Robertson's thesis says Davidson had learned charming from Bessie Gray soon after arriving in East Lothian. He said he had met the Devil often and had seen him as a black dog and a black man. His confession followed the usual pattern of renouncing baptism and swearing service in return for a promise that he would want for nothing.
He said that on Beltane in 1628 he met several witches in Saltoun Wood. He named Bessie Mak of Saltoun, Sara Keith of Winton, Alison Taylor of Pencaitland, Thomas Waterson of Nesbitt and Alexander Hamilton. He worked as a healer using charms and a drink made from foxglove leaves for one patient, but denied causing harm and denied transferring illness from one person to another. Only Keith and Mak were tried alongside his accusations; Alison Taylor and Hamilton eluded capture at that stage.
The woods are near West Saltoun. The pin is approximate.
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