THE BISMARCK WEEKLY TRIBUNE — MARCH 29, 1889
TWO WEIRD STORIES ◇ PEOPLE IN PENNSYLVANIA SAID TO BELIEVE IN WITCHES ◇ But Fortunately There Are “Doctors” Who Have Power of the Evil Creatures. A Child Under the Spell—Killing a Bad Man at Long Range.
The belief of past ages in witchcraft is still entertained by many people in this (Berks) county. Hearing of several men in the city who were said to be able to give well authenticated cases of witchcraft, or “hexing,” as it is called here, your correspondent visited one of them and was told the following story:
“Several years ago a family with whom I was well acquainted lived on Cedar street, this city, and directly opposite them on the same street lived a woman who was known to be a ‘hex’ (the Dutch for witch). There was a child born in the family of my friend. It was a beautiful child, had the sweetest disposition of any youngster I ever knew, and never cried or gave its mother any trouble at all. When the child was about three months old this old ‘hex’ came into my friend’s house, and, taking it out of the cradle, hugged and kissed it, at the same time muttering in the language in which the Bible was first written. When she left it was at once noticed that the child was as completely spotted as a leopard, and it cried continually, as though suffering great pain. It would cry at night as long as the ‘hex’ across the street remained at the window, but as soon as the witch would retire its cries would cease and it would get some rest. This state of affairs kept up for some time. The regular doctors could do nothing for the child;
