June 02
Anniversary of the Start of the Salem Witch Trials
 

In 1692, two young girls in Salem Town, Massachusetts, aged nine and eleven, were said to have fallen victim to fits  including screams, strange contortions, and throwing objects. The village doctor, unable to explain the symptoms, suggested that their behavior may have been caused by witchcraft. When others in Salem Town began to exhibit similar inexplicable behavior, and shortly the accusations began to fly.

Since witchcraft was a felony crime in colonial Massachusetts, there were a series of hearings before local magistrates in Salem Village, Ipswich, Andover, and Salem Town. The hearing were followed by county court trials between February 1692 and May 1693 to prosecute those accused of witchcraft Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned . The two courts convicted twenty-nine people of the capital felony of witchcraft. Nineteen of the accused, fourteen women and five men, were hanged. One man, refusing to enter a plea, was ordered to be crushed to death under heavy stones. At least five more of the accused died in prison.

Court was convened in Salem Town on June 2, 1692. The first three people accused and arrested were Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, a  Barbados slave. They were all despised residents of Salem. Sarah Good was poor often had to to beg for food,  Sarah Osburne had married her indentured servant and rarely attended church. Tituba was a different race. All of these women were social outcasts and therefore fit the description of the "usual suspects" for witchcraft accusations. The three women were brought before the local magistrates on the complaint of witchcraft and interrogated for several days, starting on March 1, 1692, then sent to jail.

In 1976, Linnda R. Caporael, a graduate student in psychology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, had an article published in Science (1976, 192:21-6.) titled Ergotism: the Satan loosed in Salem? suggesting that the accusers of Salem had in fact suffered hallucinations, convulsions, bizarre skin sensations and other unusual symptoms because they'd been poisoned by a crop of ergot -infested rye. Ergot is a fungus that grows on rye in cool, damp weather. When eaten, the fungus can cause symptoms, especially in children, that are said to resemble behavior that the early colonists attributed to witchcraft.

When Caporael examined the diaries of Salem residents, she found that those exact conditions  that could have resulted in the ergot affecting the rye crop had been present in 1691. Nearly all of the accusers lived in the western section of Salem village, a region of swampy meadows that would have been prime breeding ground for the fungus. At that time, rye was the staple grain of Salem. The rye crop consumed in the winter of 1691-1692 — when the first usual symptoms began to be reported — could easily have been contaminated by large quantities of ergot. The summer of 1692, however, was dry, which could explain the abrupt end of the 'bewitchments.'

According to Caporael, the symptoms of the accusers were strikingly like those produced by the hallucinogen LSD, a chemical derivative of ergot. Among the symptoms of severe ergotism is ''formication,'' a feeling that ants are crawling under the skin. The victim may also suffer coldness of the extremities and spasms of limbs, tongue and facial muscle. Caporael's detective work brought her instant fame and  worldwide recognition.

Colonial rye bread often had molasses and dried fruits added to it to counteract the somewhat bitter rye taste. Here is a recipe for my favorite  version of the bread that may have caused 15 people accused of witchcraft to die because of ergot-induced hallucinations of their accusers.
 

Salem Fruited Rye Bread

2 cups rye flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cakes yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water
1/3 cup dark molasses
2 tsp salt
2 TB grated orange zest
 

1. Mix rye flour and cocoa. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Mix molasses and remaining 1 cup water in a large bowl. Add salt, caraway seed, rye and cocoa mixture, zest, yeast mixture and cornmeal. Beat until dough is smooth. Mix in raisins, apricots, and nuts.
2. Spread 1&1/2 cups white flour on breadboard and kneed it into dough. Add more white flour if dough is too sticky. Kneed until dough is firm and elastic.
3. Place dough in buttered bowl, cover and let rise for about 2 hours or until double. Punch down, shape into a round loaf and place on a buttered cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with a little cornmeal. let rise for 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 375º F. Bake for 35-40 minutes.