Part 2
His immediate topic is only witchcraft; but light which he seeks to make bear on that, penetrates below all perceptible phenomena, down to the question which underlies all others pertaining to man's highest interest, viz., Does _animism exist_? Or, in other words, is there in nature, or in God, or anywhere, an animating principle, which, having had individualizing connection with an organized material form, will retain its consciousness and individuality after that connection shall have been dissolved? Who but visible or audible spirits, proving themselves to be such, can give decisive response to that momentous question? Who but they can stop the advance of and effectually cripple that growing materialistic faith which laughs at and tramples over everything save _demonstration_,--demonstration either scientific or sensible,--but is at once and permanently palsied when it encounters that? Man knows of none else who can.
The world as yet is little conscious of the real nature, power, and worth of spiritualism, or of its own need of help obtainable from no other perceptible source. Therein lies enfolded not only charity and justice for our remoter fathers, and correction for later commentators upon them, which may be brought forth and applied in the present work, but also PROOFS of man's survival beyond the tomb.
Threescore years and twelve are saying, Spend no more time in general preparation for your labors, because dangers yearly thicken that your perishing outer man must forever leave undone what it fails to accomplish soon. Your future "footprints on the sands of time" will be but few; therefore now start in right direction, and, as best you can, mark the path you travel, and thus give some guidance to future wayfarers journeying toward the goal at which you aim, but lack power to reach.
ALLEN PUTNAM.
BOSTON, 426 Dudley Street
REFERENCES.
The principal works quoted from and referred to in the following pages, are--
SALEM WITCHCRAFT, edited by S. P. Fowler, of Danvers; H. P. Ives and A. A. Smith, Salem, 1861. This furnished the citations from Calef, and most of those from Cotton Mather. References are to this edition.
HUTCHINSON'S HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS. Boston edition 1764 and 1767.
UPHAM'S HISTORY OF WITCHCRAFT AND SALEM VILLAGE. Boston, Wiggin & Lunt, 1867.
WOODWARD'S HISTORICAL SERIES, embracing Annals of Witchcraft in New England by Samuel G. Drake, furnished the citations from Drake.
NEW ENGLAND GENEALOGICAL AND ANTIQUARIAN REGISTER, October, 1870, p. 381, was the source of extracts from W. F. Poole.
EXPLANATORY NOTE.
A subject mysterious as ours will need for its ready comprehension some general knowledge of the imputed attributes and doings of witchcraft's special DEVIL, and of supposed aids and hindrances to his getting access to the visible world; also of demonology and necromancy, of biblical witch and witchcraft, of Protestant Christendom's witch and witchcraft, of spirit, soul, and mental powers, of miracle, spiritualism, Indian worship, and the like. Therefore we wrote out brief dissertations upon those subjects, with a view to have them constitute an opening chapter. But they are somewhat dry, and would, perhaps, keep many readers back from less thought-taxing pages longer than their pleasure will permit. Therefore we postpone presentation of what usually is placed in front, at the same time advising each one who desires to read this work as advantageously as possible, to turn first to our Appendix.
In form of definitions, at the close of the dissertations, we placed a summary of some past conceptions, designing thus to indicate, compactly, special stand-points for explanation of witchcraft, on which some of our predecessors have severally taken position. We insert it here.
DEFINITIONS.
_Biblical._
DEVIL, or SATAN. Any opponent or antagonist, whether seen or unseen.
WITCH. Employer of mysterious acquisitions in teaching _heresy_.
WITCHCRAFT. Using mysterious acquisitions in teaching _heresy_.
_By Cotton Mather._
DEVIL. Heaven-born, fallen, mighty, malignant; and yet _dependent on human help_ to act upon physical man or anything material.
WITCH. A _covenanter_ with the devil.
WITCHCRAFT. Helping or employing the devil to do harm--either.
_By Robert Calef._
DEVIL. Heaven-born, fallen, mighty, malignant; but _independent of man_ in action upon this world.
WITCH. Seducer of men from worship of God "_by any extraordinary sign_."
WITCHCRAFT. "Maligning and impugning the word, work, or worship of God, and by any extraordinary sign seeking to seduce men from worship of Him."
_By Thomas Hutchinson._
DEVIL. (None, as witchcraft enactor.)
WITCH. (_By inference._) A woman possessing "a malignant touch," or "a crabbed temper," or being "a poor wretch" or "bed-ridden;" also, "a cunning child."
WITCHCRAFT. Producing "pains," "nausea," &c. Scolding, playing tricks.
_By C. W. Upham._
DEVIL. (Not specially concerned in witchcraft.)
WITCH. (_By inference._) Subject acted upon by a girl or woman trained in a school for practice "in the wonders of necromancy, magic, and spiritualism."
WITCHCRAFT. Suffering from the tricks and malicious purposes of girls schooled in magic.
_By us._
DEVIL. (Not specially concerned.)
WITCH. A medium or a human being whose body becomes at times the tool of some finite, disembodied, intelligent being, or whose mind senses knowledge in spirit land.
WITCHCRAFT. The manifestation of supernal knowledge, force, and purposes through a borrowed or usurped mortal form; or the giving utterance to knowledge sensed in through one's spiritual organs of sense.
Our purpose is to adduce strong evidences from the primitive records of American marvels, that lesser beings than the devil of Mather and Calef, and more powerful ones than the operators designated by Hutchinson and Upham, were actual performers of the principal manifestations that have been known as witchcrafts. Those whom we shall present were earth-born, on either this planet or some other, had previously passed out from encasements of flesh, but obtained control of and actuated physical forms belonging to embodied children, women, and men. Such beings, graduates from earths, are as varied in character and purposes as the survivors on their native planets, as varied as mortals are to-day. They may have ranged in character from dark devils up to bright angels, and have come, and gone, and operated by natural, though occult, forces and processes; they being as free to use such as we are the forces and implements of external nature. Many of our positions will be based upon psychological powers and susceptibilities which are far from being generally known to pertain to man; and we may fail to keep always within the bounds of things credible to-day, but yet shall never consciously go further than observed or credited facts will sustain us. If successful, we shall show that benighted man formerly, in good conscience, made certain events fearful curses, which, when rightly understood and used, may become gladdening and rich boons to mortals.
WITCHCRAFT MARVEL-WORKERS.
Brief notice of several authors to whom the present age is indebted for knowledge of most of the facts and beliefs which will be presented in the following pages, may be appropriate here. Their competency, traits, and circumstances, as inferred chiefly from their writings pertaining to witchcraft, are all, or nearly all, which we propose to state.
Two of these who lived in witchcraft times, a third in an intervening century, and a fourth in our own age, viz., Cotton Mather, Robert Calef, Thomas Hutchinson, and Charles W. Upham, will severally be noticed, because their works have been specially instructive and suggestive, and have had very much influence in shaping public opinions and conclusions in reference to the mysterious matters under consideration. Each of the above-named authors either lacked, or failed to use, some light which is now available for disclosing contents in vailed recesses of nature--light beginning to shine in where darkness long brooded, and to elicit thence such knowledge as promises to show that the theories of most witchcraft expounders have been such as now may be, and should be, superseded by more broad, sound, and philosophical ones.
The writings of the first two named above are eminently important, because they disclose very distinctly many highly operative beliefs and methods which were prevalent when marked witchcraft phenomena were actually transpiring, but are obsolete now. We cannot, perhaps, do better than forthwith present those two combatants, Mather and Calef, in actual conflict over the last described case of seventeenth century obsession. Out of this case came open conflict, in the very days when such marvels were living occurrences. Further on we may notice these two men, _as men_, more particularly. Here we take them as contestants about phenomena attendant upon Margaret Rule in 1693; hers, the last of our cases to occur, will come first under our inspection. Our quotations will be mostly from the earlier pages of "SALEM WITCHCRAFT," edited by S. P. Fowler.
MATHER AND CALEF.
In 1693, Mather wrote an account of afflictions which Margaret Rule, of Boston, then about seventeen years old, began to endure on the 10th of September of that year. This production drew forth the first open shot at the then prevalent definitions of witchcraft--at the assumed source of power to produce it--at the adopted methods of proceedings against it, and at treatment of persons on whom that crime was charged.
Robert Calef, called a merchant of the town, either listened to statements or received written ones, made by other persons who had been present with Mather around this afflicted girl at her home during some scenes which the latter had described, or he was himself a witness there. From data early obtained he furnished a version of the case which disparaged the minister's account, and questioned the propriety of some of his proceedings. Calef's was in itself a rather meager production, not putting forth the whole or even the main facts in the case, but indicating that in this, that, and the other particular, Mather had misstated or overstated, and that some of his own acts might be indelicate or improper. This production so incensed Mather that he openly pronounced Calef "the worst of liars," threatened him with prosecution for slander, and actually commenced legal proceedings against him.
In a subsequent letter, September 29, Calef respectfully asked Mather for a personal interview in the presence of two witnesses, in order that they might discuss and explain. Mather intimated willingness to comply with the request, but dallied, till Calef, November 24, sent a second letter, in which, rising at once above the comparatively trifling question whether himself or Mather had furnished the more accurate and better report, he grappled with fundamental questions pertaining to the devil, witchcrafts, and possession, and set forth distinctly some points which, in his judgment, needed discussion then; for on them he dissented from Mather, and probably from a majority of the people amid whom he was living. In much of that letter, Calef, or whoever composed it, manifested discriminating intellect, clear perception of his points, firm will, together with strong desire and purpose to labor earnestly for acquisition of knowledge by which either to convince himself that his own positions were unsound, or to better qualify himself to reform some prevalent faiths and practices. The Bible was his magazine, and implements, weapons, or stores from any other source he deemed it unlawful to use for defining, detecting, or punishing witchcraft. Bowing to the Scriptures in unquestioning submission, he took them as guide and authority. In the outset, frankly and definitely stating his own belief, he, in an apparently manly way, sought manly discussion.
He believed, page 62, that "there are _witches, because the Scriptures plainly provide for their punishment_." The only known definition of _witchcraft_ that to him seemed based upon and fairly deduced from the Scriptures, was "a maligning and oppugning the word, work, or worship of God, and, _by any extraordinary sign_, seeking to seduce from it." He believed "that there are possessions, and that the bodies of the possest have hence been not only _afflicted_, but _strangely agitated_, if not _their tongues improved_ to foretell futurities; and why not _to accuse the innocent_ as bewitching them? having _pretense to divination_ ... this being reasonable to be expected from _him who is the father of lies_." This witchcraft assailant, therefore, was a protestant not against belief that the father of lies sometimes _possessed, afflicted, and strangely agitated human beings, and also controlled their tongues to prophesy, to accuse the innocent, and to pretend divination_. His protest was against unscriptural definition of witchcraft, and against those kinds of evidence, rules, and methods used for its detection, proof, and punishment which made his age pronounce guilty and execute many who could not possibly be found guilty of that crime, where its scriptural definition was adhered to. He was not a disbeliever in witchcraft of some kind, nor of action upon men by some invisible intelligences in his own day. He and Mather both were believers in witchcraft outwrought by supernals, but differed as to what might or might not constitute it, and therefore, also, as to the extent of the prevalence of the genuine article. Calef seemingly believed in _possessions_,--that is, in control by spirits of some quality,--but was unwilling to concede that such control was _witchcraft_, as many people at that day did, though Mather may not have been one among them _abidingly_.
The pith of Calef's definition of witchcraft was, _seduction of men from the worship of God by manifestation of extraordinary signs_; while Mather said, _covenanting with the devil made one a witch_, and co-operative
## action with _him_ in harming men constituted _witchcraft_. The former
demanded evidences of seduction of men away _from worship of God_, while the other could rest on evidences of _visible harm to man_; therefore Mather found cases of witchcraft much more abundant than Calef was required to or would.
Another practically important item on which they differed was the immediate source of the devil's power to act upon visible man and matter. Calef claimed that "it is _only the Almighty_ that ... can commissionate him to hurt or destroy any;" while Mather said, "I am apt to think that the devils are seldom able to hurt us in any of our exterior concerns without a commission _from our fellow-worms_.... Permission from God for the devil to come down and break in upon mankind must oftentimes be accompanied with a commission from _some of mankind itself_."
Both of them conceded a commission by God to the devil. But we doubt whether his commission was ever more special than that which every created being, in either material or spiritual abodes, constitutionally holds at all times, to avail himself of whatever natural laws or forces his inherent powers and attending circumstances enable him to control. Words are often used which obscure proper, if not intended, meaning. Commission from God means no more than constitutional capabilities to perform at times certain specified things when conditions and circumstances favor command of natural forces. That special powers are often conferred upon mortals by some supernal beings whose recipients are prone to ascribe the gifts to _omnipotence_ is obviously true; though their increased abilities are only bestowments by finite invisibles.
_What_ witchcraft was, and _who_ commissioned the devil, whether God alone or God and man jointly, were the two most prominent questions about which those contestants differed. They agreed that the devil enacted both witchcraft and possession, but Calef's beliefs necessarily caused him to regard vast many cases as only simple possession, which Mather could, if he saw fit, regard as witchcrafts; and he sometimes seemingly did, when called to act publicly in connection with them. Mather at home and Mather abroad were not always in harmony.
Without designing, either here or subsequently, to make full presentation of the case of Margaret Rule, we shall freely adduce many parts of the record of it as helps in exhibiting leading positions and traits pertaining to the parties who crossed intellectual swords over them.
Mather states, page 29, that "upon the Lord's day, September 10, 1693, Margaret Rule, after some hours of previous disturbance in the public assembly, fell into odd fits, which caused her friends to carry her home, where her fits, in a few hours, grew into a figure that satisfied the spectators of their being preternatural. A miserable woman who had been formerly imprisoned on the suspicion of witchcraft, and who had frequently cured very painful hurts, ... had, the evening before Margaret fell into her calamities, _very bitterly treated her, and threatened her_." That briefly antecedent treatment of her by a person who "had frequently cured very painful hurts," and therefore, and for other acts perhaps, been accused of witchcraft, is very important in its psychological indications, and is worthy of being borne along in the reader's memory. The wonderful _curing of painful hurts_--that is, her beneficence--had caused her imprisonment.
"The young woman," continues the reporter, "was assaulted by eight cruel specters, whereof she imagined that she knew three or four." She was careful, under charge from Mather, "to forbear blazing their names," but privately told them to him; and he says, "they are a sort of wretches who for these many years have gone under _as violent presumptions of witchcraft_, as perhaps any creatures yet living on the earth." Specters known by her might, in some connections, mean persons whom she had known before their death, whose spirits now became visible; but since she gave the names of living persons as being then seen, it is obvious that she did not regard her tormentors _as bona fide spirits_, but only effigies manufactured, presented, and vitalized by the devil.
The psychologist will not overlook the fact that persons whose specters were here presented were such as had in some way previously aroused suspicion that they were witches. It was imprudent at that day to "blaze names," because of very prevalent belief that the devil could present the specters of none who had not made a covenant with him, and the bare fact of annunciation by a witched person that she saw the specter of any individual whatsoever, was then conclusive proof to many minds that the said individual had made covenant with the evil one, and therefore was a witch, and must be put to death. Mather cautioned the girl not to give names to the crowd around her bed, "lest any good person should come to suffer any blast of reputation." Neither Mather nor Calef denied the devil's power to bring forth apparitions of the _innocent_; and neither reposed full confidence in or justified the use of spectral testimony generally, though very many people in those days did. The point we desire to mark is this: that Mather's account is in harmony with modern observation in giving indications that spirits, apparitions, or appearances of highly mediumistic persons are more frequently seen than those of unimpressible ones--if such are not, and we believe it is so--the class generally thus presented:--such persons, that is, the mediumistic, are more frequently than others seen by the inner or clairvoyant eye. This fact begets at least conjecture, that it is probably psychological law, and not the devil's or any one's else _choice_, which determines who shall or may be seen as specters. Persons seen in this case had previously manifested powers or acts which caused them to be regarded as witches. Around most persons, who in the sequel of these pages shall be found appearing as specters and as bewitching and tormenting others, will be found signs that they were very like such as to-day are called mediums.
"They presented a book and demanded of her that she should set her hand to it, or touch it at least with her hand, as a sign of her becoming a servant of the devil;" upon her refusal to do that, they confined "her to her bed for just six weeks together." True answer to the question whether an accused one had signed the devil's book or not, was eagerly sought for in all trials for witchcraft, because if such signature had not been made by the person on trial, he or she _might_ be innocent; while if it had been, guilt was already consummated, and death was deserved.
"Sometimes there looked in upon the young woman a short and a black man, whom they (the specters) called their master. They all professed themselves vassals of this devil, ... and in obedience to him, ... she was cruelly pinched with invisible hands, ... and the black and blue marks of the pinches became immediately visible unto the standers by.... She would every now and then be miserably hurt with pins, which were found stuck into her neck, back, and arms.... She would be strangely distorted in her joints and thrown ... into convulsions." Such things are stated as facts, and were not contested in the day of their occurrence--not even by Robert Calef.
"From the time that Margaret Rule first found herself to be formally besieged by the specters, until the ninth day following, namely, from September 10th to the 18th, she kept an entire fast, and yet she was unto all appearance as fresh, as lively, as hearty at the nine days' end, as before they began; during all this time ... if any refreshment were brought unto her, her teeth would be set, and she would be thrown into many miseries; indeed, once or twice or so in all this time, her tormentors permitted her to swallow a mouthful of somewhat that might increase her miseries, whereof a spoonful of rum was the most considerable; but otherwise, as I said, her fast unto the ninth day was very extreme and rigid."
Protracted fastings without consequent exhaustion have been common with the mediumistic in all ages. Moses, Elijah, Jesus, each fasted forty days; many mediums in our midst are often sustained for long periods by absorptions of nutriment in its elemental state into the inner or spirit organism, from that invisible storehouse of food from which trees obtain much sustenance, and whence once came loaves and fishes in Judea; from the inner thus fed, the outer man receives supplies; at least, spirits state such to be the process.
"Margaret Rule once, in the middle of the night, lamented sadly that the specters threatened the drowning of a young man in the neighborhood, whom she named unto the company; well, it was afterward found that at that very time this young man, having been prest on board a man-of-war then in the harbor, was, out of some dissatisfaction, attempting to swim ashore; and he had been drowned in the attempt if a boat had not seasonably taken him up. It was by computation a minute or two after the young woman's discourse of the drowning that the young man took to the water." This account, if taken literally, reveals her prescience of a definite approximating event, also knowledge of the person whom it threatened, the place where it would act, while neither outward perceptions nor any embodied mortals could help her to such knowledge. It is not stated that either the outer or inner set of her perceptive organs directly sensed danger tending towards the young man. The report of her words is that "the specters threatened the drowning;" from this it seemingly follows that her inner sense, either of hearing or of vision, learned either the intention of spirit beings to purposely expose a particular man to danger, or they saw the oncoming of danger to him, and spoke of it to her.
This occurrence through the impressible girl was left unnoticed by Calef; his silence approximates to concession that the main facts here stated were not refutable in his day.
"Once," continues the narrator, "her tormentors pulled her up to the ceiling of the chamber, and held her there, before a very numerous company of spectators, who found it as much as they could all do to pull her down again." That statement is distinct and needs no comment here, but may receive further notice when we shall adduce the attestation of other personal witnesses to its actual truth.