‘In early times the inhabitants of Illinois were in a small degree tinctured with the absurdity and nonsense of witchcraft and fortune-telling; but in after-days this ignorant superstition has entirely disappeared.... It was the belief of some people, and families, that an old woman living on Silver Creek, Illinois, had the power of witchcraft, to take milk from her neighbours’ cows, without seeing or touching them.... ‘In Cahokia, about the year 1790, this superstition [witchcraft] got the upper hand of reason, and several poor African slaves were immolated at the shrine of ignorance for this imaginary offence. An African negro, named Moreau, was hung for this crime on a tree not far south-east of Cahokia. It is stated that he had said, “he poisoned his master, but his mistress was too strong for his necromancy.” Another slave, Emmanuel, was shot, in Cahokia, for this crime, and an old woman, Janette, was supposed to have the power to destroy persons and property by her incantations. Many grown people, and all the children, were terrified at her approach.’ These two cases are verified by extracts from the ‘Record Book’ of Colonel John Todd, Lieutenant-Commandant of the County of Illinois, under Governor Patrick Henry, of the Commonwealth of Virginia: ‘Illinois to wit. ‘_To Richard Winston, Esq{re}, Sheriff in chief of the District of Kaskaskia._ ‘Negro Manuel, a Slave, in your custody, is condemned by the Court of Kaskaskia, after having made honorable fine at the door of the church, to be chained to a post at the water side, and then to be burnt alive, and his ashes scattered, as appears to me by record. This sentence you are hereby required to put in execution, on tuesday next at 9 o’clock in the morning, and this shall be your warrant. ‘Given under my hand and seal at Kaskaskia, the 13{th} day of June, in the 3{rd} year of the Commonwealth.’ ‘_To Cap{t}. Nicolas Janis._ ‘You are hereby required to call upon a party of your militia to guard Moreau, a slave condemned to execution, up to the town of Kohos. Put them under an officer. They shall be entitled to pay, rashions and refreshment during the time they shall be upon duty, to be certifyed hereafter by you. ‘I am, Sir, your hble servant, ‘JOHN TODD. ‘15{th} June 1779.’