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: In the Mind of the Salem Witch Trials
In the Mind of the Salem Witch Trials
by Max
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My neighbor’s goats have been dying and the cows have stopped giving milk. I do not really trust this new minister or anyone he brought with him; they all seem like bad news. I suppose I should really trust them though because he is our minister. Should I greet the Parris’ or should I just wait for them to visit me in my office?
I am greeted by his slave, whose name is something like Witchuba, then welcomed in. She gets me a seat then goes to get me Mister Parris. Mister Parris walks in, very dignified, and asks who I am and what is my business here. I tell him I am a doctor and all I want to do is welcome him and his family. He asks me to leave so he can finish getting settled and he will visit me soon at my office. I politely laugh and say goodbye.
On my five mile walk back to my house, I watch the leaves fall to the ground and it starts me thinking about our ministers, past and present. I liked the old minister better. He would have MADE me come in and had nice long chats about God, life and other things that concerned each other. Then again, it is the new minister’s first day here in Salem.
I feel like singing an old song that my mother taught me when I was young.
“There was a youth, a cruel youth,
Who lived beside the sea,
Six little maidens he hanged there
on the lonely willow tree.
As he walked o'er with Sally Brown,
As he walked o'er with she,
And evil thought came to him there,
By the lonely willow tree.
O turn you back to the water's side,
And face the willow tree,
Six little maidens I've hanged here,
And you the seventh shall be.
Put on, put on that noose on your neck,
Put it on, like in the past.
For though I am going to murder you
And you will not be the last.
Oh, stop it now, you false young man,
Oh stop it now, cried she,
For 'tis not meet that such a youth
A deadened woman should you see.
He turned around, that false young man,
And faced the willow tree,
And seizing him boldly in both her arms,
She hanged him by the sea.
Hang there, hang there, you false young man,
Hang there, Hang there, cried she,
Six little maidens you've Hanged here,
Now keep them company!
He sank beneath the icy waves,
He sank down into the sea,
And no living thing wept a tear for him,
Save the lonely willow tree.”
It is a
sad song and I never really understood why my mother sang this to me,
but she did and it has always stayed with me. She always sang me this
song when I was upset so my mother was probably trying to make me feel
better, but it really did not do much good due to the fact that the
song is about hanging people. I have not seen her in so long it’s
making me nostalgic.Who lived beside the sea,
Six little maidens he hanged there
on the lonely willow tree.
As he walked o'er with Sally Brown,
As he walked o'er with she,
And evil thought came to him there,
By the lonely willow tree.
O turn you back to the water's side,
And face the willow tree,
Six little maidens I've hanged here,
And you the seventh shall be.
Put on, put on that noose on your neck,
Put it on, like in the past.
For though I am going to murder you
And you will not be the last.
Oh, stop it now, you false young man,
Oh stop it now, cried she,
For 'tis not meet that such a youth
A deadened woman should you see.
He turned around, that false young man,
And faced the willow tree,
And seizing him boldly in both her arms,
She hanged him by the sea.
Hang there, hang there, you false young man,
Hang there, Hang there, cried she,
Six little maidens you've Hanged here,
Now keep them company!
He sank beneath the icy waves,
He sank down into the sea,
And no living thing wept a tear for him,
Save the lonely willow tree.”
As I enter my house, I see my wife sewing and my son Greg playing with his dice, an entertaining game that teaches him to add. I do not know where my daughter is and, right now, do not feel like looking. I talk to my wife about the new minister and my encounter with him. She is not really interested in him because her mother is sick and is close to death, but I haven’t told her yet.
I feel hungry but I cannot seem to find my slave, Mary Anne, anywhere. She is supposed to be making me some food and I am not in the mood to search for her. Hmmm, should I call her like I am in a jolly mood then scream at her or should I just howl at her from the beginning. “Mary Anne Snapple, come here and now I am waiting for her to come.”
As she walks in my room she sees my forced smile turn into a menacing glare. Once she is fully in the room, I shut the door and start roaring at her, using every curse word I know. After I am done with yelling at her, I pretend to leave and as I start to exit the room, I turn around and start beating her. I will grab a pan and strike her upside the head then burn her with hot coals.
She starts shrieking and tells me to stop. I hit her one last time, wait for her to stand up and push her over, then yell at her to make me some dinner.
I feel a lot better after that beating and think that it will make her work a lot harder from now on. As I start to proceed up the stairs, I hear a knocking on my door. When I open the door I see, two girls, the older one with brown hair and big, green eyes,the younger one with blond hair and bright, blue eyes and almost immediately recognize them as Minister Parris’ daughter and niece. I welcome them in but think it’s best not to bring them in the kitchen, at least not until Mary Anne is up and cooking. They tell me they have come to give me some milk and their father’s forgiveness, then explain he was just aggravated and is not usually like that. I ask why, and they say it is because some of the people of Salem promised him firewood and now will not give it to him. I look down sheepishly and change the subject.
I ask if they would like a drink of whiskey or maybe some strong cider. They reply with a “no” and tell me they re not partial to alcohol. Out of the corner of my eye I see my daughter, Sally, and trying not to be rude in front of my guests, ask if I may be excused for a minute. I take Sally by the arm and walk upstairs and look at her, asking angrily where she has been. She starts crying and tells me she is just trying to be nice and stitch her brother a shirt but make it a surprise. I ask why she did not’t tell anyone and she says she already told me when I was reading last night. I feel sorry now so I tell her to come downstairs and get a few biscuits from the kitchen for herself and our guests.
I go back into the kitchen to continue the discussion with Abigail and Betty, but Betty is in a trance. Even though I am a doctor, I have no idea what to do. I ask Abigail what happened and she says Betty goes into trances when she looks at clear glasses or bowls with water in them. She says it is the effects of witchcraft and I frown. Maybe this was the reason I had that feeling when the Parris’ came. She snaps out of her trance and I think it’s time for them to leave so I ask them to go home and also say goodbye.
A few days later Minster Parris comes knocking on my door and tells me to come to his house very quickly. As we get closer to his house, I start to hear some shrill screaming.
I do not really want to know what the screaming is but chances are I will find out. I enter his front door and he rushes me through the kitchen and into the sitting room where his daughter is in a trance and his niece is flapping her arms and running around the room screaming something about a yellow bird. The yellow bird is the devil's bird, I think. “O' lord please let this not mean anything, please tell me that this is just a young girl’s fancy not the markings of witchcraft.”
Suddenly Betty comes out of her trance and falls to the ground slumping like a dead animal, then she gets up and screams as loud as humanly possible. I cover my ears and just wish she would stop until I remember my role. She is in serious need of doctoring, so I pull out a cold cloth and try to cool her down. What is the matter with her? I've never had to deal with something like this but I've heard of cases where the same symptoms come up and it always ends up being called witchcraft.
Minister Parris calls his female slave in, her name is Tituba not Witchuba, and tells her to get a drink for us, before the bleeding. She gets a drink for me, John and the two girls. She tries to give Betty some water and touches her arm. The second she touches Betty's arm, Betty stops screaming and returns to normal. This doesn't seem right and it can't be right unless... I order Tituba to touch Abigail and when she does, Abigail stops running around. It is the most incredible thing I've ever seen, but I guess I was right. It seems if it is witchcraft Tituba, at least, is partly accountable for it.
I tell John I must go home to try to figure things out, (really to get away from this house of the devil). This is our minister and his slaves are doing devil's work? What have I done to deserve this? One just can't help but wonder about where he got his slaves.
Once I finish telling my wife about my visit at the minister’s house, I take a good look at my slave. I come from behind and slap her and ask her if she knows who Tituba is. She says “yes” and watches me frown. I ask what Tituba is like, and she says she is different and she acts odd. She says Tituba is friends with Goody Osbourne, a definite witch. Mary Anne tells me Tituba is from an island far away and can do abnormal things. “Stay away from her,” I warn her.
Soon I start hearing all these other stories from people about witchcraft. A few children from the town over have been bewitched and a few witches were hanged. It is not’t good that the same thing will probably happen here. Is Tituba the only witch? Does she ride brooms with other witches? Why would she do this to the children, who seemed to love her? Is there any reason for this ? Damn these witches from hell and back.
Damn them all!
Epilogue
Tituba was the only witch who ended up admitting to witchcraft and she
was not hanged. Most of the others were hanged and one was
released because she was pregnant. There were over 24 accused witches.
One man named Giles Corey would not say if he were guilty or
innocent,
so he was pressed to death and many other witches died in jail. Those
who were supposedly bewitched and accused others ended up living a
mostly normal life.