Witchcraft and superstitious record in the south-western district of ScotlandWood, J. Maxwell (John Maxwell)
History
Witchcraft and superstitious record in the south-western district of Scotland
Wood, J. Maxwell (John Maxwell)
Folklore -- Scotland; Witchcraft -- Scotland
the matter with it."(5)
"At the Dribblings, on what is now the farm of Low Curghie (Kirkmaiden),
lived a cottar who was the owner of two cows. One morning on going to the
byre one of the cows was on the ground and unable to rise. The people did
not know what to do, but as luck would have it, the same old woman that
cured the horse at The Clash happened to come in, and was informed of the
trouble, and was asked if she could do anything, and was promised a piece
of butter for her trouble. She went and looked at the cow, and said
someone with an 'ill e'e had overlooked it,' _i.e._, witched it, and
proceeded to walk round it two or three times, talking to herself, and
then gave it a tap with her stick and told the animal to get up, she was
all right now. The cow immediately got to her feet and commenced
feeding."(6)
"At a farm-house in the vicinity of Logan an old woman, a reputed witch,
was in the habit of receiving the greater part of her sustenance from the
farmer and his wife. The farmer began to get tired of this sorning, and
one day took his courage in both hands and turned the witch at the gate.
The old woman of course was sorely displeased, and told him that he would
soon have plenty of 'beef,' and in the course of a day or two many of his
cattle had taken the muir-ill. Next time the old woman wanted to go to the
house she was not hindered. She got her usual supply, and thereafter not
another beast took the disease."(7)
It is related of the same old woman that once she wanted some favour off
the factor on Logan, and one day as he rode past her dwelling she hailed
him. Not caring to be troubled with her he made the excuse that his horse
would not stand as it was young and very restive; but she said she would
soon make it stand, and by some spell so terrified the animal that it
stood trembling while the sweat was running over its hooves.
"The farm of the Grennan, in the Rhinns, had been taken or was reported to
have been taken over the sitting tenant's head; and the new tenants, when
they took possession, were regarded with general disfavour. The farm
good-wife was a bustling, energetic woman, with some pretensions as to
good looks, and was always extremely busy. One day an old-fashioned
diminutive woman knocked at the door and asked for a wee pickle meal. The
good-wife answered in an off-hand manner that she had no meal for her, and
told her to 'tak' the gait.' The old woman looked at her steadily for a
short time, and then said, 'My good woman, you are strong and healthy just
now, but strong and weel as ye are, that can sune be altered, and big as
ye are in yer way, the hearse is no' bigget that will tak' ye to the
kirkyaird, and a dung-cairt will ha'e to ser' ye.' In less than a year the
gude-wife died, and the hearse broke down at the road-end leading to the
farm, and could come no further, and as a matter of fact a farm-cart had
to be employed to carry the corpse to the churchyard."(8)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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