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E P I L O G U E
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E P I L O G U E Altered Lives No spectra l evidenc e may hereafter b e accounted valid , or suffere d t o take awa y the life, o r good name , o f any person or persons withi n this province. " —Ruling of the General Court of Massachusetts, 1703, i n Boyer and Nissenbaum, eds., SalemWitchcraft Papers B etween Marc h and October of 169 2 over 15 0 people were arreste d on suspicio n o f witchcraft . Twenty-fou r woul d di e befor e th e crisis wa s over—nineteen b y hanging, one pressed t o death, an d four fro m othe r cause s whil e i n prison . Hundred s o f live s woul d b e disrupted b y the jailings, the loss of property, and the absence of neede d labor o n th e far m an d i n th e household. Tie s betwee n childre n an d parents, betwee n husband s an d wives , amon g sibling s an d neighbors , were fraye d b y accusation s an d counteraccusations . Som e woul d neve r recover fro m th e trauma . Five-year-ol d Dorca s Good , imprisone d i n chains fo r nin e months , wa s s o terrifie d b y th e experienc e tha t sh e became unmanageabl e a s sh e gre w older . He r fathe r reporte d i n 171 0 that "sh e hat h eve r sinc e bee n ver y chargeabl e [i.e., irresponsibl e an d a burden t o him] , havin g littl e o r n o reaso n t o gover n herself." 1 Th e petitions submitte d t o th e Genera l Cour t t o reclai m los t propert y an d receive restitutio n fo r th e cos t o f imprisonmen t highligh t som e o f th e personal tragedie s an d economi c cost s o f th e witchhunt. 2 Bu t th e ful l impact o f thos e event s wa s probabl y muc h greate r tha n thos e extan t written sources indicate . Tituba' s confession ha d consequences an d ramifications tha t no one coul d hav e predicted i n March of 169 2 an d are still 171 172 • Epilogue being explored three hundred years later. He r own life was compellingly altered. At th e end Tituba recanted her confession, admittin g that she had lied to protect herself. Tha t actio n had little effect o n subsequen t event s and was almost los t in the rush by other confessors, i n fear of damnation, t o admit thei r terribl e sin . Tituba' s attemp t t o retrac t he r confessio n re ceived scan t attention a t the time an d was ignore d i n the written reports of most observers . Onl y Rober t Calef mad e note of it: "The account sh e [Tituba] since gives o f i t is , tha t her Master did bea t her and otherways abuse her , t o make her confess an d accus e (suc h a s he call'd) her Sister Witches , an d that whatsoever sh e sai d b y way of confession or accusing others, wa s the effect of such usage."3 Her s was not the first retraction of a reluctan t confession . Th e other s ha d alread y receive d a grea t dea l of attention. The tid e of accusations an d confessions had started to turn during the summer. Startin g with Margaret Jacobs in August, severa l of the confes sors denie d thei r earlie r statements . Jacob s ha d suffere d excruciatin g mental anguish , wha t sh e describe d a s "th e terror s o f a wounded Con science ," th e resul t o f falsel y implicatin g bot h he r grandfathe r an d George Burroughs . O n Augus t 18 , the da y befor e th e executio n o f th e two men, stil l fearfu l tha t the truth would lea d to her own death, Jacobs apologized for lying, "choosing...