he road that led to the
ferry at the river. Here the old people had been brought from their
homes and tied to this spot where the witch council was to be held.
Before seating himself the Witch Finder had drawn three rings within
a circle on the ground with the thigh bone of a dog. Then,
unbuttoning his red flannel shirt, he took from his bosom, suspended
around his neck, a kind of purse, made from the raw-hide of a calf,
with white hair on one side and red on the other, and from this bag
he proceeded to take out things which would have given Shakespeare
ideas for his witch scene in Macbeth. A little black ring, made of
the legs of the black spider and bound together with black horse
hair; a black thimble-like cup, not much longer than the cup of an
acorn, made of the black switch of a mule containing the liver of a
scorpion. The horny head and neck of the huge black beetle, commonly
known to negroes as the black Betsy Bug; the rattle and button of a
rattlesnake; the fang-tooth of a cotton-mouth moccasin, the left hind
foot of a frog, seeds of the stinging nettle, and pods of peculiar
plants, all incased in a little sack made of a mole's hide. These
were all given sufficient charm by a small round cotton yarn, in the
center of which was a drop of human blood. They were placed on the
ground around him, but he held the ball of cotton yarn in his hand,
and ordered that the child be brought into the ring. The poor thing
was frightened nearly to death at sight of the Witch Finder, and when
he began slowly to unwind his ball of cotton thread and chant his
monotonous funeral song, she screamed in terror. At a signal from the
"Witch Finder," Aunt Charity was dragged into the ring, her hands
tied behind her. The sight of such brutality was too much for the
child, and she promptly had another fit. No other evidence was
needed, and the Witch Finder declared that Aunt Charity was Queen of
Witches. The council retired, and in a few minutes their decision was
made: Uncle Bisco was to be beaten to death with hickory flails and
his old wife hung to the nearest tree. Their verdict being made, two
stout negroes came forward to bind the old man to a tree with his
arms around it. At sight of these ruffians the old woman broke out
into triumphant song:

"O we mos' to de home whar we all gwi' res',
Cum, dear Lord, cum soon!
An' take de ole weary ones unto yo' bres',
Cum, dear Lord, cum soon!
Fur we ole an' w