9. The Witch-Burning
of Key West
Who forgot it? Surely nobody! Because although it’s already four hundred
years ago, the story of the witch of Key Largo is still alive in the lore of
the region. I was interested in what’s really true in this story, and so I went
to the Conch Republic’s archive in Key West and looked through hundreds of
books and tomes, letters and files, all of them already some Centuries old. And
the result was worth the work:
We write the year
1607. Key Largo then was not the small quiet town for tourists, but trying in
the rising Spanish empire, together with Villariba and Villabajo, to become the
new trade center of the world. And nearly this would have worked out, to take
over the position of Sevilla and New Amsterdam all around the Atlantic Ocean.
Because on June 12th,
1607 Key Largo’s city chronicler Seat Altea noted: “When then will arrive the
37 half pints of wheat from Villariba and the quarter of tonne of delicious
tree bark from Villabajo, the once high traders of Sevilla and Newe Amsterdame
will beye destroyed on the grounde.”
But Altea obviously
was a little bit too optimistic. Because a note in the customs files of Roanoke
in North Carolina on June 18th proves, that both goods – „in amounte, that both ofe them filleth half of
the cumstoms buildings bathroom” – were confiscated, as the city of Key Largo
was not willing to pay the customs’ duties. They needed the money for a new car
for the fire brigade instead.
Key Largo - 400 years ago on the way to become a world metropole - allegedly cut down by a witch
And it even got worse for the young metropole: Since this said June 18th no more rain fell. The beautiful white buildings with their beautiful Bougainvillea plants were in danger to vanish behind brown undergrowth. Also Altea became a little bit careful, when he noted on September 30th: „Long ago the Lorde punished the world due to humans’ sins by the great flood, or flattened Sodom and Gomorrha to the grounde. But why, oh Lorde, you punishes us now?”
A good question, because slightly too expensive souvenir postcards, or slightly too small portions of ice cream, were common in other towns too. And hotel rooms with defect air conditioning were quite common in the early 17th Century, as contemporary complaints show.
It gets interesting when we read an article of the „Key Largo Kourier” – then written still by hand – published on November 4th, 1607: „Key Largo Bewitched!” the Paper titled sensationally in 72-Dot-Italics. Bewitched by whom? This was not said by the former colleagues of mine. Instead they spread wild theories on the paper. „Find the Witch” have been the letters, which formed the last large words.
Also the „Key Largo Sunday Letter” hit into the same spot: „The Witch Must Burn! Who is the Witch?” were basically the only words decorating the front page. But even with less text this paper went further as the „Key Largo Kourier” did, because on page two a bounty of 500 Keyllars (today’s worth 17,35 US-Dollars) was set for everybody, who dared to blame someone being a witch.
Altea noted the first quick results in his chronicle: „Withine few days we made it, to finde 754 citizens of the towne, which mighte be witches. These became a huge problemer for magistrate and the mayor, as the towne of Key Largo in totalle just has 817 inhabitants within its walles.”
A really big problem, obviously. As it was solved is reported in the magistrate’s report, published in the „Key Largo Kourier” of December 19th, 1607. Here it said: „The magistrate here decided, that witch is without any doubte an worde female and she muste possesse a cat, therefore all of the mens folk cannot be the witche.” Pragmatic, practical, good. By this the number of suspects was cut to half.
The reporter B. Lackride also explains the next step of the search: „Key Largo’s councilmembers cannot be fooled by witches. As everywhere an ugly women is expected to be a witch, the witch will definitely hide behind the face and in the body of a beautiful being of the female sexe.” Again a wise move of the council members, as it reduced the number of the suspects to around one hundred. Oh yes, and she must be blonde. So now just fifty women were left.
Also all young people were excluded. This had no logical reason, but was just explained by the fact, that the newly built high school had to be closed again, when all teens were burned on the stake. So 34 women were left, who could have blamed to have bewitched the town and cursed it into an eternal state of a small village.
The mayor of Key Largo (left) intensely observing
the interview of the suspects
The high school
argument led to the next criteria of exclusion: If the high school should stay
alive by the teens, their mothers couldn’t be witches too.
The Florida Keys’
chronicler M. Arathon remarks on this fact in his 1664 written chronicle of the
Florida Islands: „Between Key West and Miami
everyone knoweth, that alle children terribly woulde have died, when their
motherfolk woulde have been throweth on the stake.”
Leaves a small number
of suspects: Twelve! All of them were lead to a „painefulle interviewe” in
spring 1608 – means they were tortured.
All the chroniclers
report, that the members of the city’s council left nothing off the list: rack,
iron maiden, thumbscrews, glowing irons. Well, they even didn’t stop at hours
of reading of the tabloid „The Sun”.
And the last lead them
on the trace: Because one of the four women left – the other eight „diedth
unter the torturer’s hands” – criticized the style of writing of the newspaper
“and therefore bared herselfe to be abel to reade and write.”
The witch, whose name is mentioned nowhere, was found. „We have her!” headlined
the „Key Largo Kourier” on March 12th, 1608, again in 72-dot-Italic
handwritten, to invite two pages later to a „Burning-Witch-Festival” on the
Saturday evening following. Just in time, before the prohibition to burn garden
waste – only not valid in March and October – was to be applied again.
Altea noted: „Everywhere is a great happienesse, that branchlets and twiglets
from the gardening can be used in such a way for a goode reason.”
The candidates left had to undergo the water test:
when they swam, they were witches -
when they drowned, they were not
Outside of Key Largo (upper left) the witch was
burned in 1608. Garden trash heated the fire
As we see, already
then the people in today’s Key Largo had a sense for the environment and were
aware of a use of bio material to entertain the people. As oil and coal were
not existent for use at all, an understandable decision too.
But it wouldn’t make
sense to turn the tragic story of the burning of the witch of Key Largo into a
discussion of sustainable energy now. Just let’s be happy that after fossil
fuels got common no more witches are burned.
And so it happened, that the great chronicle of the Florida Keys sais on page
12813: „Close to the ende of Marech at Keye Largo, once a truly prospering
towne in the chaine of the Florida Keyes, a witche was burneth, who due to her
eveilness the towne cursed into eternal village livve.”
Grim fate in a dark
time. Just one thing was forgotten by the people of Key Largo. Before burning
her, they should have asked the witch to take away the curse…
© Mig Phönix 2008