Horses Killed by Witchcraft in Radnorshire
Mr. Theophilus, a blacksmith, at Cilcwm, in Carmarthenshire, 80 years of age, informed me that he well remembered a Radnorshire farmer who had lost two horses, one after the other, and as he had suspected that the animals were “killed by witchcraft” he decided to go all the way to Cwrt-y-cadno to consult the wise man about it. The man travelled all the way from Radnorshire, and in passing the small village of Cilcwm, where my informant lived, begged the blacksmith to accompany him to the conjurer who lived in another parish some distance off. The wizard told him that it was such a pity he had not come sooner, “for,” said he, “if you had come to me yesterday, I could have saved your third horse, but now it is too late, as the animal is dying. But for the future take this paper and keep it safely and you will have your animals protected.”
I was also informed that farmers came all the way from Herefordshire to consult the wise man of Cwrt-y-Cadno.