minister, told him what he had done, and
begged for holy assistance. 'Go home,' said the parson, with all that
energy for which he was so remarkable, 'go home,--you need not trouble
yourself about witches; I'll not allow them to do any mischief, I
assure you--do your duty, so as to escape a guilty conscience, and if
your mare is refractory, whip her, as I do mine--go, and let me hear
no more about witches.' Mr C. obeyed, but he was far from convinced
that Mrs D. was not a witch, and he determined to put it to the
proof. For this purpose he boiled a large potato, which he put
directly from the boiling water, under the bewitched mare's saddle.
The caperings and kickings of the poor beast were excusable this time,
at least, for when after some hours the saddle was got off, it was
found that a severe mark was left behind it. The proof of the matter
was to be this; if the old woman had bewitched the mare, she would
have the same mark of a burn on her back. Two old women were prevailed
on to be of the examining committee. Dr Cummings was requested to be
of the party, with his Bible at hand, to prevent any fatal explosion
from Satan's nostrils. This office he prudently declined. His place
was supplied by another old woman, and Saturday night was appointed
for this examination. This time was chosen, because the good people
thought that Satan would not visit in holy hours. In the meantime, the
good woman got an inkling of what was going on; and as they entered a
long dark entry, they were saluted with a stupendous flash of powder
and tow, and a glorious clatter of tin pans. The committee was
scattered of course--and before church the next day, everybody in the
town knew, that the devil came, all covered with blue brimstone, to
save his disciple, the wicked Mrs D. This would have made a new era in
witchcraft in the town, but for the pertinent remarks of the parson
touching the matter; for he was enabled to dispense a word in season.
It is but a few years since, a farmer at Kennebunk, observing his
cattle to be affected with some fatal disease, conceived the idea that
they were bewitched, and fixed his suspicion on a poor widow who had
become insane in consequence of the death of her husband at sea. He
was so confident of her guilt, that he went to her lonely cottage, and
with his ox goad, beat and abused her in a cruel manner. It is not
under our salutary laws that a crime so atrocious can pass with
impunity. The culprit was prosecuted and received the merited
punishment.
The family of M'Farlain, of Pembroke, were remarkable for peculiarity
of character and manners. About the year 1789, Seth M'Farlain
attracted the notice of the neighborhood by being supposed to be under
the influence of witchcraft. He became an object of wonder and
commiseration to some, and of curiosity and ridicule to others.
Hundreds of people thronged round his house from time to time, gazing
with astonishment at his supposed personal sufferings; inflicted, as
he pretended, by a certain old hag in the neighborhood. He was desired
to visit the woman at her house, but before he could reach the door,
his limbs would fail him, and he would fall to the ground. His body
was occasionally distorted and convulsed, he would utter the bitterest
complaints of pain and distress, which he ascribed to the presence of
the hag, although she was invisible to all but himself. He consulted
Judge T--r, to know whether he would be culpable in law if he should
kill a witch. The Judge observing Seth on the bed with a club,
swinging his arms to and fro, to keep off the witch, was willing to
humor the whim, and procured a gun, and loading it with some pieces of
silver, enjoined on Seth to take a sure aim when the witch again made
her appearance. Accordingly, Seth pointed the gun to the door where
she usually entered, and hung up her bonnet, and at the proper time
he discharged his piece. The discharge shattered the door in pieces,
but the cunning witch dodged her head at the moment he pulled the
trigger!