Defiance of the Devil
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 5
? ??? 1681: Samuel Endicott went on an ocean voyage with Captain Samuel Smith who had purchased two firkins of butter from Mary at the port of Boston. After three weeks one of the firkins proved half butter, but the other half had gone maggoty. This led to additional rumors that Mary was a witch, for why would she sell such butter to the captain. Also, four days after they had set sail they encountered a violent storm where they lost the main mast and rigging, and 15 horses. A fortnight after they set the Jury mast, a ship came up beside them and tore away two of the misen shrouds and one of the leaches of the mainsail. Upon arriving in Saltitudos, and loading the vessel with Salt, it sprang a leak in the hold, wasting several tons of the cargo. They were forced to unload the salt, stop the leak and remove the four foot of water in the hold. After this fixing they sailed back to Boston. When they were near to land the Captain sent Endicott forward to look for land, and in the night under the moonlight he saw a pair of legs beneath him under the windless. He looked over his shoulder and saw the upper body of a woman in white bonnet and neckcloth, and upon turning the windless he saw the two legs.
© Eric S. Riley, 2003