"And ye reasons why ye devill would discover y is 1 his malice towards
all men 2 his insatiable desire to have ye witches not sure enough of y
till yn.
"And ye authors warne jurors, &c not to condemne suspected psons on bare
prsumtions wthout good & sufficient proofes.
"But if convicted of yt horrid crime to be put to death, for God hath
said thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
The accuser and the prosecutor were aided in their work in a peculiar
way. It was the theory and belief that every witch was marked--very
privately marked--by the Devil, and the marks could only be discovered
by a personal examination. And thus there came into the service of the
courts a servant known as a "searcher," usually a woman, as most of the
unfortunates who were accused were women.
The location and identification of the witch marks involved revolting
details, some of the reports being unprintable. It is, however,
indispensable to a right understanding of the delusion and the popular
opinions which made it possible, that these incidents, abhorrent and
nauseating as they are, be given within proper limitations to meet
inquiry--not curiosity--and because they may be noted in various
records.
A standard authority in legal procedure in England, recognized in
witchcraft prosecutions in the New England colonies, was _Dalton's
Country Justice_, first published in 1619 in England, and in its last
edition in 1746.
In its chapter on Witchcraft are these directions as to the witch marks:
"These witches have ordinarily a familiar, or spirit which appeareth to
them, sometimes in one shape and sometimes in another; as in the shape
of a man, woman, boy, dog, cat, foal, hare, rat, toad, etc.
Pages:
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58