May 7. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



447 



only her brest were biger than usuall, and her 

 nipples larger than one y' did not give suck, 

 though lier body was much pined and wasted, yet 

 her brests seemed full. 



4. Upon y° searching y® body of y® wife of 

 Giles Cory, there was severall darke moulds, one 

 of which was upon one of her buttucks, and being 

 pricked with a pin, it was without sence, and did 

 not bleed. 



5. Upon y'= searching y" body of Widow Hoer, 

 nothing appeared on her unnaturall, only her 

 body verry much scratched, and on her head a 

 strange lock of haire, verry long, and differing in 

 color from y° rest on her head, and matted or 

 tangled together, which she said was a widow's 

 lock, and said, if it were cutt off she should die. 



6. Upon searching y"' body of llachell Clenton, 

 there was found an unnaturall teat on one side, 

 something lower than just under her arme, which 

 teat having a pin thrust throw it she was not 

 senceable of, till by scratching her side, pricked 

 her fingers with y^ pin y' was then in y" teate ; 

 neither did y= teat bleed. 



There was also ordered, with y^ foresaid Docf, 

 four other men, viz', Mr. Har. Symonds, Samuel 

 Graves, Sen% Thomas Knewlton, and John Fin- 

 der, to search y" body of Giles Cory, and they re- 

 turned y' they, having searched him, found nothing 

 unnaturall upon him. 



The truth of which I heare attest. 



(Signed) Tho' Wade, J.P. 



Province of Massachusettes Bay, 

 New England, Essex. 

 Anno E..E,. et ReginjB Gulielmi et Marise Angliaa, 



&c. quarto, annoqu Dom. 1692. 

 The Jurors for our Sov" Lord and Ladye the 



King and Queen present — 



That Abigail Barker, wife of Ebenezer Barker 

 of Andiver, in the County of Essex aforesaid, about 

 two years since, at and in the town of Andiver 

 aforesaid, wickedly, maliciously, and felloniously, 

 a covenant with the Devill did make, and signed 

 the Devill's Booke, and by the Devill was bap- 

 tized, and renounced her former Christian bap- 

 tism ; and gave herselfe up to the Devill to serve 

 him, and for the Devill to be her lord and master ; 

 by which wicked and diabollicall couvenant, shee 

 the said Abigaill Barker is become a detestable 

 witch, contrary to the peace of our Soveraigne 

 Lord and Lady the King and Queene, their 

 crowne and dignity, and the law in that case 

 made and provided. 



Sep., '92. The examination and confession of 

 Abigail Barker, taken before John Hawthorn, 

 Esq., and other their Majesties Justices : 



Q. How long have you been in the snare of the 

 Devil ? 



A. Not above two yeares and a half. 



Q. At what place were you first overtaken ? 



A. I am at present very much bewildered. — But 

 a little after she said as foUowes: — About two 

 yeare and a half agoe she was in great discontent 

 of mynd, her husband being abroad, and she at 

 home alone ; at which tyme a black man appeared 

 to her, and brought a book with him, to which he 

 put her finger and made a black mark. She saith, 

 her memory now failes her now more than ordi- 

 nary ; but said she gave herself up to the Devil 

 to serve him, and he was her lord and master ; 

 and the Devil set a mark upon her legg, which 

 mark is black and blue, and she apprehends is a 

 witch mark ; and said that she is a witch, and 

 thinks that mark is the cause of her afflicting per- 

 sons, though she thought nothing of it then till 

 afterwards she heard of others having a mark upon 

 them. She sayes, that some tyme after this the 

 black man carryed her singly upon a pole to 5- 

 mile pond, and there were 4 persones more upon 

 another pole, viz. Mistriss Osgood, Goody Wilson, 

 Goody Wardwell, Goody Tyler, and Haimeh Ty- 

 ler. And when she came to the pond the Devil 

 made a great light, and took her up and dypt her 

 face in the pond, and she felt the Avater, and the 

 Devil told her he was her lord and master, and 

 she must serve him for ever. He made her re- 

 nounce her former baptisme, and carryed her 

 back upon the pole. She confesses she has af- 

 flicted the persones that accused her, viz. Sprague, 

 Lester, and Sawdy, both at home and in the way 

 comeing downe. The maner thus: — The Devil 

 does it in her shape, and she consents unto, and 

 clinches her hands together, and sayes the Devil 

 cannot doe it in her shape without her consent. 

 She sayes she was at a meeting at Moses Tyler's 

 house, in company with Mistriss Osgood, Goody 

 Wilson, Goody Tyler, and Hanah Tyler. She 

 said the mark above was on her left legg by her 

 shin. It is about two yeare agoe since she was 

 baptized. She said that all this was true ; and 

 set her hand to the original as a true confession. 

 Noate, that before this her confession she was 

 taken dumb, and took Mr. Epps about the neck 

 and pulled him down, thereby showing him how 

 the black man bowed her down ; and .for one 

 houre's tyme could not open her lips. 



I, underwritten, being appointed by authority 

 to take the above examination, doe testify upon 

 oath taken in court, that this is a true coppy of 

 the substance of it to the best of my knowledge. 



Wm. Murray. 



6th July, 169§. 



The above Abigail Barker was examined before 

 their Majesties Justices of the Peace in Salem. 

 (Atest.) John Higginson, Just. Peace. 



Owned before the Grand Jury. 



(Atest.) Robert Payne, Foreman. 



6th January, 1692. 



