New Britain Herald Newspaper, January 15, 1929, Page 24

Amazing Faith In Witch Doctors " Exists Among Pennsylvania Dutch Girl Believed Pig Sat on| . Her Chest During Sieep, —Strange Cures for Sickness and Ill Fortune. | his mouth and the smell of liquor o “Whoever earries this book with him is safe from all his enemies, visible or invisible; and Wwhoever has this book with him cannot die, nor be drowned in any water nor burned up in any fire, nor can any tnjun sentence be passed upon ing” This inscription, found inside bf a book said to have been written y John George Hohmann, a Penn- Ivania German in 1918, and known “The Long Lost Fried” is alleged 0 be the source of that weird and redulous compendium of ignorance, perstition and witcheraft lore, grom which the *Hex" of Pennsyl- nia Dutch pow wow doctor re- elves the power Which is sald to have Inspired a murder in York. [Pa., of which three men have been Bonvicted. i ‘When one speaks of the supersti- on of the Southern negro in slave | ays, when the negro was a chattel | d not a human being; of the med- fne man of the Indian tribe or of is various counterparts among the nclent priests of the Orient or the evil dancers of the jungle, one eels no sense of surprise, since ong the ignorant and untutored vage, fear, instinct, ignorance and perstition combine to make a ueer combination of a sort of a ith cure healing and worship of | nknown gods. Unbelievers Few But In Pennsylvania, one of tne test states in an educated na-| on, to find voodism, hoodooism. w wow or hex doctors and belief witcheraft almost universal, 5o uch so that those uncertain neigh- ors who frankly state an un- llef are classed with atheists by leir friends and neighbors seems Mmost incredible. Yet such is the case. The writer, B native of the Keystone state who ew up in the atmospherc of su- ratition which rivals that of the angest fiction, like others who tfed at these strange beliefs, w up to regard the pow Wow | octor as a harmless sort of crank r fanatic and his patients as plain lools. i .The Xilling of Nelson D. Rehmeyer York, Pa., by John H. Blymyer, iilllam G. Hess and John Curry. ho confesscd they did it to secure lock of th- other's hair, which ey were gc < to bury elght feet nderground io break a spell of | Witchery they believed had been cast. pon Hess's father, has brought to a i‘nunx realization the fact that the liet in strange cults and black hagic is not as harmless as it ap- dears. Police Consult Pow Wows The Pennsylvania murder has im- elled the Houston (Texas) Post Dispatch to state that there are nore than 20,000 professional pricsts d priestesses of voodism in its ilder forms, such as crystal gazers, rtune tellers, pow wow doctors, in the United States, who num- r among their patients or patrons raons of wealth, education, finan- 1 prominence and social standing. is seems even stranger in Penn- wivania, when one recalls that right “jn the heart of the pow wow doctor’s fome territory, where he is accepted one who “belongs,” fortune tell- b is forbidden by statute. . The fortune telling gypsy cara- n or the professional crystal :zer is kept moving by the police, though the police themselves go t the pow wow doctor and under- his incantations for the cure rheumatism or ‘high blood pres- re” or so-called “liver-grown bies,” or other aches and pains hich sclence says are but symp- pms of some organic disturbance . The pow wow doctor of Pennsyl- fania is not an educated man. He ay have gotten his knowledge, b ¢ or whatever he calls his incan- tions from a book, but in most s he inherited his “magical wers” through being the seventh n of & seventh son, or born when e moon was just right, or on a riday the 13th. . He generally works in the coal fines, or on a farm or in a steel ill, making use of his weird powers ly in his spare moments. His iends and neighbors accept with- t question his claims that he can arm away their pains or drive out e evil spirits. Clyde Stephenson of nenburg county, Virginii, con- ssed that he killed Albert Green cause he believed Green was & tch who had put a spell on him. e asserted that Green could a me all manner of shapes and once s seen dancing in the middle of \e road without his head. Witch Shot, Becomes Rabbit 3. A. Newcombe said he shot 2 sitch who was hanging around his ouse, and she changed into a rab- It and ran away. Stephenson said Rins he had been suffcring in his V. disappeared when he shot Green rd he belfeves he the spell I witcheraft In York, Lanc erland, Berks, Sch nd nnsylvania, local newsp itchcraft rears its re nd flourishes eminiscent of me reepted with the uestioning faith as it wage interior of Congo ju Coroner L. U. Zech New York Evenir f the broke head orance nd is came b itcheraft. Residents in i »pulation of 409,000 10 100,000 gui teir daily lives to the minutest lls by their belief in the h rites of sorcery and p Hests. Difficult to Find Jury The York County Me al Ww starting 4 campaign to drive weery and powwowist out of ennsylvania admits that it is ng and cosily warfare upon which is engaging. To one not familiar 1t this section of country, the fdespread belict cspocialy among old Pennsyl Dutch and who have grown up in their idst, is almost inconccivable. Tt is soci yoss {liquor as well. | ter century. | “blue cough.” s0 difficult that it is almost impos- | sible to find a sufficient number of | men in one town, sufficiently free| from superstition to form an im-! partial Tennessee’s anti- | olutionists are no wore bigoted, | ignorant, superstitious or prejudiced than Pennsylvania’s belicvers in the | mystical powers of some tottering old man with a chew of tobacco in | his breath, who makes strange passes with his hands, the while he speaks unfamiliar and meaningless words, taking for his fee whatever | the patron feels inclined to give, and usually getting a gencrous supply of This type of pow wow doctor usually is some decrepit old man, or some wrinkled old wom- | an, resembling the hag in the witch | stores of childhood | Story of Bewitched Cat Even newspaper men, that class ¢ human beings who are supposed to be as cynical as one can be, are not free in Pennsylvania Duteh com- | munities and the writer clearly re- members a story which went the | rounds of all the papers within a | n region telling of a ‘“fer- ' or bewitched cat. story published some years d occupied front page space at least a dozen news Ap\-rfl‘ which faithfully chronicled the | of th unfortunate f-l)ntf.: ter it had finally been shot with + silver bullet, the only kind of a llet which was proof against its which accord- paper “has brought to light an evil which h Leen tolerated as a joke rather tham the menace that it i An- Pennsylvania newspaper, the ladelphia Record says “The ig- norance and fears of savages have | not been uprooted by our boasted | civilization. In some communities | we find they still rule the thoughts | tions of large numbers of murder is ing to a The writer had much person- | al contact with people of this type. | He grew up with them. Old schooi- | mates, next door neighbors, rela- fives in fact so many of his acquain- tances are believers in the curative powers ‘of the pow wow doctor that it would be exceedingly difficult to find many unbelievers after living among them for more than a quar- | People Otherwise Normal people are normal per- have gone to school have graduated from high schools. Many of the younger clement of professional people, law- yers, doctors and ministers are sons | nd daughters of those who still be- | licve, though their children may not. They read books, magazines and | newspapers; have their radios and | drive their own cars. They own | their businesses or hold responsible | positions in mines or mills, while | many own their farms or work on | dlroads. They go to church and | but their belief remains For obvious reasons names used in the following incidents are not | the correct names, although the in- cidents are chronicled accurately. A group of school friends of the| riter has ncver ccased to hope | some day of finding certain missing chapters in the book of Moses, which will give them magical pow- ers, they believe. | Among the so-called “cures” of | the witch doctor one finds that when he or she repcats “Sanctus | Storius, res, call rest” local inflam- | mation, burns and gangrene will dis- | appear. 1f Pennsylvanian has | warts and a believer in the al- | most universal superstition he cuts a potato, rubs the open side on the wart, then buries the vegetable | where the rain drops from the roof | will h and rot it. As the pota- | to ro , he expects his warts to dis- | appear. If this fails he calls in the pow wow doctor, who rcquires some roasted chicken's fcet. These he | ibs on the wartg and then buries nder the eave In due time, he s, the warts will disappear. Cure for “Blue Cough” | If one has “the blue cough” the | witch doctor preseribes as follows: | Cut three locks of hair from th2| head of a child who has never seen its father, place these in a piece of unbleached cloth and hang about the neck of the child who has the | Even the thread must be unbleached. Another treat- ment consists of sticking the child three times through a blackberry | busgh, taking ca to from t sur side, sure the child is not wa il treatment fini Another witeh book called “Him- elsbrief” or “Heavenly Letter” is found in hundreds of Pennsylvania homes 1 its owners read it with | 1me faith with which they per- i family Bible, homes beliefs in hexes ¥ t que Witcherart i d in to days o as implicitly the witch burning People star turn back it road ourney wil 1 black darts across Cow and horse nd horseshoes t loop of string sscd thres 1 da utrition, is around an ezg by the poy # from wrapped and laid on hot coal doctors the eog string, child | dent of Mount Carm iatism. He did not witch doctor, but was pre 1 s and relatives to try nt. Old Joe Gorge (n who lived vet s n wit w his upon the pa- to quot breath was | | still practices his evil cult in that | section and many believers in the i the home of her parents in Mahan- |of cold afterwards had nothing to | folks journeyed 20 miles to Potts- strong enough to knock the pain out of anyone.” Joe got his drink and a gift of money and the patient eventually was cured of his rheu- matism by a reputable physician. Seek Aid for Children Many mothers rush to pow wow doctors when their infant children fall ill, and the stragic thing about this is that they have such implicit faith in the mystic fakirs that they fail to call in reputable physicians until the baby succumbs to neglect- ed treatment or ignorance in spite of the juggler of words and secret signs. Four pow wow doctors, two of ach sex, lived in the same block in Mount Carmel, Pa, where the writer lived for 27 years. One of their most conscientious followers s (name deleted) who refused to ttend a motion picture show, being 50 8 rstitious she openly stated that “The devil is in them or they couldn’t move.” Some of the old timers are dead. A railroad man, a car inspectcr, powers of the “devil doctor” go to him rather than a physician, When Nellie Carpenter was but a few days old an old woman entered oy City and borrowed some matches from the family. From that day on Nellie became hysterical at a certain time each day, sending piercing screams throughout the house. In- stead of changing Nellie's food or having the family physicians exam- ine her for colic, neighbors said she | was “bewitched” and a witch doctor | was called in. The witch doctor | told the parents that next day they would see an old woman with a white cloth on her head fighting with some men in the street. This| woman, he said, was the one who put the spell on Nellle. He pow wowed for Nellie and she got bet- ter. Whether the old woman show- cd up, no one remembers. Whether Nellie got her milk warm instead do with the cure, according to the spirit-chasing medicine man. Nellie's cousin Ethel also was be- witched. She became hysterical when nine years of age, and suffer- ed from hallucinations, saying a man was holding her foot. Ethel's ville where a witch doctor had them look into a bucket of water. Here they saw the face of an old woman from Tamaqua. How they knew she was from Tamaqua, has never been explained. The old wo- man from Tamaqua was assumed to | be the witch. But the pow wow man's medicine was stronger and the witch was sent skiting across the face of the moon on her broom- | stick, never again to bother Ethel. Pig Sits on Her Chest Sarah Duncht, also of Mahanoy | City was bewitched. In her case the | witch took the form of a pig and when Sarah lay down on her bed | the pig, possessed of the spirits of evil, like the swine in the Bible, came and sat on her chest. Sarah's parents knew nothing of asthmatic trouples so instead of sending Sarah to a lung sanitarium they called in a pow wow doctor. He also describ- cd the broomstick-riding old hag who was the causejof all the trou- ble and pow wowed the evil spirit and the mythical pig into oblivion. Whether this particular swine ran until it came to the sea is not tnown, but Mahanoy Creek, a black, al dirt tainted stream flows through the town, and the “eorker from the infcrnal realms” may have returned to his Luciferian home by way of the creek. Mrs. Crowley remembers that her | grandfather, who lived in Buck's county on a farm was harried by | witches, Every night the old farm- er placed two crossed broomsticks at the foot of his stable door. Crossed broomsticks are an impass- ble barrier to witches. Had he forgotten this for one night, he had no doubt that all his cows would have givea bloody milk the next day. In addition to the belief in witches and hex doctors, evil chas- rs, etc., the patrons of these old hocus pocus, hood-winking hoaxes ulso embrace many of the popular uperstitions of a minor nature. A police chief faithfully carrles in his vest pocket the left hind foot of a rabbit, which he believes protects Lim from harm. That his natural | caution for remaining away from! dangerous places had anything to | lo with the protection he does not | believe. Almost everyone believes | that seven years bad luck will fol- low the breaking of a mirror, that 3 is unlucky, Friday is unlucky and mbination of both {s almost -adly. The breaking of the wish- bone of a chick or the hanging i this latest effort NYSTIC NESSAGE ATTACKED AGAIN Famous Magician Scolls at Hon- ini's Supposed Words word by Magician Harry Houdini to attack today. Joseph Dunninge to disprove validity of the message which Mrs. Houdinl had declared convinced him of its genuineness.* Alding him in his attack was a fish handler, Joseph Bantino, 28, from the Fulton Fish market, old stamping ground of former Gov. Al- fred E. S8mith. Dunninger, Bantino, and a small army of press folk descended upon Mrs. Houdini's apartment last night, while Dunninger without even roll- ins up his sleeve produced Bantino, and Bantino produced a story de- signed to cast doubt upon splritual- ism in the “believe’” message. In a word, Bantino related that he had courted a girl who knew one Daisy White, herself a magician and acquaintance of Houdini, Bantino ur1 in the transfer of the message, had received it from Daisy White who in turn uad had her code and the message from Houdini long be- fore he eevr became a spirit. Mrs. Houdini seemed bewildered at this new turn, but indignantly re. fused to believe that Dalsy White had had her husband's confidence. She said she had found letters from Houdini to the woman, who, she added, had often brought her “mes- sages” from Houdini. in Code “But none ever came in our secret code,” she said. Dunninger then gave an exhibi- tion of reading messages reporters wrote and secreted, and offered Ford $21,000 if he and his spirits could read a message he would write and secrete. Later Dalsy White at Ford's apartment admitted knowing the said she had never discussed Hou- she got Houdini's code before his death, Rev. Ford observed: “Mrs, Houdini accepted the mes- sage as genuine and that is the im- portant thing.” He denied having any material or spiritual assistance from Daisy in his communication with the world be- yond. This ended the night's develop- ments. Mrs. Houdini claimed still to believe; while the scoffers con- tinued to scoff. CITES ADVANCT ! FEMINIST .i0VEMENT Miss Mabel Vermon Makes Annual Report for National Woman's Party. ‘Washington, Jan. 15 (M—Two im- portant advances in the feminist movement in the last year were cited by Miss Mabel Vernon, executive sec- retary of the National Woman's party, in her annual report to the national council which today con- vened here. These achievements, she sald, were the creation of the inter- American commission of women and the recognition of equal rights as a national political issue in the presi- dential campaign. American commission was created by the Pan-Amcrican conference in Ha- vana because of the work of the Woman's party and Miss Doris Stev- ens, chairman of the committee on international action, was made chalr- man. Members of the council are: Mrs. Clarence M. Smith, of New York city, chairman; Mrs. Valentine Winters of Dayton, Ohio; Mrs. Edith Houghton Hooker, Mrs. Elizabeth W. Dixon, and Mrs. Dora G. Ogle of Baltimore; Mrs. Richard Wainwright, Mrs, Flor- ence Brewer Boeckel and Mrs. Har- vey W. Wiley, of Washington; Miss Laura Berrien of Georgl: Miss Maud Younger of San Francisco; Mrs. Eernits Shelton Matthews of Mississippi; Miss Emma Wold of Oregon; Miss Doris Stevens of New of it unbroken over the mantel is|york: Mrs. Florence Bayard Hilles attended with all seriousnesa. ight in Haunted House Horscshoes are used in varlous forms of decoration. The writer once spent a night in a supposedly haunted house, where the parish priest, much against his own hetter judgment, was prevailed upon to carve crosses over the doorway and e holy water throughout the house o drive away ghosts. Chil- dren gtill believe a hair from a horse’s tail if kept in a bottle of water will turn into a snake. and Miss Vernon of Del. Wilmington, It's a sign of thrift to read Hérald Classified Ads. Lucky pennies are common. Seeing | the moon over one’s left shoulder | when one money in the pocket | i a sign of future prosperity, and hundreds of similar absurd and ridi culous beliefs belie the statement that cducation is driving supersti- tion out of the country. urated the air- > between Quebee prov- New York state was a lve < bear cub. READ HERALD CLASSIFTED ADS FOR BEST RESULTS WHEN HARTFORD DINE WITH US. Don’t forget to take home some Maryland oysters and | fresh crackers. EONISS'S 22 State St (Under Grant’s Store) Hartford. Conn. | opined that Rev. Arthur Ford, medi- | fish handler and his wife slightly but | dini with them or never had said | AMERICAN MEDICAL Managua, Nicaragua, Jan. 15 UP— A sudden flaring of bandit activity in the northern jungies has resulted New York, Jan. 16 (UP) — The i, the wounding of an American mystic message, “believe,” wondlv,madlul officer and the killing of sent from the realms of the spirit tywq guardsmen. Lieutenant Willlam H. Smith, his widow here, was under. & DeW medical officer, received two alight |wounds in what was the most me- magiclan, and vere engagement in many montha. like Houdini in his lifetime an ub- ' Three members of the Guardia relenting foe of spurious payehic 'Naclonal (the phenomena, was the generalissimo in National Guard) were wounded. It the | was believed that several of the out- American officered laws had been killed. The clash occurred in the vicinity of S8an Juan De Telpaneca in the province of Nueva Segovia near the Honduran border. The outlaws were armed with a machine gun and ibombs. One of the bombs struck Lieutenant Smith on the side of the head and a bullet also hit him. The jungle where the fighting oc- curred was 80 thick that the size of {the bandit group could not be de- | termined, although it was believed they numbered at least 100, Springfield Cop Shot But Will Recover Springfield, Mass., Jan. 15 UP— Motorcycle Patrolman Francis Gallagher, who patrols Boston Post road on the outskirts of the city, was shot in the left side early this morning by two men whom he had stopped to question regarding their registration and license papers. The pair were questioned by the patrolmen as they were leaving 2 dining car. Instead of replying to the request one of them drew a re- ivolver and ordered the officer to |put up his hands. Gallagher, re- liecved of his gun, was marched across the road to a vacant lot and shot down. He regained his feet and grappled with the man who had his gun, retrieved the firearm, and shot one of the men in the head oy and police believe his home is in i Philadelphia. The other gunman cscaped in the automobile, which bore Pennsylvania registration. Po- lice believe the car was stolen. Neither Gallagher nor his assail- ant are in a critcila condition and a physician at Mercy hospital, where they are under treatment, said both would recover, « PODOLOFF FUNERAL New Haven, Jan. 15 (UP)—Fu. neral services will be held here to- |morrow for Abraham Podoloft, .ploneer New Haven real estate and sports promoter, who died late yes- terday in his 64th year. He wasr pany which operated ome of the largest sports structures. Miss Vernon added that the Inter- | $125.00 per Month BeW. L.HATCH Co. INSURANCE Real Estate -Mortgage Loans City Hall - Vel 3400 YOUR FIREPLACE Means So Much to the Cheer and Comfort of Your Home DRESS IT UP Come In and See Our Assortment of Fixtures. PHONES 5100—5101 A. A, MILLS Plumbing—Heating—Sheet Metal Work 66 W. MAIN ST. This man is sald to be Philip Chen. | head of the New Haven Arena com- | DESCO CLEANED sl_oo FOR PLAIN SERGE and WOOL DRESSES call 904 Delivery Service Everywhere 266 ARCH STREET DESCO IS DRY CLEA ~ for Men’s Suits an Topcoats NOW A remarkably low price for the outstanding process of the dry cleaning industry. Desco Dry Cleaning Does refresh the color, Does renew the lustre, Does revive and strengthen the entire garment. Desco Dry Cleaning Mellows the fabric, Raises the nap. Your clothes are insured against loss through fire or theft — you are assured of ABSOLUTE RELIABILITY while your clothes are in our care. Desco is the logical choice from every angle, By all means—USE IT. 58 WEST MAIN ST. G AT ITS BEST OLD HOME TOWN' - <7 NOPE STRANGER- ) DONT READ WHEN TH’ WEATHERS FOR SETTIN’ oyt Doo GOOD ENOUGH RS ~AND WHEN ITS STORMY 175 Too bamk IN TH” HousE. AND WHEN NIGHAT COMES | Go 7o BED—) DONT - THE BOOKC AGENT WHO STOPPED AT JEP HORLICKS HOUSE,DIDNT HAVE AN ARGUMENT To OVERCOME JEPS OBJECTION TO BECOMING THE OWNEROF A BOOK