Browse:"CHANNEL DE WORLD" (Volume 5, entries 10604–13458)/Part 30
"CHANNEL DE WORLD"
Volume 5, entries 10604–13458. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
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Entries
Entry 12924
De way ah heard it, dey says: jes' lak yo' see a person's shadow. Yo' take de measure of his shadow. Jes' lak a person walkin' along an' he hap- pen tuh stop an' yore shadow's up 'ginst de house or.... Well yo' jes' take dat width. Write it lak 18 inches or whatsomever: two an' a half foot or whatsomever yo' see, or six and a half or whatsomever it is. Yo' jes' do dat an' bury dat - de inform- ation. Dat's tuh run someone, sompin other lak dat.
(What will that do to a person?)
Dat will kill dem.
Entry 12925
If a man huntin' a job an' he wanted a job, de first thing, he's got- ta make de man feel he's sorry fo' him, an' to do dat, he'd have to carry on him what is known as Shame Brier. But he mustn't git de Shame Brier until [FOR IDENTITY - NAMES - EXAMPLES - SEE v.1, p.646f.] it closes up. Yo' see, de leaves is open, an' deh, dey'll close up. But chew gotta pass de han' ovah dere an' say tuh de Shame Brier tuh "be shamed", or whatevah yo' wanta do, yo' tell de brier dat an' tell de brier tuh be shamed. An' den when it closes up - it will close up itself. Well, yo' git chew nine of dose leaves. Yo' wrap dem up an' den take 'em on tuh where yo' wanta go an' den ask fo' yo' job.
(That will get you the job.)
Entry 12926
Tuh make de boss give yo' jobs, now. Now, if yo' wanta job an' if yo' goin' down dere. See, if de boss is mean to all de rest of de people - mean to yo' - he give everybody a job but chew. All right, well yo' git chew a lit- tle piece of saltpeter an' put into yore pocket. Well, den yo' see yo' git dis heah be 'shamed brier root, as ah tole yo', an' have dat in yore mouth an' spit down to his feets. An' den if he's very mean - if he's very hard - yo' sprinkle a little dis heah cayenne pepper cross his path like if dis he office heah. Ah sprinkle little dis cross yore office where.yo' go in to go into yore place of business an' ah have dat in mah mouth, an' ah says, "Say, Captain." Yo' know it's quite natural fo' a colored man to call a white man "Captain" or "Boss, " see. Well, "Say, Boss, listen, whut about a job dis mornin'." Den he'll look around - an be done crossed dis peppah, yo' see - he look around an' he say, "Well, old Doc, yo' don't wanna work if ah done give yo' a job." Yo' say, "Well, all right, yo try me." He say, "Well, den go on out an' see whut chew kin do." Yo' see, he done changed his mind. Yes sir, his mind is changed completely.
Entry 12927
(How do they use that?)
Well, they tell me that you have to get it at midnight.
(This shame grass.)
Shame grass.
(What does it look like?)
Well, it's, has thick leaf and if you run your hand over it, the leaf will wither up. If you put your hand over it, you can tell it. (I see.) And you can take the root of that and mens carries it in their pockets or either chew it in their mouths. And every what [whatever] they walks up to a woman and wants her to [do], command her to do, she'll have to do just what he says do. You takes it - you can tell it. It's a herb that grows and runs on the ground like a vine, and the minute you do like that [touch it] the leaves will close together.
(That's all he does, just chew it?)
You chew it or either carry it in your pocket. And any time you rubs it in your hands and lays your hands on her body anywhere, she'll do just what you Want her to do.
Entry 12928
Yo' walk down de railroad [track] to a bramble brier an' when dis brier leaves begin tuh [turn up], yo' gits down an' git a piece of de root. Chew jes' a little piece an' keep a little piece in yore hand. Yo' walks up to him an' says, "Boss, ah'm down, ah want a job today." Well, if yo' jes don' let him look around an' yo' keep his eye right into yore eyes [looking boss in the eyes is a common feature of many job rites] an' if anything roun dere he goin' give yo' a job dat day.
Entry 12929
An' some say yo' git dis heah Be Shame Root, Be Shame Brier an' git hit an' cut it up an' put it in dere an' put dis heah Hearts Cologne wit it.
(What do you put that root in?)
In a cloth an' sew it up an' wear it. Say dat will make yo' be lucky in any- thing yo' put chure han' tuh do. [Root became a normal hand for any kind of luck.]
Entry 12930
Ah learned about de new shingle from a house, sech as bad luck or like dat. Dey said dat if yo' have - jes' like dis building heah an' yo' ovah yondah somewhere. Git chew a new shingle an' bring it an' tack it on dis buildin', if yo' want anybody to leave out from dis buildin'. When yo' tack dat new shingle on dere, dey said it won't be long befo' someone will take sick in dat house, an' aftah dey take sick when dey git up, dey'll leave out. (You tack a new shingle on somebody's house.) [Waycross, Ga., (1159), 1935:4.
Entry 12931
Well, you take a man dat - a person what wanna have you home all de time an' mix up, mix up [confused] from time to time dat - he would come in your home and he would git a piece of yore garment. Jes' like you got dat shirt [author's shirt brings a version of the shirttail rite to informant's mind]. If he [the man we started with] would see anything keerless around your home [soiled clothing], like you gotta hang yore shirt [but don't], some stuff around not put in de dirty bag. He [the man we began with will soon be changed to a woman because this is a shirttail rite] would take your shirt and carry it on home and take a small piece out de back, right under de back. [Here informant changes to a woman.] And a woman - most woman do it, no man. But most women do dat to keep up de home when she want dis man. See. She would take a small piece out of it and cut dat out dat shirt and slap dat [shirt]. [She] come on back and put dat shirt back where he is. And dat man would all de time be cross with his wife. [Woman cutting piece out of man's shirt is not his wife.] Nothin' she do could suit him.
Entry 12932
Ah knows dat's all right about de shoes. Jes' say if yo' an' a woman wus in love tuhgether, an' by some means dat chew think dat dis woman is not de right woman fo' yo', an' yo' wants tuh git loose from her, yo' put on yore shoes an' jes' git out an' valk. Walk fast. Yo' know dat chure feet will perspire but not smelly. Pull den shoe off an' po' some wine in 'em an' drink dat wine. Dat'll separate yo' an' her. [For another drinking-out-of-shoe rite, see 12896, p.4412.
Entry 12933
If she's got his shoes, she'll git de inside of dat lining in dere [insole] dat he wear next to his feet. She will git dat, an' if she kin git 'at, she kin take 'at an' put some - git some brimstone an' sulphur. Put dat in a piece of rag or some tissue paper first. Wrap dis up in tissue paper, but urap coming to her, see. Wrap coming to her. Dis same thing, if she take it an' put it in under her bed, yo' understand, an leave it dere fo' nine sornings under her bed or - don't put it under her haid because dat would take as much effect on her haid as it would his'n. Put it about de middle of her bed [center of bed makes this a quincunx rite] about where her body rests, yo' kmoa, fo' 9 consecutive [days]. An' 'fore dat time, dey say dat he will be just back to her or goin' crazy fo' to git back to her. (After she wraps that material up in the tissue paper, what does she do with that shoe sole?) [My words shoe sole here confuses informant, we had been talk- ing about the inner lin- ing. Another rite for the same purpose now be- gins.l Dat shoe sole, after she fix dat up, put it in some red pepper now, an' brimstone, yeah. It's red pepper an' oil of rose, yeah. Yo' git dat in de drug store. [No- tice: red pepper in the drug store.] Oil of rose, wrap dat up. Course dat's liquid but chew wrap dat together an' dat sulphur will 'solve an' come to be a cake sompin like a flour dough, yo' know. Yo' understan' whut ah mean. Yo' wrap dat together an' bury it. Bury dat at her doorsteps - at her doorsteps. An' at de same time she wanta git her whut chew call a horseshoe an' fix it up. Put dat horseshoe de way it's coming in, not de way it's goin' out - de way it's coming in. An' let it stay dere, an' don't nevah take it down. Nine mornings let it stay dere an' aftah de 9 mornings, during 9 mornings, she must make her urinate 9 mornings. Yo' understand whut ah mean. But fo'evah leave dat horse- shoe dere. When he comes back she will leave de horseshoe dere contin[ual]ly, an' use dat chamber lye fo' 9 mornings right on. Keep a using it until dat head is on dat. Ah'm working on de hair proposition, yo' hair dat chew asked me about.
Entry 12934
Dey take yore socks, or take de inside little - yo' know it's got a thin sole in yore shoe - de bottom of yore shoe. Take dat [insole] out an' ball it up an' wear it in the bottom of yore shoe.
(Well, what would that do?)
Well, that would bring them folks back.
(Who would do that?)
De person dat's in de house. (The person that is living there would take the inside of your shoe and wear it in their [his or her] shoe. Both of them?) One of them - either one.
Entry 12935
Well, jes' lak yo' wanta, probably, yo' might be goin' out gamblin' or sompin lak dat, an' yo' wanta have luck fo' that, or maybe yo' goin' out tuh play cards an' yo' wanta have luck fo' that. Accordin' tuh whatevah yo' want... Yo' kin burn a little coal oil an' sugah on 'em an' dat's fo' luck on dice... dat's fo' a man's shoes.
Entry 12936
Dey burn de left-footed shoe an' dat will bring luck.
(Where do you burn it - at any particular place or time?)
Burn it in dere home - in dere rooms dat chew want de luck to come into.
(Just the shoe alone?)
Well, nope, some people use a - peels off an onion an' a little sulphur. Yo' burn it inside de shoe, yo' know.
Entry 12937
Den she kin take one of his shoes if she in a position to have one an' tumn it down at de back do'step undah de step, but not - jest take an' turn it right ovah. Jest put a little sand to each - yo' don't have to bury it, an' that'il bring him back. Dat's a shore way.
Entry 12939
To bring person back home bury his or her shoe under the steps. [Deal Island, Md. 24:5.]
Entry 12940
Inner sole of person's shoe buried under step to hold him or her.
[Elizabeth City 491:1.]
The source presents this as a short statement. Its opening notes attribute unbracketed text to informants; verbatim wording is not established.
Entry 12941
You can keep a person from leaving the house permanently by burying his inner sole under the steps. [Mobile 918:11.]
The source presents this as a short statement. Its opening notes attribute unbracketed text to informants; verbatim wording is not established.
Entry 12942
If you take inner sole of shoe, dig a hole under the doorstep, lay the inner sole in the hole and drive a tenpenny nail through it, it will drive you away [just as you drive the nail], will kill you. [Mobile 918:2.]
Entry 12943
Person's left foot shoe bury in front of steps with toe pointing to house to bring back. [Memphis 1580:1.]
Entry 12944
Take de shoe an' bury it. Dey bury de shoe in jis' de place where dey de only one has tuh travel, an' as de shoe rot, dey'll be runnin' 'way from home. Take de right-foot shoe. [Memphis 1516:8.]
Entry 12945
Jes' de sole off de shoe - one, de right feet, an' tie it up in a piece of new homespun, sew it up in it, an' bury it underneat' de steps. Dat why he couldn't leave yo'. [Sumter 2409:9.]
Entry 12946
Salt and pepper in a shoe buried on the "sunrise side" of the house keeps up a fuss there all the time. [Wilmington 274:2+85.]
Entry 12947
Put salt and black pepper in shoe and bury it under the doorstep: "it jis' aworry yo', keep yo' walkin', run yo' crazy, an' keep yo' mindless."
[Wilmington 257:4+85.]
Entry 12948
Into right shoe put salt, red pepper, bluestone and alum, and bury shoe heel out and toe to house. This makes wearer of shoe stay home. [Mobile 906:1.]
Entry 12949
To bring back, a woman buried her husband's shoe under the steps with heel down and toes up[ [Wilmington 256:1+85.]
Entry 12950
A woman can take a man's left shoe and wear it to hold him. Or she can take the inner sole, dry it and wrap it up and tie it up, and get a jimson veed, wrap it with that, bury it where man urine [urinates] for 9 nights. That keeps him. [Memphis 1557:12.]
Entry 12951
Bury left foot shoe 5 feet from doorsteps or at north corner of house and he'll come back.
Entry 12952
To bring or send away - sole of left shoe - dig a hole - bury with the feet going away from the house - 3 to 9 days person will leave. If to bring back - bury shoe with feet coming to house - and [or] you can tack it over facing of door where it's covered [hidden] and the person will come. [Memphis (973, professional and excellent), 1575:10.]
Entry 12953
Well, yo' kin burn a woman's shoes fo' luck on cards. Dere's differ- ent kind of shoes for luck on either cards or dice. [Memphis 2703:3.]
Entry 12954
Woman burns her old shoe to dust, mixes this with graveyard dirt and puts in a man's shoes: "that would go to his brain and that would make his mind always stay on me." [Newport News 511:3.]
Entry 12955
Burn left shoe to ashes, add graveyard dirt, put [bury?] at foot be- peath back door, "they'll leave town." [Wilmington 163:10+85.]
The source names the back door. Its [bury?] insertion and be-peath wording remain unresolved; leaving town is a source prediction.
Entry 12956
Put salt in old shoe, name him while burning this in fire, and he'll have to come back. [Wilmington 134:6+85.]
Entry 12957
Get a ole shoe of a ole man an' burn it up, an' then take de ashes am' red pepper an' salt, an' if de law comes, whenevah he leaves, to throw dis behind him an' he won't come back any more. [Norfolk 524:3.]
Entry 12958
Tuh keeps de law away, what dey do roun' eah [round here] - ah know a lota dem burn shoes [usually the right] an' make a wish, an' take de ashes from 'em an' sprinkle it all in de fo' cornahs of de house inside. [Richmond 286:5.]
Entry 12959
If yo' take de shoe an' burn it, dat will run snakes away. [Fayette- ville, 2515:4.]
Entry 12960
Take an' burn ole shoes an' dey say dat will keep devilment 'way from roun' yore house. Ole shoes an' sulphur. An' burn dat roun' dere an' dat keep all devilment from roun' yore house. [Fayetteville 2557:2.]
Entry 12961
Or either, if yo' are bothered with some kind of spirit that comes in there an' yo' can't see it, why yo' burn an ole shoe in the stove, or either put sulphur in every corner. [St. Petersburg 1625:2.]
Entry 12962
Burn men's shoes for luck for gettin' men. Put sugar on while burn- ing. [Memphis 1551:6.]
Entry 12963
(When do you burn your shoes?)
On Friday fo' luck fo' people come roun', yo' mo' successful in money.
[Memphis 1515:11.]
Entry 12964
Put sulphur and cayenne pepper over his shoe. Burn it. Runs him away.
[Memphis 1560:13.]
Entry 12965
Burn an old shoe in store or fireplace for luck. [This is known every- where.] [Wilmington 252:6+85.]
Entry 12966
If someone throws your shoe into running water, "you'll be forever running, can't stay satisfied nowhere." [Vicksburg 1018:8.]
Entry 12967
Throw both of person's shoes into running water to make him or her travel. [Richmond 290:3.]
Entry 12968
If you throw a person's shoe into running water, it will run that per- son away. [Elizabeth City 591:2.]
Entry 12969
You can take that same piece, like I told you to [the insole of a shoe in 1347:1] put that saltpeter under, in the toe of the shoe, and throw it in some running water, and you'll get up and start to go on - you'd leave home and never come back. That same piece out of that shoe. [New Orleans 1348:1.]
The informant predicts leaving home and never returning after a described disposal; the preceding-piece identification is partly editorial.
Entry 12970
Dey throw shoes in runnin' watah, git de right shoe an' throw it in runnin' watah. Well, he will go 'way - he'll go clean away. [Wilson, cylinder reference lost, but informant, No.1500, comes between informants 1499 (cyl.2667) and informant 1504 (cyl.2671).]
Entry 12971
Here is one of the wierdest and rarest of shoe rites: Wear the jack [stiff back of the heel] straight out in your shoe for love or to keep. [The jack is flattened out and worn in the bottom of the shoe. Imagine the discom- fort!] [Snow Hill, Md., 13:2.]
Entry 12972
[They] cut small piece off the toe of your shoe, wear in bottom of their shoe. You can't leave them, jes' keep you there under their foots.
[Vicksburg 1013:10.]
Entry 12973
You can bring a person to you or keep a person coming to you by wear- ing that person's insole in your shoe. [Norfolk 529:6.2
Entry 12975
A woman wears the inner sole of a man's shoe about her waist to hold him. [Richmond 353:5.]
The source presents this as a short statement. Its opening notes attribute unbracketed text to informants; verbatim wording is not established.
Entry 12976
Write name all over inner sole of shoe and wear to keep down and under control. [Memphis 1570:5.]
Entry 12977
You take and scrape de bottom of his shoe inside. Den dat'll make him evil and mean in de home. Jes' take and put it in his bedtick, rip a little hole and sew it up. [This comes from the well-known Doctor Frank Hall of Nansemond, Co., Va., in 1937, whose words I had to take down by hand. Was man or dog [to make mean) the original of this rite?)
Entry 12978
Cut a piece as big as a dime from the insole of a man's shoe, and with new nail, nail this piece to the floor under the carpet over which he walks. This keeps the man there. [Memphis 1551:4.]
Entry 12979
If someone cuts a piece out of your shoe and tacks it up under the house, you can't leave that house. [Mobile 903:2.]
Entry 12980
Left-foot shoe and sock, ball up, nail shoe on the carbox of train and turn your back and say, "Goodbye." [Memphis 1555:1.]
Entry 12981
To send person away it is better to put his shoe on the train engine than in a boxcar. [Memphis 1551:5.]
Entry 12982
Take man's shoes and set them under the bed like he be fixin' to come home [toes pointing under bed]...that'll draw 'im. [Memphis (960 excellent), 1545:7.]
Entry 12984
If he is sleeping, just take his left-foot shoe and turn it down under the bed, right under him where he is sleeping. Or she can pull off an underpiece of hers and hang it up on the bed over his head and he won't wake up. [New Orleans, 1347:10, a widely known rite and other examples in HOODOO.]
Entry 12985
Take a little piece of this silk root or piece of swamp root and hold it in your mouth and chew it and swallow de juice, and if you is poisoned, it'll make you sick in your stomach and you'll have to vomit. If you start to vomitin', why they've done somepin to you.
Entry 12986
Yo' could take a dime an' git a leaf dat nevah was scorched[? some- thing meaning undamaged] yo' know, dat de frost don't kill. Any kinda leaf de frost don't kill. An' put dis dime on dat leaf an' hold it on dere, an' yo' kin keep dat dime near dat leaf an' yo' have de best kind of luck. Put chew in real good luck. An' yo' keep it 'long as yo' keep dat dime.
(You just keep the dime, you don't keep the leaf?)
No, yo' don't have tuh keep de leaf, jes' keep de dime. Keep de dime. When yo' first git it, put it on de leaf an' hold it on de leaf. Den yo' keep dat dime den. Den yo' have good luck. Keep it in yore pocket - don't lose it - keep it in yore pocket.
Entry 12987
De best luck is a silver dime. Git chew a silver dime an' git chew some dis heah stuff yo' cut outa a hank[?] - cheap boxes yo' know. Take dat dere stuff [packing] an' dat silver dime... [interviewer interrupts].
(Is it sort of sawdust or shavings?)
An' put hit an' de dime an' some salt an' a piece of red flannel, an' sew it an' wear it round yore laig.
(What will that do?)
That will keep you lucky...
[I ask what kind of luck and restart machine.]
Any kind of luck - most any kind of luck.
Entry 12988
Yo' could take a lizard or a snake or a frog or anything like dat an' Perish it tuh death. Jes' put it in a can or sompin, yo' know, an' let 'im die. Sell, when he die yo' could, yo' know dry it up. Yo' could make a powder out of hin like dat. Well, den if yo' kin git dat in anybody's food, he gonna have dem Live things in 'im - hit'll come back tuh life. Yo' see, dey grow. Well, not de thing dey is tuh git dat out of him - jes' say, if yo' put it in 'im or anybody else put it in 'im, an' dey come tuh yo' [author become a root doctor] fo' tuh git it out of 'im, yo' git chew a silver piece of money. An' yo' wash dis heah, every edge, if yo' use a dime or a quarter or fifty-cent [piece] or anything. Let it be solid silver. An' hit every edge dat dey is round dere. Well yo' give him dat silver [intern- ally] an' dat silver will git dat out of 'im. Hit'll take every bit of dat poison out of 'im.
(You have to hit every edge. With what?)
Yes sir, hit every edge [of the milled coin] with a file. Git chew a brand- new file dat has nevah been used an' yo' hit every edge - jes' a little grated silvah an' [and you give it internally to your patient poisoned by lizard, snake or frog].
Entry 12989
Or yo' kin take an' go to - if yo' believe in the root-working or hoodooing - go to them an' yo' tell them that yo' are out looking for a job. Git a cotton cord string an' take a dime an' put a hole in it an' put this string - run the string through that hole of the dime an' jest hang it around yore left ankle. Let it hang down so it can be in yore shoes, hang down in yore shoes, so anyone can't see it. An' yo' keep that around there an' that will give you luck to have work as long as yo' kin any time.
Entry 12990
Yo' kin take a dime an' put it in, yo' know, in a letter. Yo' would take de dime an' jes' lak yo' know somebody, an' yo' wanta git 'em back, an' jes' keep it yo' know wit a piece of lodestone. Wear it wit a piece of lodestone, yo' know, 'bout two or three weeks sompin othah lak dat. Put dis dime in a letter an send it to her an' tell her, yo' know, jes' lak yo' want a pin or sompin othah. An' tell her about dat. An' dey tell me, say, she'll come in de place or send de pin.
Entry 12991
Take a thin dime [well- used or old] yo' see an' put it in a sack, an' some cayenne pepper an' salt in it, an' hang it up ovah yore do'. As he come in, yo' see, back an' fo'th, an' jis' keep it ovah de do'.
(What will that do?)
That will stop yo' [him] off from de [other] woman.
(From this other woman?)
Yessuh.
Entry 12992
You tie you a piece of - some sugar, you takes a piece of lodestone, and you put you a silver dime in that, you see. And you sew it up. You sew it up in a red piece of flan- nel. You make it like dat and you carry it in your pocket, but you won't have no luck though if you have the cheat against you. As long as you keep the cheat off you, you have luck.
(What do you mean "have the cheat against you?")
"Cheat, '' of course, if you [someone] put down loaded dice or anything, you can't beat it. See, you can't beat anybody that have [loaded dice].
(Oh, they cheat against you.)
Yeah.
(Oh, I see.)
If they cheat, you can't beat a cheat, you see. It won't do no good, you see. [This theme of "unless someone cheats is rare in HOODOO, since it would destroy confidence in ganbling "hands."]
Entry 12993
Yes sir, ah've heard dat yo' take an' steal a dime - a silver dime - an' carry it to de... (You steal this dime?) Yes sir, steal it from someone. (And then you cross it. How do you cross it?) Right cross de piece. Take a pocketknife or sompin an' cross a cross mark cross de face [on the dime]. An' carry it to de cemetery an' bury it, an' she'll follow yo' ev'ywhere yo' want her tuh.
(Whom would you steal this dime from?)
Anyone. It be best tuh steal it from her, providin if she got one.
(Oh, I see. To make her love you?)
Yes sir.
Entry 12994
If yo' want him tuh give yo' his money, all his money, sometime ask him fo' money. If he happen tuh han' yo' a silver dime, don't chew spend dat silver dime. Yo' take dat silver dime an' wrap it up in a piece of - it ain't cotton flannel either. It's woolen stuff. Yo' put chew two needles in dat, a short one an' a long one, an' yo' make a wish fo' tuh rule him an' fo' tuh have him bring yo' dat money. An' yo' git chew some oil from de drug sto'.
(What kind of oil?)
Oil of annis. An' keep it [wrapped up hard] anointed wit it an' put it in de bottom of yore trunk, an' he'll bring his money tuh yo'. Dat's whut ah kmoc 'bout dat. Dat's whut ah have experienced.
Entry 12995
Take a silver dime. Yo' [a woman] git a silver dime from him an' yo' take dat silver dime an' yo' put it in a glass an' put two teaspoonfuls of sugah on dat dime an' set it back in a corner. If he makes any money he'll bring it. He'll bring it to yo'.
Entry 12996
Jes' lak anybody, well, jes' say if a woman have a friend or sompin an' he is able tuh give her, an' can give her, an' hit look lak he don't wanta use her fo' convenience, why she kin git a dime from him an' she kin take dat dime an' put it in a brand- new piece of domestic an' fold it tuh her nine times, an' sew it an' wear it right next tuh her an' dat's good. Dat'll help out a whole lot in peace with him an he'll provide for her mo' bettah.
(Just wear it any place on her body?)
Yeah, jes' pin it right inside her on de right side, wear dat down dere.
(Next to the skin?)
Yes.
Entry 12997
Dey could take his shoe sole an' jes' take up his shoe sole an' take a silver dime an' file it. File dis silver dime till... Jes' lak if he's got a lotta money. He jes' a business fellah an' some- body gotta grudge ag'in him, git a silver dime of his'n - any fren' yo' know, jes' lak makin' change. I jes' git holt dis dime of yore [man'sl money an' take it an' file it. Take dis shoe sole an' take all dis little dust offa dis dime an' puts it on dis shoe sole. An' dey'll take dat an' dey'll go bury dat under yore steps, right under yore steps where yo' goin' walk ovah it. An' wherevah yo' money is, as yo' go in an' come out, yore money'll jes' leave yuh - jes' fall down, fall right down to nuthin. Jes' come down to nuthin. (Now suppose I had this money and you were trying to do that to me. You would get my shoe sole, the inside sole or the outside sole?) Yes sir, take dis inside sole.
(You sprinkle the silver dust inside of my shoe, underneath that inner sole.)
Jes' take dis sole, de shoe sole - no sir, [take] dis inside piece [insole]. Yo' take it an' yo' fold it up [certainly away from you] dis [inner] sole, an' bury it under yore steps.
(You take this from either shoe?)
Yes sir, either shoe.
Entry 12998
Yo' go to him [boss] an' yo' have a silver dime in yore han', like you jes' goin' to borrow some money from him - cause see, dat's fer luck. An' he'll give yo' dat money, an' yo' won't have to pay it back unless yo' wanta. An' he'll give you a job an' he will tell yo' to go to work. An' dey all fer yo' if yo' kin always keep dat silver dime in yore han' like dat while yo' talkin' to him.
Entry 12999
Well, if a man want luck in gambling, well, he'd wanta got Lost John powder. [This could be my only example of Lost John.] (What kind?) Lost John. (Lost John?) Lost John powder, it's good luck. You take Lost John powder and you put it in your pocket. All right, you go get you some pulverized bluestone. You take you five dimes and you boil that in two quarts of water. You boil that water down to one quart [magic of diminishing amount.] You put it in somepin and measure it. You put it in somepin and you boil it until it comes down to one quart [diminishing amount] one quart of water. You gets one quart of water, you pout one teaspoonful of pulverized bluestone, one teaspoonful of granulated sugar, one teaspoonful of sulphur, and well shaked [shake well]. You take your five dimes out of that water after it's boiled and put 'em - you can use them again, you can spend them. [Often articles used in rites cannot be used again, they are dangerous.] You take that and you shake it up - well shaked. You can take that and rub it in the band of your hat, and you go anywhere in town and you can have luck: with the laws, the police, or anything like that. They ain't going to worry with you.
(What do you do with that Lost John root powder? What do you do with that?)
That Lost John root you tote that in your pocket. Tote that in your pocket.
Entry 13000
Take bluestone an' alum an' make a - an' take nine silver dimes an' sew it up together, an' anywhere yo' go, any kind of game yo' play, yo'll win all de money dey have. (What do you sew that in?) Red flannel.
Entry 13001
Ah've heard of a person dat gambles, if dey want 'em to have good luck in gambling, take a silver quarter [25c], a silver halfa a dollah [50c] an' dey fix dat up in a package or rag or some way, an' tote it with 'em. Keep it on 'em an' that will give 'em luck fo gambling. Use Hearts Cologne on it [to feed it].
Entry 13002
They have live things in them, you kin take a cupful of lard, and a cupful of sulphur, and you take a cupful of salt. And you puts all of that to about a quart of water and let it boil. And you take a silver [bow or beau or bull] dollar. (A silver what?) A silver dollah, a bow dollah. (A bow dollar?) They call 'em bow dollah, them silvah dollahs, one of them big round dollahs. They don't use 'em very much now [1938]. Well, you let that boil. Yo' get a [cove] oyster can [these were not the recent canned oysters kept on ice] and you let that dollah boil real good. You boil it for about a hour in that water. And you take that water, put it with this other ingredients, this cupful of lard and everything. And I mean that will certainly pass from you. You let 'em drink that fuh 9 mornings, see. Give 'em a cupful and them live things will pass. That'll kill it. An' then you take - behind that give 'em a bath, behind that a bath of saltpeter and bluestone and sulphur.
Entry 13003
Usin' a bull dollah - a silver dollah.
(They call it a bow dollar? Why do they call it a bow?)
Dey always claim they could work roots with it. (That's what they call a silver dollar: a bow dollar - bull dollar? Do you mean like a bow - like this kind of a bow?) [I demonstrate either by holding and drawing a bow, or drawing design on paper.] Ah don't know how yo' spell it. It jes' a bow. Git chew a bow dollah an' go to any sto' an' git chew a bottle of Hearts Cologne. An' yo' take this heah bow dollah an' yo' take an' rub it with this heah Hearts Cologne. An' take an' put it in a red flannel sack an' wear it round yore waist, where it will 'cumu- late money to yo', bring happiness to yo', an' yo' jes' be lucky all de time.
Entry 13004
A root doctor when digging up cunjure outside a patient's home used a silver spoon! Unfortunately this unusual procedure was not much of a story. A note of mine reads "of man in Baltimore who used fork." If I remember ex- actly the Baltimore man used a steel fork, steel being avoided by witches and cunjures. [Wilmington 207:3, my comment reading not much of story.]