When the light had disappeared they said that the witch had got into the plantation and changed itself into a person and had gone about on the place talking with the people like others until those whom it wanted to bewitch went to bed, then it would change itself to a witch again.  They claimed that the witches rode human beings like horses, and that the spittle that ran on the side of the cheek when one slept, was the bridle that the witch rode with.  Sometimes a baby would be smothered by its mother, and they would charge it to a witch.  If they went out hunting at night and were lost, it was believed that a witch had led them off, especially if they fell into a pond or creek.  I was very much troubled with witches when a little boy and am now sometimes, but it is only when I eat a hearty supper and immediately go to bed.  It was said by some of the slaves that the witches would sometimes go into the rooms of the cabins and hide themselves until the family went to bed and therefore when any one claimed that he had gone into the apartment before bed time and thought he had seen a witch, if he had an old Bible in the cabin, that would be taken into the room, and the person who carried the Bible would say as he went in, “In de name of de Fader and of de Son and de Holy Gos wat you want?” Then the Bible would be put in the corner where the person thought he had seen the witch, as it was generally believed that if this were done the witch could not stay.  When they could not get the Bible they used red pepper and salt pounded together and scattered in the room, but in this case they generally felt the effects of it more than the witch, for when they went to bed it made them cough all night.  When I was a little boy my mother sent me into the cabin room for something, and as I got in I saw something black and white, but did not stop to see what it was, and running out said there was a witch in the room.  But father, having been born in Africa, did not believe in such things, so he called me a fool and whipped me and the witch got scared and ran out the door.  It turned out to be our own black and white cat that we children played with every day.  Although it proved to be the cat, and father did not believe in witches, still I held the idea that there were such things, for I thought the majority of the people believed it, and that they ought to know more than could one man.  Sometime after I was free, in travelling from Columbia to Camden, a distance of about thirty-two miles, night overtook me when about half way there; it was very dark and rainy, and as I approached a creek I saw a great number of lights of those witches opening and shutting.  I did not know what to do and thought of turning back, but when I looked behind I saw some witches in the distance, so I said, “If I turn back those will meet me and I shall be in as much danger as if I go on”, and I thought of what some of my fellow negroes had said about their leading men into ponds and creeks.  There was a creek just ahead, so I concluded that I should be drowned that night; however, I went on, as I saw no chance of turning back.  When I came near the creek one of the witches flew into my face.  I jumped back and grasped it, but it proved to be one of those lightning bugs, and I thought that if all the witches were like that one, I should not be in any great danger from them.