The Dunking of Grace Sherwood

Grace Sherwood, also known as the Witch of Princess Anne County, lived in Virginia in the early 1700's. Not much is known of her, what is known comes from the scattered remnants of court room records and local folklore.

Mrs. Sherwood was a widowed land-holding woman, most likely of mixed African descent, who lived along Bansnett's Creek near the Chesapeake region of Virginia. Her story begins with a trial in which she accused a local man, Luke Hill, of trespass, assault, and battery. She won the trial, and collected damages, but Mr. Hill accused her of witchcraft in retaliation, leading to another trial in which she was the main attraction. Folklore makes it difficult to determine whether there is any validity to his accusations, but spite is obviously what motivated him.

During this whole debacle, the local authorities were apprehensive about even trying her at all and tended to delay and stall the process. She was examined twice for Witch's Marks while the courts argued over jurisdiction and sent her case back and forth. To top it off, an all woman jury could not be found who could preside in her trial, leading to postponement of the final date. She was allowed to undergo trial by ordeal as an option. Her ordeal was to be "Ducked" in water, to determine guilt or innocence. Innocence being determined in this case by the innocent party sinking to the bottom, and God miraculously saving the accused because of their pure and innocent heart. Anything else was deemed a sign of guilt.

The local authorities really wanted no part of this, other than to make it go away. They even went so far as to provide boats for her rescue, and to schedule it on a day where the weather would not make her ill from the exposure to cold. On July 10th, 1706 the day finally came. They took her to the appointed place (now called Witch's Duck, on Chesapeake Bay) and tossed her in. Doing what any sane able bodied American would do, Mrs. Sherwood swam back to shore, sealing her guilt in the court's eyes.

Unlike most trials of this nature, Mrs. Sherwood was not sentenced to death. She ended up spending some time in the local jail, how much we do not know, since the court records end with her sentencing. It is known that her land was legally passed to others many years later, so it is assumed by most historians that she did not serve much time in jail and was soon released. Maybe there was validity to the accusations, as she seemed to get off rather light compared to most victims of the Witch Trials. Archeological records have even turned up "witch's bottles" in the area where she was suspected to live, leading to further speculations. A vivid psuedo-historical folklore has sprung up since her death, and she has become an almost mythical figure in the obscure history of the Chesapeake Region.

Her case also highlights the fact that most trials for witchcraft in the early American Colonies, centered around widowed land-holders, and in most places the legal system had no real desire to pursue it.

The picture above is a piece of artwork by Joshua Shaw, illustrating the place where her "ducking" took place.

The POW Who Sneaked into Auschwitz

One of the more obscure stories from the Holocaust era remains the unusual case of British airman Denis Avey. His story did not surface until 2003, when he was invited to speak on a BBC program about War pensions. It was on this show that he decided to let out his long guarded secret, having finally come to terms with what he saw.

His remarkable tale began early in the war, in North Africa operating behind the German front lines as an SOE commando. He was captured and put on a ship, which was torpedoed as it transported him to his POW camp. He escaped the sinking and survived a nearby depth charge attack, eventually landing on the shores of Greece only to be captured again many months later.  Just the story of his evasion, capture, escape, and re-capture place him in the category of an extraordinary soldier, but his actions after he became a POW are truly outstanding.

He was taken to a very small POW camp adjoining the infamous Nazi Death Camp known as Auschwitz. His barracks was near a work camp where the Jewish prisoners were used as slave labor building the I. G. Farbin Buna plant, as their life was slowly and methodically drained away by the industrialized death machine. Being POW's, they were protected from the evils of the Hitler's Final Solution by the Geneva Convention regulations. Their conditions, while not good, were much better than the conditions the Jewish prisoners faced. These POW's enjoyed a sideline seat for events that were largely unknown to the rest of the world until the war's end.

Being an outstanding Commando, Denis Avey naturally wanted to know more about what he saw than what his small window on the Holocaust showed him. Having heard tales of atrocities, he resolved himself to find out what was really happening in the sprawling Death Camp beside them. He befriended a Jewish man, named Mr. Lobethall, who passed them daily on his trip to work at the factory site. Eventually, he convinced the man to change uniforms with him, and take his place among the British POW's. Avey then sneaked back into Auschwitz with the Jewish workers as they returned from their daily labor. His Wehrmacht guards did not pay much attention; they did not expect anyone to actually try and sneak into the larger SS Death Camp.

The fact that he did this is remarkable in itself. What is outstanding is that he did it more than once, his ultimate goal to work his way deeper and find the rumoured gas chambers. Living a double life, he lived and worked amongst the condemmed Jews, facing summary execution or gassing if caught. He was determined find the truth and bring it to the rest of the world's attention.

He never did find the gas chambers, but he did manage to help save the life of Mr. Lobethal, whose time with the POW's allowed him to recover from the tortures of the Auschwitz. Avey also gave him better shoes and food, which helped him survive and escape during the final death march as the Russians over-ran the region in the last days of the war.

Denis Avey saw many thing which haunted him for the rest of his life. He saw daily executions and beatings. He saw mass starvation, epidemics, and endured the screams of Jewish prisoners as they lay dying in their barracks at night. He watched as three million people were slowly worked to their graves in the factories surrounding Auschwitz. He described his experience as walking into a "Hell on Earth". 

After he was freed and returned to his regiment, he attempted to tell his Lieutenant, who reacted with indifference. Disgusted by the reaction, he decided not to speak about it again and told no one, not even his family.

At least, not until that fateful interview on BBC 65 years later.

Here is his Wikipedia page.

Prescott Bush and The Plot to Overthrow FDR

Some little historical gems just don't want to stay hidden, as much as those in high places want them to. These same stories also have a tendency to be relevant to current events, even though they happened many, many years ago. This myth about the Bush family is one of them.

Here is how it goes...

The great Bush family, an icon in American politics, had a bit of a problem at one time. Back in the early 1930's, shortly after the Stock Market crash and resulting depression, Capitalist America was struggling to survive (in those days Capitalism was not a done deal for the US). Around the world, the Earth was witnessing the rise of Fascism, while it seemed that Capitalism was going broke.

As the story goes, the mega-capitalists of the era got together for a solution. Some of the names involved are familiar to Americans today; Maxwell House, Bird's Eye, Heinz, Goodtea, and George Bush's grandfather - Prescott Bush. Seeing the rise of Hitler and Mussolini, they imagined a partnership of their grand corporations and and government working together in a Fascist syndicate to secure their profits. They saw the resulting loss of freedoms and the American Way of Life as a nescessary evil to survive and prosper and as a way to end the Great Depression. It is said they were financed in this great venture by the same folks who put Hitler into power.

One thing stood in their way - Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was a firm believer that government should be taking care of it's people, and would never stand for the changes these corporations intended to usher in. With his ideas and policies (such as "the New Deal"), he had to be eliminated.

Retired Marine General Smedley Butler, was allegedly enlisted to stir-up veterans and the American Legion to influence them to rise up against Washington. This is not such a big deal nowadays, but in 1932 The American Legion was a much different organization. They had a history of being used to strong-arm strikers and various other groups which stood against the corporate power brokers of the time, and were prone to start riots. In 1932, that is exactly what they did. Douglas MacArthur used his calvary troops to quell the riot.

Butler's reward for these activities - he would lead the resulting Fascist dictatorship. The leader of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, James Van Zandt, was also asked to participate, but to his credit he declined.

Eventually, Congress caught wind of all these going's on, and Butler was called to testify. Everyone else involved seems to have escaped completely unscathed. Part of the myth says this is because Roosevelt, wishing for his New Deal to be passed, made a deal with Butler's corporate backers.

Did any of this really happen?

All we know for sure is that Butler had to testify in Congress about his activities. The American Legion was never the same again. Butler was discredited and dropped from public view. Prescott Bush has proven ties with the Nazis during this era, and there are records of him laundering their money. We can also see the results in our economic world, with the rise of the mega-corporations - entities with no limit to their actions in the name of profit with the backing of the Federal government. Maybe the Coup de Tat actually took place, but it occurred in the back rooms of Washington and the halls of Wall Street. We will never know.

The US Ambassador to Germany during this period, William Dodd, had this to say about the whole situation:

"A clique of U.S. industrialists is hell-bent to bring a fascist state to supplant our democratic government and is working closely with the fascist regime in Germany and Italy. I have had plenty of opportunity in my post in Berlin to witness how close some of our American ruling families are to the Nazi regime.... A prominent executive of one of the largest corporations, told me point blank that he would be ready to take definite action to bring fascism into America if President Roosevelt continued his progressive policies. Certain American industrialists had a great deal to do with bringing fascist regimes into being in both Germany and Italy. They extended aid to help Fascism occupy the seat of power, and they are helping to keep it there. Propagandists for fascist groups try to dismiss the fascist scare. We should be aware of the symptoms. When industrialists ignore laws designed for social and economic progress they will seek recourse to a fascist state when the institutions of our government compel them to comply with the provisions."

Here is another, albeit, better written article on this subject...

And one more article, just for good reference...

The Last American Witch Hunts...

We have all heard of the history of the Salem Witch Trials, but unknown to most Americans, witch hunts took place in other regions of our country. In 1756, during a period far later than the Salem Hunts, the Spanish Inquistition conducted a little known witch hunt in the New Mexico town of Abiquiu. It is unusual in the fact that it occurred during a period in which the power of the Spanish Inquisition was starting to decline, and was largely unconcerned with trivialities such as Witchcraft.

The Abiquiu area was due a new priest, and shortly Franciscan Juan Jose Toledo arrived from Spain to fill the duties. When he arrived, he was aghast to find the local indians still practicing their native dances and traditions. He felt it to be a form of Devil Worship, and questioned how well they had been converted to Catholicism. The Priest then ordered an end to their festivals and pagan dances.

He then claimed someone, or something was attacking him magically, causing him illness and duress. These claims prompted investigation by local government officials. It was not long before the local residents and indians were accusing each other of various witchcraft related crimes. These officials decided to eliminate all cultural traces, and destroyed rock art and pictographs in the area that had been there for centuries, along with forbidding many traditional customs practiced by the locals.

Shortly after the accusations, several local women claimed to become possessed by demons. Father Toledo carried out excorisms on these women hoping to eliminate the problem. Instead, it spiraled hopelessly out of control as more claims of demon posession, and accusations of witchcraft came pouring in. Eventually, the Regional Governor, caught wind of the affair. Growing tired of the whole sordid ordeal, he sent many of those involved to face the Spanish Inquisition in Mexico City.

Several of the accused languished and died in jail. Many others faced punishments ranging from public humiliation, to flogging, but no one was executed for the crime of using witchcraft. Contrary to public opinion, it was actually very rare for an accused witch to be executed by the Spanish Inquisition. To their credit, claims of witchcraft were normally considered to be flights of fancy or mere superstition without much merit, though the Inquisition persecuted Jews and Muslims without mercy.

This was the last known case of Witch Hysteria in the continental US.

The Mystery of Candido Godoi

In the South American country of Brazil, near the Argentinian border, there lies a small town with a deep mystery. This small town, known for it German inhabitants, is famous for it's mysteriously high numbers of twins. The rate of twin birth is twice what is found elsewhere, and half of these births result in an identical pair.

There are many theories as to why this occurs. One of the more common is that it is the result of "Founder's Effect" due to the small, not very diverse human population encountered there. Most of the people are descendants of people who cam from the same localized region of Germany. However, there is another more sinister theory at play.

Another competing theory proposes that the "Angel of Death" Joseph Mengele once plied his trade here while hiding after the war. Mengele was obsessed with twins and their genetics while performing his twisted experimentation in the Nazi Death Camps. It is possible, and even likely that he continued his genetic research to create a master race while in hiding, though in a much more restricted manner than was done in the Camps. It is known that while on the run from prosecution, Mengele hid in these remote regions of South America.

What is the true cause may never be truly known, as nothing can be totally ruled out. Scientists are a bit skeptical of the Mengele theory, as some have claimed the records indicate a higher than normal twin birth rate before he visited this area. Other historians, most notably, Jorge Camarasa have noted a distinct rise in the birth rate of twins from this area cooinciding with the year 1963 when Mengele arrived in this area.

At any rate, the whole premise of a remote town full of pasty faced identical twins is a bit disturbing, whatever the reason.

Huge Pre-Stonehenge Complex Found

This news is a bit dated, but it bears repeating. A huge complex far older than Stonehenge (which is nearby), has been spotted from the air. It is said these are the oldest structures ever found in Britain. Until now, it was assumed every large archeological site in Britain had been found. This new find shatters that assumption.

The site is estimated to be at least 6000 years old, and consists of large Barrows or burial mounds. The last time a complete Barrow was excavated by science was in the 1950's.

Here is what National Geographic says about it...

The Headless Skeleton of Swamptown

I find this story interesting. It is from a very old book, long out of print called Myths and Legends of Our Own Land, printed in it's 8th edition in 1898...

The boggy portion of North Kingston, Rhode Island, known as Swamptown, is of queer repute in its neighborhood, for Hell Hollow, Pork Hill, Indian Corner, and Kettle Hole have their stories of Indian crimes and witch-meetings. Here the headless figure of a negro boy was seen by a belated traveller on a path that leads over the hills. It was a dark night and the figure was revealed in a blaze of blue light. It swayed to and fro for a time, then rose from the ground with a lurch and shot into space, leaving a trail of illumination behind it. Here, too, is Goose-Nest Spring, where the witches dance at night. It dries up every winter and flows through the summer, gushing forth on the same day of every year, except once, when a goose took possession of the empty bed and hatched her brood there. That time the water did not flow until she got away with her progeny.

But the most grewsome story of the place is that of the Indian whose skull was found by a roadmender. This unsuspecting person took it home, and, as the women would not allow him to carry it into the house, he hung it on a pole outside. Just as the people were starting for bed, there came a rattling at the door, and, looking out of the windows, they saw a skeleton stalking around in quick and angry strides, like those of a person looking for something. But how could that be when the skeleton had neither eyes nor a place to carry them? It thrashed its bony arms impatiently and its ribs rattled like a xylophone. The spectators were transfixed with fear, all except the culprit, who said, through the window, in a matter-of-fact way, "I left your head on the pole at the back door." The skeleton started in that direction, seized the skull, clapped it into the place where a head should have grown on its own shoulders, and, after shaking its fists in a threatening way at the house, disappeared in the darkness. It is said that he acts as a kind of guard in the neighborhood, to see that none of the other Indians buried there shall be disturbed, as he was. His principal lounging place is Indian Corner, where there is a rock from which blood flows when the moon shines—a memento, doubtless, of some tragedy that occurred there in times before the white men knew the place. There is iron in the soil, and visitors say that the red color is due to that, and that the spring would flow just as freely on dark nights as on bright ones, if any were there to see it, but the natives, who have given some thought to these matters, know better.