<P> Most of her power resides in the creatures she controls . She has a pack of wolves, a swarm of bees, a flock of crows and an army of Winkies . She possesses the enchanted Golden Cap, which compels the winged monkeys to obey her on three occasions . First, the witch commanded the creatures to help her enslave the Winkies and to seize control of the western part of the Land of Oz . Second, she made the winged monkeys drive Oz out of the Winkie Country, when he attempted to overthrow her . </P> <P> When Dorothy Gale and her companions were sent by the Wizard to destroy her, the Witch attacked them with a pack of 40 great wolves, a flock of 40 crows, a swarm of black bees, and a group of Winkie slaves . Each of these attempts were thwarted, but the protagonists are eventually subdued by the Witch's third and final permitted use of the Winged Monkeys . Nevertheless, the old witch cannot kill Dorothy because the girl is protected by the Good Witch of the North's kiss . She therefore settles for enslaving Dorothy, and tries to force the Cowardly Lion into submission by starving him, though Dorothy sneaks him food . Upon seeing the Silver Shoes on the girl's feet, the Wicked Witch decides to steal them, and thereby acquire even more power . </P> <P> When she succeeds in acquiring one silver shoe by making Dorothy trip over an invisible bar, the little girl angrily throws a bucket of water onto the Wicked Witch . This causes the old witch to melt away . The Wicked Witch's dryness was enumerated in some clues before this . Furthermore, when Toto had bitten her, she had not bled; her wickedness had dried her up long ago . Unfortunately, L. Frank Baum did not explain precisely why water had this effect on her, nor did he ever imply that all evil witches could be likewise destroyed . However, the wicked witch Mombi is similarly disposed of in The Lost King of Oz and the wicked witch Singra is clearly afraid of the same fate in the early chapters of The Wicked Witch of Oz . The most likely explanation of Baum making water the Achilles' heel of these witches is the long held belief amongst major religions that water is effective for purifying the soul and combating evil . </P> <P> The Witch did not carry a broom in the novel, but rather an umbrella, which she uses on one occasion to strike Dorothy's dog Toto . Her nature is a volatile and yet somewhat cowardly one . Despite her immense power, she avoids face - to - face contact with her enemies, and is frightened of Dorothy at first when she sees the girl wearing the Silver Shoes . She is also afraid of the dark in Baum's original story for reasons never revealed . For that reason, the Witch never tried to steal the Silver Shoes while Dorothy was sleeping . Despite her fear of water and the dark, the Wicked Witch of the West was one of the most powerful witches in all of Oz . In ensuing Oz books, her power is described as having been so great that even Glinda the Good Witch of the South feared her . </P>

Who killed the wicked witch of the west