The True Story of Salem: Book 1-7. Charles Wentworth Upham

Mother; as to all but the Search.

      IX. Here was the Sum of the Evidence: Which Mr. Serjeant Keeling, thought not sufficient to Convict the Prisoners. For admitting the Children were Bewitched, yet, said he, it can never be Apply'd unto the Prisoners, upon the Imagination only of the Parties Afflicted; inasmuch as no person whatsoever could then be in Safety.

      Dr. Brown, a very Learned Person then present, gave his Opinion, that these Persons were Bewitched. He added, That in Denmark, there had been lately a great Discovery of Witches; who used the very same way of Afflicting people, by Conveying Pins and Nails into them. His Opinion was, that the Devil in Witchcrafts, did Work upon the Bodies of Men and Women, upon a Natural Foundation; and that he did Extraordinarily afflict them, with such Distempers as their Bodies were most subject unto.

      X. The Experiment about the Usefulness, yea, or Lawfulness whereof Good Men have sometimes disputed, was divers Times made, That tho' the Afflicted were utterly deprived of all sense in their Fits, yet upon the Touch of the Accused, they would so screech out, and fly up, as not upon any other persons. And yet it was also found that once upon the touch of an innocent person, the like effect follow'd, which put the whole Court unto a stand: altho' a small Reason was at length attempted to be given for it.

      XI. However, to strengthen the Credit of what had been already produced against the Prisoners, One John Soam Testifi'd, That bringing home his Hay in Three Carts, one of the Carts wrenched the Window of Rose Cullenders House, whereupon she flew out, with violent Threatenings against the Deponent. The other Two Carts, passed by Twice, Loaded, that Day afterwards; but the Cart which touched Cullenders House, was Twice or Thrice that Day overturned. Having again Loaded it, as they brought it thro' the Gate which Leads out of the Field, the Cart stuck so fast in the Gates Head, that they could not possibly get it thro', but were forced to cut down the Post of the Gate, to make the Cart pass thro', altho' they could not perceive that the Cart did of either side touch the Gate-Post. They afterwards, did with much Difficulty get it home to the Yard; but could not for their Lives get the Cart near the place, where they should unload. They were fain to unload at a great Distance; and when they were Tired, the Noses of them that came to Assist them, would burst forth a Bleeding; so they were fain to give over till next morning; and then they unloaded without any difficulty.

      XII. Robert Sherringham also Testifi'd, That the Axle-Tree of his Cart, happening in passing, to break some part of Rose Cullenders House, in her Anger at it, she vehemently threatned him, His Horses should suffer for it. And within a short time, all his Four Horses dy'd; after which he sustained many other Losses in the sudden Dying of his Cattle. He was also taken with a Lameness in his Limbs; and so vexed with Lice of an extraordinary Number and Bigness, that no Art could hinder the Swarming of them, till he burnt up two Suits of Apparel.

      XIII. As for Amy Duny, 'twas Testifi'd by one Richard Spencer that he heard her say, The Devil would not let her Rest; until she were Revenged on the Wife of Cornelius Sandswel. And that Sandswel testifi'd, that her Poultry dy'd suddenly, upon Amy Dunys threatning of them; and that her Husbands Chimney fell, quickly after Duny had spoken of such a disaster. And a Firkin of Fish could not be kept from falling into the Water, upon suspicious words of Duny's.

      XIV. The Judg told the Jury, they were to inquire now, first, whether these Children were Bewitched; and secondly, Whether the Prisoners at the Bar were guilty of it. He made no doubt, there were such Creatures as Witches; for the Scriptures affirmed it; and the Wisdom of all Nations had provided Laws against such persons. He pray'd the God of Heaven to direct their Hearts in the weighty thing they had in hand; for, To Condemn the Innocent, and let the Guilty go free, were both an Abomination to the Lord.

      The Jury in half an hour brought them in Guilty upon their several Indictments, which were Nineteen in Number.

      The next Morning, the Children with their Parents, came to the Lodgings of the Lord Chief Justice, and were in as good health as ever in their Lives; being Restored within half an Hour after the Witches were Convicted.

      The Witches were Executed; and Confessed nothing; which indeed will not be wondred by them, who Consider and Entertain the Judgment of a Judicious Writer, That the Unpardonable Sin, is most usually Committed by Professors of the Christian Religion, falling into Witchcraft.

      We will now proceed unto several of the like Tryals among our selves.

      I.

       The Tryal of G. B. at a Court of Oyer and Terminer, Held in Salem, 1692

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      Glad should I have been, if I had never known the Name of this Man; or never had this occasion to mention so much as the first Letters of his Name. But the Government requiring some Account of his Trial to be inserted in this Book, it becomes me with all Obedience to submit unto the Order.

      I. This G. B. Was Indicted for Witch-craft, and in the prosecution of the Charge against him, he was Accused by five or six of the Bewitched, as the Author of their Miseries; he was Accused by Eight of the Confessing Witches, as being an head Actor at some of their Hellish Randezvouzes, and one who had the promise of being a King in Satan's Kingdom, now going to be Erected: He was accused by Nine Persons for extraordinary Lifting, and such feats of Strength, as could not be done without a Diabolical Assistance. And for other such things he was Accused, until about thirty Testimonies were brought in against him; nor were these judg'd the half of what might have been considered for his Conviction: However they were enough to fix the Character of a Witch upon him according to the Rules of Reasoning, by the Judicious Gaule, in that Case directed.

      II. The Court being sensible, that the Testimonies of the Parties Bewitched, use to have a Room among the Suspicions or Presumptions, brought in against one Indicted for Witch-craft; there were now heard the Testimonies of several Persons, who were most notoriously Bewitched, and every day Tortured by Invisible Hands, and these now all charged the Spectres of G. B. to have a share in their Torments. At the Examination of this G. B. the Bewitched People were grievously harrassed with Preternatural Mischiefs, which could not possibly be Dissembled; and they still ascribed it unto the endeavours of G. B. to Kill them. And now upon the Tryal of one of the Bewitched Persons, testified, that in her Agonies, a little black Hair'd Man came to her, saying his Name was B. and bidding her set her hand to a Book which he shewed unto her; and bragging that he was a Conjurer, above the ordinary Rank of Witches; That he often Persecuted her with the offer of that Book, saying, She should be well, and need fear nobody, if she would but Sign it; But he inflicted cruel Pains and Hurts upon her, because of her denying so to do. The Testimonies of the other Sufferers concurred with these; and it was remarkable, that whereas Biting was one of the ways which the Witches used for the vexing of the Sufferers; when they cry'd out of G. B. Biting them, the print of the Teeth would be seen on the Flesh of the Complainers, and just such a Set of Teeth as G. B's would then appear upon them, which could be distinguished from those of some other Mens. Others of them testified, That in their Torments, G. B. tempted them to go unto a Sacrament, unto which they perceived him with a Sound of Trumpet, Summoning of other Witches, who quickly after the Sound, would come from all Quarters unto the Rendezvouz. One of them falling into a kind of Trance, affirmed, that G. B. had carried her away into a very high Mountain, where he shewed her mighty and glorious Kingdoms, and said, He would give them all to her, if she would write in his Book; but she told him, They were none of his to give; and refused the Motions; enduring of much Misery for that refusal.

      It cost the Court a wonderful deal of Trouble, to hear the Testimonies of the Sufferers; for when they were going to give in their Depositions, they would for a long time be taken with Fits, that made them uncapable of saying any thing. The Chief Judg asked the Prisoner, who he thought hindred these Witnesses from giving their Testimonies? And he answered, He supposed it was the Devil. That Honourable Person replied, How comes the Devil then to be so loath to have any Testimony born