THAT HAUNTING FEELING, YOU'RE BEING WATCHED
OUT MUSIC OBSESSED LADS, ANDREW AND ROBERT, WITH THEIR GOOD FRIEND, AND TALENTED SINGER, BETTY SMITH, WERE IN TORONTO TODAY, TO TOUR A WELL KNOWN MUSIC STUDIO, FOR THE INSIDE SCOOP, ON THE RECORDING INDUSTRY, AND TO TAKE IN A SPECIAL "TRAGICALLY HIP" OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE, AS PART OF THE PRE-GAME RALLY, FOR "LEAF NATION," PRIOR TO THE SEASON OPENING, TORONTO-MONTREAL HOCKEY GAME, THIS EVENING. THEY HAVE A HUNCH A BANDMATE FRIEND, WILL BE ABLE TO GET THEM BACK-STAGE. WITH THEM IN TORONTO, WE CLOSED OUR GRAVENHURST SHOP TODAY, BECAUSE WE KNOW NEXT TO NOTHING ABOUT VINTAGE GUITARS AND SOUND EQUIPMENT. IN ORDER TO OPEN OUR ANTIQUE SHOP, WE'D HAVE TO OPEN THE MUSIC COMPONENT AS WELL, AND ALTHOUGH SUZANNE AND I MAY, OR MAY NOT HAVE, BEEN AT WOODSTOCK (IT WAS A PRETTY CRAZY GIG), WE NEVER GOT INTO THE FINER DETAILS, OF WHAT MUSICIANS ACTUALLY USE TO MAKE THEIR MUSIC. WE JUST LIKED WHAT WE HEARD. SO PLEASE, DON'T ASK US THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GIBSONS AND FENDERS, UNLESS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR NEIGHBORS ON SEGWUN BOULEVARD. I HOPE THEY HAD A GOOD DAY, AND ARRIVE BACK EARLY TOMORROW SO WE CAN GET BACK TO WORK. OH WELL, YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE THE OCCASIONAL DAY OFF, TO FOOL AROUND. OF COURSE, OUR IDEA OF FOOLING AROUND, THESE DAYS, IS TO BURY OURSELVES IN HISTORY; AND VISIT THOSE WHO HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN BURIED. HERE'S WHAT WE DID FOR OUR DAY'S SOCIAL / CULTURAL RECREATION.
POKING AROUND IN GRAVEYARDS
"THEY WASHED THEIR BODIES SO WHITE AND CLEAN, THOSE MEN OF THE PIONEER DAYS, THEIR BLOOD THEY LEFT TO SET IN THEIR VEINS, IT WAS THEIRS, AND IT IS THERE TO STAY." THESE WORDS WERE WRITTEN BY MUSKOKA LAKES FAMILY HISTORIAN BERT SHEA, IN AUGUST 1962. THE REFERENCE TO BLOOD LEFT IN THEIR VEINS, MEANS FIRST OF ALL, THAT THE BODY PREPARATION AND BURIALS WERE CONDUCTED WITHOUT THE PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE OF AN UNDERTAKER, AND THE CORPSES WERE NOT EMBALMED, WHICH WOULD HAVE NECESSITATED THE BLOOD BEING REMOVED FIRST. MANY UNDERTAKERS IN THE EARLY YEARS, DIDN'T OFFER EMBALMING, AND EVEN WHEN THEY DID, SOME FAMILIES REFUSED THE PRESERVING PROCESS, PREFERRING THE BLOOD REMAIN WITH THEIR KIN AT THE TIME OF BURIAL.
"THEY COMBED THEIR HAIR AND FOLDED THEIR HANDS, THEIR EYES THEY CLOSED WITH CARE, AND A CLEAN PRESSED VEST THEY GIRDED ON, AND COMBED OVER THEIR WHISKERS THERE. IN THE CASKET MADE FROM CLEAN WHITE PINE, THE CHOICE FROM THE FOREST GROVE, WITH PINS OF OAK TO JOIN IT TIGHT, BY STROKES OF THE HAMMER DROVE. SO THEY LAID HIM THERE, TO REST IN PEACE, WHILE THE YEARS IN HURRY FLY, TILL THE DAY WHERE EARTH AND TIME SHALL CEASE, TO WAKE AT THE TRUMPET'S CRY. AND THERE HE IS RESTING IN SILENCE LONG, HIS SLUMBER UNMARRED BY THE CLAY, THE STORMS PASS ON, THE SEASONS CHANGE, AND THE WILDFLOWERS SPRING WITH MAY. BUT STILL THERE IS A MURMUR AT EVENTIDE, AS THE BREEZES WHISPER LOW, AND MEMORY STEALS O'ER THE GRASSY SPOT, AS SOFTLY AS THE FALL OF SNOW. THEY HAVE LAID HIM THERE WITH LOVING CARE, AND THEIR TEAR DROPS, DAMPENED THE SOD, AS THE GOOD MAN COMMENDED HIS BODY TO EARTH, BUT HIS SOUL, IS AT REST WITH HIS GOD."
ON OUR APPROACH OF THE UFFORD CEMETERY, NORTH ON THE DOHERTY ROAD, WE RAN INTO WHAT I CAN ONLY DESCRIBE AS A MINI CYCLONE, THAT WAS ENERGIZED BY A WICKED WIND COMING FROM THE WEST (NO WITCH ATTACHED TO THIS), AND WITH THE TORRENTIAL RAIN AND THE TWISTING, SPIRALLING-DOWN OF HARDWOOD LEAVES, AND HORIZONTALLY DRIVED PINE NEEDLES, SLAPPING FLAST AGAINST THE WINDSHIELD, IT BECAME SUDDENLY DARK, AND BLINDING FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, WITH THE WIPERS GETTING CLOGGED, WHILE THE WEATHER CELL MOVED QUICKLY OVERHEAD. I HAD TO STOP AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD FOR SAFETY REASONS, BECAUSE IT WAS HARD TO SEE THE ROADWAY, AND VISIBILITY DOWN THE LANE WAS ONLY A FEW METRES AHEAD.
THE CLOUDSCAPE, WHEN WE COULD SEE IT THROUGH THE WIND-DRIVEN LEAVES, WAS BLACK, AND WE WONDERED IF THERE WAS A TORNADO BREWING WITHIN. AS QUICKLY AS IT SWEPT OVER US, IT SOON VANISHED, AND THE SUN POPPED OUT FOR SEVERAL MOMENTS. IN THE CEMETERY, HAVING A WALK-ABOUT, IT HIT AGAIN BUT MUCH LESS AGGRESSION, AND BEFORE WE GOT BACK TO GRAVENHURST, THERE WERE AT LEAST THREE MORE OF THESE WEATHER EVENTS, THAT FORCED US TO STOP AT ROADSIDE UNTIL IT CLEARED. EVEN NOW, WORKING OUT ON THE VERANDAH OF BIRCH HOLLOW, WE HAVE JUST HAD FIFTEEN MINUTES OF BRUTAL GALE FORCE WIND, SENDING LEAVES ONTO MY LAP, AND ALL OVER MY CANINE COMPANION, BOSKO, WHO IS SNORING AWAY, AT MY FEET, CONTENTLY OBLIVIOUS TO NOW BEING COVERED WITH WET YELLOW, RED AND ORANGE LEAVES; AND DOZENS OF PINE NEEDLES BLOWN HERE FROM WOODLANDS JUST ABOVE THE BOG. NOW FOR GOSH SAKES, IN MERE MINUTES AFTER THE GALE HAS SLAMMED OUR HOUSE, IT'S BEAUTIFULLY SUNNY AND MUCH WARMER THAN EVEN A FEW MINUTES AGO. A TOUCH OF NOVEMBER IN OCTOBER. THE WIND HAS REALLY STRIPPED A LOT OF THE TREES, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN OUTSTANDING THIS COMING WEEKEND, WHICH OF COURSE, IS THANKSGIVING. LOTS OF FOREST WATCHERS AROUND HERE. OH WELL, THAT'S HOW IT GOES IN MUSKOKA, ONCE YOU GET WITHIN A WHISKER OF THE WINTER SEASON; AND I'M TOLD BY THE OLD TIMERS, TO GET MY SHOVELS AND RELATED SNOW REMOVAL GEAR READY TO GO....VERY SOON. THEY EXPECT ANOTHER BRUTAL ASSAULT BY MOTHER NATURE. WITH WHAT WE SAW TODAY, BY GOLLY, IT'S GOING TO BE A WILD RIDE. I'M STILL CATCHING UP WITH HYDRO PAYMENTS FROM LAST YEAR'S DEEP FREEZE.
WE TOOK A LONG RIDE THROUGH THE TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES AND BRACEBRIDGE TODAY, AND DESPITE THE SUDDEN DOWNPOURS AND HIGH WINDS, THERE WAS ENOUGH SUNSHINE POKING THROUGH, TO THOROUGHLY PAINT THE AMAZING LANDSCAPE, IN THIS PART OF THE DISTRICT. SUZANNE AND FAMILY ARE FROM THE UFFORD AREA OF THE TOWNSHIP, AND SHE WAS RAISED A LTTLE FURTHER WEST, IN THE CHARMING VILLAGE OF WINDERMERE, ON LAKE ROSSEAU. SO WE DID THE LOOP, AND WE WERE BOTH SURPRISED BY THE CHANGES TO THE LANDSCAPE. LOTS OF NEW HOUSE BUILDING GOING ON OUT THERE IN THE RURAL CLIME. GOOD TO SEE. WE USED TO DRIVE THOSE ROADS DAILY, WHEN WE LIVED AT THE FAMILY COTTAGE ON LAKE ROSSEAU, AND CONSIDERING WE VERY NEARLY BOUGHT THE PROPERTY BACK THEN, TO USE AS A PERMANENT RESIDENT, WE WOULD HAVE HAD TO BE VERY RICH NOW, TO AFFORD THE TAXES, FIRST OF ALL, AND THEN GAS TO GET TO OUR RESPECTIVE PLACES OF BUSINESS; SO WE COULD THEN PAY OUR TAXES. WHEN WE LIVED THERE IN THE LATE 1980'S, SUZANNE WAS WORKING AT BRACEBRIDGE AND MUSKOKA LAKES SECONDARY SCHOOL, AND SHE SPENT CLOSE TO AN HOUR AND A HALF DRIVING EVERY DAY. I HAD A SECOND CAR THAT USED LESS GAS, BECAUSE IT FREQUENTLY STALLED AND LEFT ME STRANDED. THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A HEAVY BURDEN OF INCONVENIENCE, DOES IT? TODAY IT WOULD BE TWENTY TO THIRTY BUCKS IN GAS TO COVER BOTH WAYS, FOR EACH VEHICLE, (BECAUSE WE HAD DIFFERENT TIMES TO GET TO WORK, AND I WORKED EVENINGS, AND HAD TWO TODDLERS) DEPENDING ON THE VEHICLE. WE CAN WALK TO WORK NOW, SO I'M NOT INTERESTED AT PRESENT, IN MOVING TO THE OUT-BACK, ALTHOUGH I LOVE IT WITH ALL OF MY HEART. I RESPECT ANYONE WHO LIVES RURALLY, PAST AND PRESENT. A GREAT WAY OF LIFE THAT'S FOR SURE. I'M JUST TOO OLD AND GNARLY TO BE STRANDED IN THE WOODS WITH A FLAT TIRE, OR A FALLEN-OUT TRANSMISSION; AND SUZANNE HAS LOST SOME OF HER VIGOR AS AN OUTDOORS PERSON. AT LEAST FROM THE DAYS WHEN WE USED TO PADDLE MUSKOKA AND ALGONQUIN LAKES EVERY OTHER WEEKEND, JUST TO STAY IN SHAPE. I TRIED TO CLIMB INTO THE OLD RETIRED PORTAGE STORE, "IRON WATER HORSE," (ALUMINUM CANOE) THE OTHER DAY FOR FUN, SAFELY POSITIONED ON DRY LAND, (JUST TO SAY I COULD GET INSIDE) AND SUZANNE THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO HAVE TO CALL FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, TO BRING THE JAWS OF LIFE, TO EXTRACT ME FROM WHAT I ONCE FIT INTO, LIKE A GREASED PALM IN A FINE LEATHER GLOVE. SHE HAD TO ROLL ME OUT OF THE CANOE, AND THANK GOD THE NEIGHBORS WERE AT WORK. "TED, WITH YOUR WONKY HIP, CANOEING IS A THING OF THE PAST. YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO SETTLE FOR YOUR BILL MASON VIDEO, 'WATERWALKER,' WHENEVER YOU GET THE URGE TO PADDLE SOMETHING. YOU CAN HOLD ONTO THE PADDLE IN YOUR CHAIR, AND PRETEND YOUR GOING THROUGH RAPIDS." WELL THIS MADE ME FEEL MORE LIKE A TOOL THAN USUAL. BUT LIKE MOST UPSETS THESE DAYS, WHEN I FIND MYSELF TOO MUSCLE-WEAK TO DO WHAT I USED TO, IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS, SUZANNE HANDS ME A PIECE OF PIE. I LIKE THAT. IT MAKES ME FORGET MY MORE RUGGED FORMER SELF, RATHER WELL.
WE TREATED OURSELVES. STOPPED FIRST AT THE BRACEBRIDGE SALVATION ARMY, AND PURCHASED SOME NEAT VINTAGE BOOKS. HAD A NICE VISIT WITH STAFF, TALKED ABOUT LOCAL HISTORY, AND THEN HEADED, WITH BELLS ON, TO MARJ'S RESTAURANT IN BALL'S FLATS, FOR BREAKFAST. PICKED UP A NOTEBOOK FROM THE DOLLAR STORE, (BECAUSE SUZANNE FORGOT TO BRING ONE TO MAKE COPIOUS NOTES), AND TOOK THE BACKROADS OFF SOUTH MONCK DRIVE, TO FALKENBURG, OVER THE OLD PIONEER ROAD, AND THEN ONTO BARDSVILLE, UPTOWN AND DOWNTOWN, CONNECTING WITH THE DOHERTY ROAD, AND STOPPING FOR A VISIT AT THE UFFORD COMMUNITY CEMETERY. WE WERE DELIGHTED TO SEE THE NEW WHITE PICKET FENCE AROUND THE ROADSIDE CEMETERY, FOR THE LOST MEMBERS OF THE PIONEER DOHERTY FAMILY, WHICH IS LOCATED A SHORT DISTANCE FROM THE UFFORD GRAVEYARD, WITH AN ATTRACTIVE NEW SIGN ANNOUNCING IT AS "THE DOHERTY CEMETERY." WHAT'S SIGNIFICANT ABOUT THIS, IS THAT SUZANNE'S GRANDFATHER, JOHN SHEA, A FORMER MUNICIPAL CLERK WITH WATT TOWNSHIP, FELT THE FAMILY PLOT, LOCATED ON A SLIGHT ELEVATION OF LAND, THIRTY TO FORTY YARDS OFF THE TRAVELLED PORTION OF THE DOHERTY ROAD, DESERVED TO HAVE A FENCE ERECTED AROUND THE OTHERWISE UNMARKED PLOTS. HE DID THIS MANY YEARS AGO, (1950'S) AND WHEN SUZANNE AND I VISITED THE SMALL GRAVEYARD IN THE MID 1980'S, THE FENCE HAD FALLEN OVER AND MOST OF IT WAS BEYOND SAVING, ON ACCOUNT OF ROT. THE WAY WE FINALLY LOCATED THE OBSCURED, OVERGROWN PLOTS, WAS BY FOLLOWING EXACTLY, HOW SUZANNE'S MOTHER, HARRIET, HAD IDENTIFIED IT BEFORE-HAND, AS BEING WHERE THERE WAS AN OLD STAND OF LILACS. THE LILACS WERE IN PRETTY BAD SHAPE BY THIS POINT, BECAUSE THE MUCH LARGER EVERGREENS, IN THE VICINITY, HAD BEEN BLOCKING OUT THE SUNLIGHT. THE LILACS HAD BEEN PLANTED AT GRAVESIDE, SHORTLY AFTER MULTIPLE MEMBERS OF THE DOUERTY FAMILY DIED, AS A DIRECT RESULT OF EITHER A DIPTHERIA OR INFLUENZA OUTBREAK IN THE AREA. THE WELL KNOWN TRAVELING ANGLICAN MISSIONARY, GOWNAN GILMORE, WHO ASSISTED MANY OF THESE STRICKEN FAMILIES, DURING THE HEIGHT OF ILLNESSES, KNEW OF CASES WHERE WHOLE HOUSEHOLDS DIED AS A DIRECT RESULT.
AT THE TIME OF THEIR DEATHS, EITHER THREE OR FOUR IN ONE NIGHT HAVING SUCCUMBED, THE UNDERTAKER'S CREW, TWO MEN WITH A TEAM OF HORSES AND WAGON, CAME AFTER THE DEATHS, TO REMOVED AND THEN BURY THE BODIES AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. THEY DID NOT WANT ANY MOURNERS OR NEIGHBORS TO BE AT THE GRAVESITE, DUE TO CONCERNS ABOUT POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION; AS THE ILLNESS COULD SPREAD QUICKLY, AND IT WAS EXPECTED, IT WOULD DO SO WITH EVEN MINOR CONTACT. THE UNDERTAKERS, USUALLY CONTRACTORS EMPLOYED BY ANOTHER FUNERAL DIRECTOR, WORKED OFTEN LATE AT NIGHT, PICKING UP THE DECEASED, AND THEN CARTING THEM AWAY FOR IMMEDIATE BURIAL. IN THE CASE OF THE DOHERTY CLAN, IT EXPLAINS WHY THEY WERE BURIED CLOSE TO THEIR HOMESTEAD, ADJACENT TO THE ROAD, AND NOT AT THE UFFORD UNITED CHURCH CEMETERY, THAT WAS OPENED IN THE EARLY 1870'S, A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY. THE UFFORD COMMUNITY CEMETERY, ACTUALLY ON DOHERTY ROAD, WAS OPENED IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE 1900'S. WE HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING THE ACTUAL DATES OF THEIR DEATHS, THROUGH THE ONLINE RECORDS WE CAN ACCESS THROUGH ANCESTRY.CA, OF WHICH SUZANNE IS A SUBSCRIBER. SHE'S GOING TO BE CHECKING OUT CENSUS RECORDS IN THE NEAR FUTURE, TO UPDATE INFORMATION ON THE DOHERTY FAMILY SITUATION, AND IF THERE WERE ANY SURVIVING MEMBERS THAT FATEFUL NIGHT. IT'S NICE TO SEE THE TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES, LOOKING AFTER THIS SPECIAL PROPERTY, THAT HAD BEEN LEFT OBSCURED AND OVERGROWN FOR DECADES, SINCE JOHN SHEA'S PICKET FENCE ROTTED AWAY, AND THE BURIAL GROUND SEEMED TO BE LOST IN TIME.
BY THE WAY, IT WAS OFTEN THE FRIGHT OF FOLK TALES, TO REMINISCE ABOUT THE SOUND OF THE HORSE PULLED CART, WITH THE UNDERTAKERS, TRAVELING THE DIRT LANEWAYS THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE, FOR THOSE LATE-NIGHT APPOINTMENTS.
SUZANNE AND I THEN MOTORED THE SHORT DISTANCE DOWN TO THE UFFORD COMMUNITY CEMETERY, WHERE OUR FAMILY IS WELL REPRESENTED, INCLUDING HER MOTHER AND FATHER, HARRIET AND NORM STRIPP, FORMERLY OF WINDERMERE. HARRIET WAS A MEMBER OF THE SHEA FAMILY, HER FATHER BEING JOHN SHEA, THE ABOVE-MENTIONED BUILDER OF THE FENCE. SUZANNE WAS ABLE TO FIND THE MARKER FOR JOHN LILY SHEA, WHO YOU MIGHT REMEMBER FROM THE PREVIOUS BLOGS THIS WEEK, INVOLVING THE RESCUE OF THE NEAR-FROZEN ENGLISHMAN, MR. GILL, ON LAKE ROSSEAU'S TOBIN'S ISLAND, AND THEN YESTERDAY, WHEN I WAS WRITING ABOUT THE FIRST (SQUARED LOG) CHURCH IN UFFORD, CIRCA 1869, ON LAND HE DONATED TO THE METHODISTS. THIS INFORMATION CAME FROM BERT SHEA'S WELL KNOWN BOOK, "HISTORY OF THE SHEAS - BIRTH OF A TOWNSHIP." IT WAS A PROFOUND EXPERIENCE FOR ME, STANDING ON HIS PLOT FOR THOSE FEW MOMENTS. I HAD JUST READ ANOTHER HANDWRITTEN NOTE ABOUT JOHN LILY SHEA, THE EVENING BEFORE, REGARDING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PORT CARLING LOCKS. WHEN THE FIRST HAND HEWN TIMBERS WERE USED TO WALL THE NEWLY CONSTRUCTED LOCKS, IN THE 1860'S, CONNECTING LAKES MUSKOKA AND ROSSEAU, FOR THE ADVANTAGE OF STEAM NAVIGATION FOR MR. COCKBURN'S BOATS, THE INITIAL JOB FAILED DUE TO LEAKS THROUGH THE JOINED TIMBERS. JOHN LILY SHEA, ONE OF THE BEST HEWERS IN THE DISTRICT, WAS CALLED IN TO REMEDY THE SITUATION; AND HE DID, AND THE LOGS LASTED, ACCORDING TO THE HANDWRITTEN RECORD, UNTIL A LOCK RESTORATION IN THE 1950'S. IT WAS JOHN LILY WHO DID THE DOVE-TAIL CORNERS, AND SQUARED THE LOGS FOR THE PIONEER METHODIST CHURCH. SO YES, I WAS VERY HONORED TO FINALLY MEET UP WITH A MAN I HAD READ SO MUCH ABOUT, IN BERT SHEA'S FAMILY HISTORY. JOHN LILY SHEA WAS SUZANNE'S GREAT-GREAT UNCLE. WE ALSO VISITED ALL THE OTHER SHEA AND VEITCH FAMILY GRAVESITES, BECAUSE THE FAMILIES INTER-MARRIED OVER THE GENERATIONS
FOLLOWING A WET AND STORMY HIATUS AT THE UFFORD CEMETERY, WE TRAVELLED-ON TO SEE THE UNITED CHURCH CEMETERY, THE ONE MENTIONED ABOVE, AND HIGHLIGHTED IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG, (YOU CAN ARCHIVE BACK TO READ IT). THE ORIGINAL LOG CHURCH WAS CONSTRUCTED ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE PROPERTY, AND THE CEMETERY ON THE WEST. THERE ARE ONLY SEVERAL GRAVESTONES VISIBLE TODAY, INCLUDING THE LITTLE LAMB-TOPPED TOMBSTONE FOR MARIA MACINTOSH, FOUR YEAR OLD DAUGHTER OF DONALD AND SUSANNA (NEE SHEA) MACINTOSH. SEEING AS I WROTE ABOUT HER IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG, I COULDN'T RESIST PUTTING MY HAND ON THE CARVED LAMB ON TOP OF THE MARKER, AND INTRODUCING MYSELF AND SUZANNE, AS HER DISTANT FAMILY. THERE WERE ALSO MARKERS TO ONE OF THE CHURCH FOUNDERS, JOHN LACY OLDHAM AND HIS WIFE (WHO HAD PASSED AWAY WHILE IN MICHIGAN), AND OTHER OLDHAM KIN. THE GRAVESTONES WERE BADLY ERODED AND DIFFICULT TO READ. THE CEMETERY WAS DEDICATED TO JAMES SHEA, JOHN LILY SHEA'S FATHER. SUZANNE FOUND A PROBLEM WITH THE ANCESTRY AFFORDED HER GREAT,GREAT, GREAT GRANDFATHER, (ON A BIG BRASS PLATE AT THE CEMETERY) AND HAS SET TO WORK TO MAKE THE CORRECTION. SHE A STICKLER FOR DETAIL, AND THAT'S A GOOD QUALITY WHEN YOU'RE A FAMILY HISTORIAN. I'LL GIVE YOU UPDATES ON WHAT HAD TO BE REVISED; A LITTLE TOUGH WHEN IT'S WRITTEN ON A BRASS PLAQUE, BOLTED TO A ROCK. SO SHE HAS TO BE CAREFUL WITH HOW SHE HANDLES THE NEW INFORMATION, WHICH DEBUNKS SOME OF THE FAMILY LINEAGE CLAIMS. IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME, THAT WHAT WAS ACCEPTED AS FACT, IN FAMILY HISTORIES, IS DERAILED BY ADDITIONAL ARCHIVES MATERIAL, WHICH BECOMES AVAILABLE THROUGH OTHER, DISTANT FAMILY MEMBERS, WORKING BY COINCIDENCE ON THEIR OWN ANCESTRAL RESEARCH. SO YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED, AS A FAMILY HISTORIAN, FOR TRUTHS THAT MAY MAKE OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS ANGRY. THE TRUTH IS WHAT IT IS!
EARLY SETTLERS AND THEIR SUPERSTITIONS - WHAT WAS FEARED ON THE MUSKOKA HOMESTEAD?
A BELIEF IN WITCHES? YOU BET!
I HAVE BEEN SITTING OUT ON OUR VERANDAH, FOR THE PAST HOUR, ENJOYING ANOTHER AMAZING FALL DAY, HERE IN SOUTH MUSKOKA. EARLIER, SUZANNE AND I STOPPED BY MUSKOKA BEACH, OVERLOOKING LAKE MUSKOKA, AND IT WAS A BREATHTAKING SUNSET......ONE OF THE MOST DAZZLING I'VE SEEN.
AS I WROTE ABOUT SEVERAL DAYS AGO, I WAS ABLE TO SECURE A FASCINATING NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CANADA BOOKLET, ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1850, ENTITLED "FOLK-LORE OF WATERLOO COUNTY, ONTARIO," AS ORIGINALLY PREPARED BY W. J. WINTEMBERG, WHO DIED BEFORE THIS FINAL MANUSCRIPT WAS PREPARED. BUT THE RESEARCH WORK HE INTIATED, PROVIDED EXCEPTIONAL FINDINGS, AND THE NATIONAL MUSEUM DECIDED TO PUT IT INTO BULLETIN 116, OF THEIR ANTHROPOLOGICAL SERIES, LISTED AS NUMBER 28, IN CASE YOU WOULD ALSO LIKE TO HAVE ACCESS TO THIS MATERIAL.
THE BOOK DEALS WITH AN EARLIER PERIOD IN THE HISTORY OF SETTLEMENT IN UPPER CANADA, AND THOSE HAVING IMMIGRATED TO NORTH AMERICA FROM GERMANY AS WELL AS BORDER AREAS. ALTHOUGH MUSKOKA DIDN'T HAVE A LARGE GERMAN INFLUX, DURING THE FREE LAND GRANT AND HOMESTEADS ACT PERIOD, FROM THE LATE 1860'S, THESE SETTLERS DID ARRIVE IN GROWING NUMBERS AS SETTLEMENTS GREW. AS THIS SERIES OF BLOGS IS LOOKING AT THE FOLK-LORE OF THE REGION, WHICH HAS BEEN LARGELY NEGLECTED BY HISTORIANS, SOME MATERIAL IN THIS PUBLICATON WILL RELATE TO BELIEFS HELD BY CERTAIN RESIDENTS, NEWLY ARRIVING IN THE HAMLETS AND FARMSTEADS, DOTTING THE MUSKOKA COUNTRYSIDE IN THE LATE 1800'S. THERE WERE A WIDE RANGE OF SUPERSTITIONS AND BELIEFS IN THE PARANORMAL, THAT THESE SETTLERS BROUGHT TO THE CANADIAN WILDS, AND MUCH EVOLVED WITH THESE STRANGE FICTIONS, WHEN CULTURES INTER-MARRIED, AND EVOLVED THESE SUPERSTITIIONS INTO MULTI-CULTURAL BELIEFS. I HAVE INCLUDED PORTIONS OF A CHAPTER ON "WITCHES AND WITCHCRAFT" FROM THE WORK OF W.J. WINTERMBERG, THAT MAY HAVE HAD A PLACE, IN THE SUPERSTITIONS OF THOSE HOMESTEADERS OF GERMANIC ORIGIN. THE STORIES ARE FROM EARLIER IN THE 1800'S, BUT IT IS LIKELY THEY WERE STILL AROUND BY THE TIME MUSKOKA WAS BEING SETTLED, LATER IN THE CENTURY. NOW IN THE WORDS OF THE STUDY'S AUTHOR:
"BELIEF IN WITCHES AND WITCHCRAFT WAS QUITE COMMON IN THE RURAL PARTS OF ONTARIO IN THE EARLY DAYS, AND ESPECIALLY SO AMONG THE GERMAN SETTLERS IN WATERLOO COUNTY. THE NUMBER '99' IS CALLED 'HEXE-G'WICHT,' MEANING 'WITCHES' WEIGHT."
THE AUTHOR REPORTS THAT, "A SHARP SHOOTING PAIN IN THE SIDE, BACK, OR SHOULDERS IS CALLED A 'HEXE-SCHTICK,' I.E. 'WITCHES' STAB. THE MILK OF A BEWITCHED COW SHOULD BE PUT ON THE HINGE OF A DOOR SO THAT EVERY TIME THE DOOR IS OPENED AND CLOSED, THE WITCH WILL BE TORTURED. TO KEEP THE WITCHES OUT OF THE STABLE, A SPRIG OF CEDAR BLESSED BY THE PRIEST WAS PLACED ABOVE THE STABLE DOOR ON PALM SUNDAY. PUSSY WILLOW SPRAYS WERE USED FOR LIKE PURPOSE.
"ON THE LAST DAY OF APRIL, A CROSS WITH THE NAMES OR INITIALS (USUALLY THE LATTER) OF THE THREE WISE MEN OF THE EAST, - CASPAR, MELCHIOR, AND BALTHAZAR - WAS MADE ON THE DOORS OF THE HOUSES TO KEEP WITCHES OUT. THE BELIEF THAT BLACK CATS ARE THE ASSOCIATES OF WITCHES WAS AT ONE TIME WIDESPREAD. A YOUNG MAN (THE SON OF A GERMAN CONJURE DOCTOR) OFTEN TOLD HIS FRIENDS THAT WHEN HE PASSED BY AN OLD WITCH'S HOUSE, AT NIGHT, HIS PROGRESS WAS IMPEDED BY A HOST OF BLACK CATS, AND HE WAS SOMETIMES FORCED TOTAKE TO THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD TO REACH HIS HOME. THIS OCCURRED IN THE VILLAGE OF NEW HAMBURG NOT MANY YEARS AGO."
W. J. WINTEMBERG WRITES, "IT WAS FORMERLY BELIEVED THAT A HORSE THAT APPEARED TIRED OR RESTLESS IN THE MORNING HAD BEEN RIDDEN HARD BY WITCHES. IT WAS ALSO BELIEVED THAT THESE WITCHES SOMETIMES ENTANGLED THE HAIR OF A HORSE'S MAIN IN SO INTRICATE A MANNER THAT IT COULD NOT BE DISENTANGLED. SOME BELIEVED THAT WITCHES HELD A MIDNIGHT ORGY OR FESTIVAL EACH MONTH, AND THAT DRINKING VESSELS USED AT THESE FESTIVALS WERE COW-HOOF CUPS AND BOWLS MADE OF HORSE'S HOOFS. ABOUT 1880 THERE LIVED AN OLD WOMAN NOT FAR FROM THE VILLAGE OF NEW DUNDEE WHO WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN A WITCH. SHE IS SAID TO HAVE POSSESSED THE 'SIXTH AND SEVENTH BOOKS OF MOSES,' AND IT WAS BELIEVED THAT SHE COULD TRANSFORM HERSELF INTO ANY ANIMAL SHE CHOSE. SHE SOMETIMES TRANSFORMED HERSELF INTO A CAT AND PROWLED AROUND HER NEIGHBORS' PREMISES.
"ONE DAY A SOW, AND HER LITTER OF TEN LITTLE PIGS, BELONGING TO A WILMOT TOWNSHIP FARMER, STARTED TO RUN A CIRCLE AROUND THE BARNYARD; THE PIGS FOLLOWING CLOSE ON HER HEELS. EVERY FEW MINUTES ONE OF THE PIGS FELL OVER AND DIED. THIS CONTINUED UNTIL ONLY A FEW PIGS WERE LEFT. THE FARMER THEN CONSULTED AN AMISH WITCH-DOCTOR NAMED LUGOBULL. THE DOCTOR BROKE THE SPELL THAT THE WITCH HAD CAST OVER THE PIGS, AND TOLD THE FARMER THAT THE WITCH WOULD SOON CALL TO BORROW SOMETHING, BUT HE WAS NOT TO LET HER HAVE IT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, FOR THUS SHE WOULD REGAIN HER POWER OVER THE PIGS. THE WITCH-DOCTOR'S WORDS PROVED TO BE TRUE, FOR BEFORE LONG A WOMAN CAME TO BORROW SOMETHING AND HE REFUSED TO LET HER HAVE IT. SHE CALLED SEVERAL TIMES BUT WAS ALWAYS REFUSED AND HER PLANS WERE THWARTED.
"ONE DAY AN OLD WOMAN CAME TO A FARMHOUSE IN WILMOT TOWNSHIP AND ASKED FOR SOME FOOD, WHICH WAS REFUSED HER. SHE LEFT, MUCH INCENSED AT THIS REFUSAL, AND AS SHE WAS GOING DOWN THE LANE SHE CALED THE COWS, MEANWHILE HOLDING UP THREE OF HER FINGERS. THE FARMER DID NOT THINK MUCH ABOUT THE MATTER AT THE TIME, BUT WHEN THE WOMEN BEGAN TO MILK THEY FOUND THAT ON EVERY COW ONLY ONE TEAT PRODUCED MILK, THE OTHER THREE BLOOD. THE FOLLOWING MORNING THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN AND THE FARMER, BECOMING ALARMED, CONSULTED AN AMISH WITCH-DOCTOR WHO CURED THE COWS BY A PROCESS OF CHARMING."
THE FOLK HISTORIAN WRITES, "ANOTHER FARMER'S COW WAS BEWITCHED, THE MILK BEING THICK EVERY TIME THE COW WAS MILKED. A WITCH-DOCTOR WAS CONSULTED AND HE ADVISED THEM TO PUT THE MILK INTO A PAN AND SET IT ON THE STOVE TO BOIL, AND THEN THEY WERE TO GIVE THE MILK A THOROUGH WHIPPING WHILE IT BOILED. THIS WAS DONE, THE COW WAS CURED, AND THE WITCH'S POWER WAS DISPELLED. ONE DAY TWO YOUNG MEN WERE LOADING HAY IN A FIELD WHEN A WOMAN CAME WALKING ALONG THE ROAD THAT PASSED NEAR THE FIELD. THE WOMAN WAS A WITCH AND SHE BEWITCHED THE TWO YOUNG MEN AND THEY COULD NOT PROCEED WITH THEIR WORK. ONE OF THE YOUTHS THEN THREE HIS FORK IN THE AIR AND IT STUCK THERE, BUT WHEN HE PULLED IT DOWN AGAIN THE WITCH RAN AWAY. (TOLD BY A YOUNG AMISHMAN)
"THE MANGERS IN THE SETTLER'S BARNS WERE MADE FROM HALF A HOLLOW BASSWOOD LOG, WITH BOARDS NAILED ACROSS THE ENDS, AND HOLES WERE BORED THROUGH THE SIDES, JUST AS THEY ARE NOWADAYS FOR FASTENING THE ANIMALS. OLD KUTLER HAD A NUMBER OF CALVES FASTENED IN HIS STABLE IN THIS WAY. THE CHAINS AROUND THE CALVES' NECKS WERE QUITE LOOSE, BUT NOT SUFFICIENTLY SO AS TO ALLOW THE ANIMALS TO GET FREE. ONE MORNING WHEN HE WENT OUT TO THE STABLE HE FOUND THE TWO CALVES FASTENED TOGETHER WITH ONE CHAIN; THAT IS, IT LOOKED AS IF ONE CALF HAD SLIPPED ITS HEAD INSIDE THE CHAIN OF ANOTHER CALF, AND THUS BECOME SECURELY FASTENED. THE CHAIN WAS SO TIGHT THAT IT COULD NOT BE REMOVED, AND SO THEY HAD TO CHOP OUT THE END OF THE CHAIN WHERE IT WAS FASTENED TO THE MANGER AND THEN FILE APART ONE OF THE LINKS. KUTLER CLAIMED THE CALVES HAD BEEN PUT IN THIS POSITION BY A WITCH, BECAUSE THE UNITED STRENGTH OF TWO MEN PULLING ON THE CHAIN COULD NOT RELEASE THE CALVES. HE SHOWED MY FATHER THE NOTCH IN THE MANGER WHERE THE CHAIN HAD TO BE CUT LOOSE. THIS HAPPENED ABOUT 60 YEARS AGO. KUTLER WAS AN ALSATIAN SETTLER IN WILMOT TOWNSHIP.
"OLD MAN MERKLINGER, WHO FORMERLY LIVED NEAR STE. AGATHA, WAS A HEXE-MEESHTER OR 'WTICH DOCTOR,' AND WAS LOCALLY KNOWN AS HELL-DEIFEL, I.E. 'HELL DEVIL.' IN ONE FAMILY OF ALSATIAN SETTLERS IN WILMOT, OF WHOM I HEARD SOME YEARS AGO, THE FATHER WAS SHUNNED BY HIS OWN DAUGHTER BECAUSE SHE BELIEVED HE WAS A WIZARD. HIS SISTER HAD THE REPUTATION OF BEING A WITCH, ALTHOUGH THERE WAS NOT A MORE KIND-HEARTED WOMAN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. THE WRITER'S MOTHER ONCE HAD THE QUINSY AND THIS WAS SAID BY HER EMPLOYER TO HAVE BEEN DUE TO THE MALICE OF TWO OLD WITCHES WHO LIVED BY. AFTER SHE HAD RECOVERED, SHE RETURNED TO HER EMPLOYER'S PLACE, BUT ON THE VERY DAY OF HER RETURN, THE TWO OLD WOMEN HAPPENED TO BE THERE AND ONE OF THE SAID, 'YOUR THROAT WILL BE AS SORE AS EVER TOMORROW,' AND SURE ENOUGH IN THE MORNING THIS WAS SO. IT WAS BELIEVED THAT THE WITCHES HAD BEWITCHED HER AGAIN, AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT HER EMPLOYERS BELIEVED; AND THESE PEOPLE ACTUALLY MOVED FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO GET AWAY FROM THE BANEFUL INFLUENCE OF THOSE TWO OLD WOMEN. CHILDREN COULD NOT BE INDUCED TO EAT EVEN AN APPLE GIVEN TO THEM BY EITHER ONE OF THE SUPPOSED WITCHES."
THE AUTHOR CONTINUES, BY NOTING THAT, "THE WRITER'S MATERNAL UNCLE WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN BEWITCHED BY AN OLD WOMAN WHEN HE WAS A BABY. ONE DAY WHILE HE WAS LYING IN HIS CRADLE A TALL, GAUNT-LOOKING WOMAN, A PERFECT STRANGER, CALLED AT THE HOUSE AND WENT TO THE CRADLE AND THE CHILD BEGAN TO CRY AND DID NOT STOP UNTIL THE NEXT MORNING WHEN THE STRANGE WOMAN LEFT. ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A SHOEMAKER IN ALSACE, WHO EMPLOYED SEVERAL ASSISTANTS, AND THESE HAD TO WORK AT NIGHT. HE SOMETIMES WAS ABSENT FROM HOME, SO HIS WIFE, WHO WAS A WITCH, TRANSFORMED HERSELF INTO A CAT AND WENT INTO THE SHOP TO WATCH THE MEN. THEIR DOINGS ALWAYS BEING REPORTED TO THEIR MASTER, THEY BEGAN TO SUSPECT THAT THE CAT WAS THE MASTER'S WIFE, AND SO ONE NIGHT ONE OF THEM CUT ONE OF THE CAT'S PAWS WITH A KNIFE. THE NEXT MORNING THE WIFE HAD ONE OF HER HANDS BOUND UP.
"THE WITCHES HELD MONTHLY ORGIES OR FESTIVALS. IN ALSACE THE CHIMNEYS OF HOUSES ARE VERY WIDE, AND IT WAS THROUGH THESE THE LEFT THE HOUSE WITH OUT BEING SEEN. AT A CERTAIN FARMHOUSE THERE WERE TWO WOMEN - MOTHER AND DAUGHTER - WHO WERE WITCHES. WITH THEM LIVED AN INQUISITIVE YOUNG FARM-HAND. HE HAD NOTICED SOMETHING UNUSUAL WAS TAKING PLACE IN THE HOUSE EVERY MONTH, SO ONE NIGHT HE HID IN THE KITCHEN AND WATCHED. ABOUT MIDNIGHT THE WOMEN CAME AND STOOD NAKED BEFORE THE FIREPLACE, BENEATH THE CHIMNEY, AND AFTER ANOINTING THEMSELVES WITH AN OIL THAT THE GERMANS CALL HEXENFETT, (I.E. WITCH'S FAT), UTTERED SOME MAGIC WORDS, AND UP THEY WENT THROUGH THE CHIMNEY. THE YOUNG MAN THEN EMERGED FROM HIS HIDING PLACE AND SEEING THE VESSEL CONTAINING THE OIL, HE ANOINTED HIMSELF TO SEE WHAT EFFECT IT WOULD HAVE ON HIM. HE HAD SCARCELY PRONOUNCED THE MYSTIC WORDS WHEN HE WENT UP THE CHIMNEY WITH A SUDDENNESS THAT WAS SURPRISING, AND WHEN HE REACHED THE GROUND HE FOUND HIMSELF ASTRIDE A LARGE BLACK SOW, WHICH CARRIED HIM WITH GREAT SPEED ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THEY SOON ARRIVED AT A BROAD AND SWIFT-FLOWING RIVER, BUT THIS DID NOT HINDER THE ONWARD ADVANCE OF THE SOW, FOR IT CLEARED THE BROAD EXPANSE OF WATER AT A SINGLE BOUND. THE YOUNG MAN LOOKED BACK, AND, ADMIRING ITS LEAPING POWERS, HE SAID TO THE SOW, 'THAT WAS A LONG LEAP YOU MADE,' BUT AS HE SPOKE, THE SPELL WAS BROKEN, AND THE SOW DISAPPEARED, AND HE FOUND HIMSELF IN A STRANGE COUNTRY MANY MILES FROM HOME."
ONCE AGAIN, THE INCLUSION OF THIS MATERIAL, GATHERED ORIGINALLY FROM THE WATERLOO AREA, OF THE PROVINCE, DOES NOT APPLY STRICTLY TO OUR AREA, BUT HAS BEEN USED AS A MODEL FOR COMPARISON, AGAINST FOLK-TALES TOLD IN THE FARMSTEADS AND HAMLET RESIDENCES OF PIONEER MUSKOKA. THERE ARE MANY PARALLELS TO THE STORIES ABOVE, AND SOME FAMILIES HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO RECORD THEM, IN PERSONAL JOURNALS, AND SOME ON TAPE WHICH IS OF HUGE SIGNIFICANCE.....BEING ABLE TO HEAR THE VOICES OF THE STORY TELLERS FIRST HAND....AS RECALLED FROM THEIR ANCESTRAL CHRONICLE. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF SIMILAR STORIES THAT SHOULD BE CONSERVED AS PART OF OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE. MAYBE YOU KNOW SOME FROM YOUR OWN UPBRINGING, AND CULTURAL HERITAGE. PLEASE WRITE THEM DOWN, AND IF YOU EVER WISH TO SHARE THEM, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SEND ME A NOTE. I'D LOVE TO INCLUDE THEM IN THIS BLOG.
WHEN FOLK HISTORIAN BERT SHEA, RE-TOLD THE STORY OF "BLACK" BILLY CROWDER, DURING THE SPRING LOG DRIVE (CIRCA 1890'S), ON THE DEE RIVER (DOWN FROM THREE MILE LAKE) THE REVELATION THAT HE HAD SHOWN SUPERNATURAL CAPABILITY, WHEN SHUTTING THE WATER DOWN, RAGING OVER THE DAM, DEMONSTRATED A GENERAL BELIEF OF WITNESSES, IN THE PARANORMAL. DESPITE THEIR RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS, THEY SAW SOMETHING BEYOND COMPREHENSION, TAKE PLACE ON THAT NARROW DAM OVER THE FALLS. CROWDER HAD EXHIBITED SUPER HUMAN STRENGTH AND AGILITY, IN ORDER TO RESCUE HIS NEPHEW, WHO HAD FALLEN INTO THE CHURNING WATER AND RUNNING LOGS BELOW. WHILE HE WASN'T SUCCESSFUL IN SAVING HIS LIVE, MANY OF THAT LOGGING CREW, SAW THE MAN PERFORM THIS FEAT OF STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE.....EVEN IF IT WAS ONLY TO RECOVER HIS SISTER'S SON, WEDGED BETWEEN THE ROCKS BELOW. DID IT HAPPEN EXACTLY AS BERT SHEA WROTE THE STORY? I EXPECT IT WAS EMBELLISHED OVER TIME, AS MOST FOLK TALES WERE. THAT'S WHAT MAKES THEM INTERESTING. NOT THE HISTORICAL ACCURACY, BUT THE HUMAN, CULTURAL CHARACTER WITHIN. THE SAME AGAIN, WITH THE STORY OF PAT LOVELY, AND HIS ARRIVAL IN THE HAMLET OF UFFORD, TO TAKE UP A FARMSTEAD IN AMONGST A CLUSTER OF IRISH PROTESTANTS; THE SHEAS, KNOWN AS THE LEGENDARY "THREE MILE LAKE WOLVES." THE LOVELYS WERE AN IRISH CATHOLIC FAMILY. WHILE THEY APPARENTLY GOT ALONG, IT WAS SAID PAT LOVELY COULD BEWITCH A NEIGHBOR'S LIVESTOCK IF HE WAS SO INCLINED. HE CONVINCED THE LOCAL YOUTH, VISITING HIS FARM, THAT HE COULD MAGICALLY SHRINK DOWN SMALL ENOUGH, TO ENTER A WOODEN BARREL, FROM WHICH HE USED TO TALK TO THEM. PAT LOVELY COULD OBVIOUSLY THROW HIS VOICE, AND THAT WASN'T REALLY MAGIC AT ALL. BUT THE STORY ITSELF IS MAJGICAL. THESE ARE THE STORIES WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF, NOT BECAUSE THEY'RE PIVOTAL IN THE APPRECIATION OF LOCAL HISTORICAL ACCOMPLISHMENT......BUT BECAUSE THEY REPRESENT, LIKE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, HOW OUR FOUNDERS NAVIGATED EACH DAY ON THOSE LONELY, ISOLATED FARMSTEADS; AND DEALT WITH THE RIGORS AND HARDSHIPS OF MAKING A FARM-LIFE IN A HOSTILE ENVIRONS. THESE ARE FASCINATING STORIES AND WHAT THEY LACK IN FACT, THEY MORE THAN MAKE UP WITH CHARACTER......THAT MOST OF US DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT.
THE RECOLLECTIONS OF THESE FOLK-TALES ABOUT WITCHES, FROM OUR PIONEER HISTORY, DOES NOT MEAN TO BE CRITICAL OF THOSE WHO CHOOSE TODAY TO PRACTICE THEIR BELIEFS IN THIS REGARD. THIS SERIES, IS NOT DEALING WITH CONTEMPORARY BELIEFS OR CHOICE OF RELIGIONS, FAITH, OR LINGERING LOYALTY TO SUPERSTIONS AND ANCIENT LORE. IT IS AN ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND, BEYOND RELIGION, WHAT THESE EARLY SETTLERS BELIEVED, HUDDLED AROUND THOSE CABIN HEARTHS, AND TOLD AND RE-TOLD ON COLD WINTER NIGHTS, ISOLATED ON THEIR MUSKOKA ACREAGE. JUST LIKE US, THEY HELD FIRMLY TO THEIR LIFE-LONG BELIEFS AND VALUES......AND THAT INCLUDED WITCHES.....AS DID MOST CULTURES AT THAT TIME.
PLEASE JOIN ME AGAIN TOMORROW, FOR ANOTHER GLIMPSE OF FOLK LORE, AS TAKEN FROM THIS SAME MUSEUM DOCUMENT.
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