Dulcibel: A Tale of Old Salem

by Henry Peterson

  CHAPTER VIII.

  An Examination of Reputed Witches.

  Warrants had been duly issued against Sarah Good, Sarah Osburn, and theIndian woman Tituba, and they were now to be tried for the very seriousoffence of bewitching the "afflicted children."

  One way that the witches of that day were supposed to work, was to makeimages out of rags, like dolls, which they named for the persons theymeant to torment. Then, by sticking pins and needles into the dolls,tightening cords around their throats, and similar doings, the witchescaused the same amount of pain as if they had done it to the livingobjects of their enmity.

  In these cases, the officers who executed the warrants of arrest, stated"that they had made diligent search for images and such like, but couldfind none."

  On the day appointed for the examination of these poor women, the twoleading magistrates of the neighborhood, John Hathorne and JonathanCorwin, rode up the principal street of the village attended by themarshal and constables, in quite an imposing array. The crowd was sogreat that they had to hold the session in the meeting-house Themagistrates belonged to the highest legislative and judicial body in thecolony. Hathorne, as the name was then spelt, was the ancestor of thegifted author, Nathaniel Hawthorne--the alteration in the spelling ofthe name probably being made to make it conform more nearly to thepronunciation. Hathorne was a man of force and ability--though evidentlyalso as narrow-minded and unfair as only a bigot can be. All through theexamination that ensued he took a leading part, and with him, to beaccused was to be set down at once as guilty. Never, among eitherChristian or heathen people, was there a greater travesty of justicethan these examinations and trials for witchcraft, conducted by the veryforemost men of the Massachusetts colony.

  The accounts of the examination of these three women in the manuscriptbook I have alluded to, are substantially the same as in the officialrecords, which are among those that have been preserved. I will givesome quotations to show how the examinations were conducted:--

  "Sarah Good, what evil spirit are you familiar with?"

  She answered sharply, "None!"

  "Have you made no contracts with the Devil?"

  "No!"

  "Why then do you hurt these children?"

  "I do not hurt them. I would scorn to do it."

  "Here the children who were facing her, began to be dreadfullytormented; and then when their torments were over for the time, againaccused her, and also Sarah Osburn.

  "Sarah Good, why do you not tell us the truth? Why do you thus tormentthem?"

  "I do not torment them."

  "Who then does torment them?"

  "It may be that Sarah Osburn does, for I do not."

  "Her answers," says the official report, "were very quick, sharp andmalignant."

  It must be remembered in reading these reports, that the accused werenot allowed any counsel, either at the preliminary examinations, or onthe trials; that the apparent sufferings of the children were verygreat, producing almost a frenzied state of feeling in the crowd wholooked on; and that they themselves were often as much puzzled as theiraccusers, to account for what was taking place before their eyes.

  In the examination of Sarah Osburn, we have similar questions andsimilar answers. In addition, however, three witnesses alleged that shehad said that very morning, that she was "more like to be bewitchedherself." Mr. Hathorne asked why she said that. She answered that eithershe saw at one time, or dreamed that she saw, a thing like an Indian,all black, which did pinch her in the neck, and pulled her by the backpart of the head to the door of the house. And there was also a lyingspirit.

  "What lying spirit was this?"

  "It was a voice that I thought I heard."

  "What did it say to you?"

  "That I should go no more to meeting; but I said I would, and did go thenext Sabbath day."

  "Were you ever tempted further?"

  "No."

  "Why did you yield then to the Devil, not to go to meeting for the lastthree years?"

  "Alas! I have been sick all that time, and not able to go."

  Then Tituba was brought in. Tituba was in the "circle" or an attendantand inspirer of the "circle" from the first; and had marvelous things totell. How it was that the "children" turned against her and accused her,I do not know; but probably she had practised so much upon them invarious ways, that she really was guilty of trying to do the things shewas charged with.

  "Tituba, why do you hurt these children?"

  "Tituba does not hurt 'em."

  "Who does hurt them then?"

  "The debbil, for all I knows.'

  "Did you ever see the Devil?" Tituba gave a low laugh. "Of course I'veseen the debbil. The debbil came an' said, 'Serb me, Tituba.' But Iwould not hurt the child'en."

  "Who else have you seen?"

  "Four women. Goody Osburn and Sarah Good, and two other women. Dey allhurt de child'en."

  "How does the Devil appear to you?"

  "Sometimes he is like a dog, and sometimes like a hog. The black dogalways goes with a yellow bird."

  "Has the Devil any other shapes?"

  "Yes, he sometimes comes as a red cat, and then a black cat."

  "And they all tell you to hurt the children?"

  "Yes, but I said I would not."

  "Did you not pinch Elizabeth Hubbard this morning?"

  "The black man brought me to her, and made me pinch her."

  "Why did you go to Thomas Putnam's last night and hurt his daughterAnn?"

  "He made me go."

  "How did you go?"

  "We rode on sticks; we soon got there."

  "Has Sarah Good any familiar?"

  "Yes, a yeller bird. It sucks her between her fingers. And Sarah Osburnhas a thing with a head like a woman, and it has two wings."

  ("Abigail Williams, who lives with her uncle, the Rev. Master Parris,here testified that she did see the same creature, and it turned intothe shape of Goody Osburn.")

  "Tituba further said that she had also seen a hairy animal with GoodyOsburn, that had only two legs, and walked like a man. And that she sawSarah Good, last Saturday, set a wolf upon Elizabeth Hubbard."

  ("The friends of Elizabeth Hubbard here said that she did complain ofbeing torn by a wolf on that day.")

  "Tituba being asked further to describe her ride to Thomas Putnam's, forthe purpose of tormenting his daughter Ann, said that she rode upon astick or pole, and Sarah Good and Sarah Osburn behind her, all takinghold of one another. Did not know how it was done, for she saw no treesnor path, but was presently there."

  These examinations were continued for several days, each of the accusedbeing brought at various times before the magistrates, who seem to havetaken great interest in the absurd stories with which the "afflictedchildren" and Tituba regaled them. Finally, all three of the accusedwere committed to Boston jail, there to await their trial for practisingwitchcraft; being heavily ironed, as, being witches, it was supposed tobe very difficult to keep them from escaping; and as their ability totorment people with their spectres, was considered lessened inproportion to the weight and tightness of the chains with which theywere fettered. It is not to be wondered at, that under theseinflictions, at the end of two months, the invalid, Sarah Osburn, died.Tituba, however, lay in jail until, finally, at the expiration of a yearand a month, she was sold in payment of her jail fees. One accountsaying that her owner, the Rev. Master Parris, refused to pay her jailfees, unless she would still adhere to what she had testified on herexamination, instead of alleging that he whipped and otherwise abusedher, to make her confess that she was a witch.