Browse:BUSINESS AND CUSTOMERS (Volume 1, entries 2398–2735)/Part 2
BUSINESS AND CUSTOMERS
Volume 1, entries 2398–2735. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 2478
I lived with a woman and she was selling herself, and she told me that the law never would come to her house, and she only got her a file and drove it in each corner of her house, and she said that the law wouldn't come there. And another time when we moved in another house and she hadn't had a chance to put these files up, the law came in and she told me he'd never come back again. She say, "Baby, get some salt and throw behind him and sweep it right on out." And I went and put some salt behind him and then swept on back straight and he never came back. And no other law ever came in that house all the time she was selling herself.
(You mean, they put a file in each of the four corners of the house?)
Just a file.
(Outside or inside?)
Inside - stick 'em up in de corner.
(I see. What do you do - stick them into the wall or the floor?)
No, in the wall.
Entry 2479
Yo' wanta have business with whiskey an' yo' business no good with whiskey. Yo' take yore toenails an' cut 'em off an' scrape out from under yore fingernails an' cut dem off, an' put dem into a little bottle or into a little glass wit de whiskey - about dat much an' let it set three days. Let it set three days an' then take it an' strain it out an' put it into a gallon of whiskey. Put it into dat gallon of whiskey an' de first customers come in dere an' buy, sell 'em dat; an' de more customers come in, sell it to 'em, an' after while yore business will be so great dat ever'body be flockin' right to yore business.
Entry 2480
Well, if he drinking or anything like that, you mean? Well, they come in - the man who is drinking - and they's [men customers who drink are] coming in. You always have something to eat in your house. You keep a fish in your house - you always will keep water, clear water. You always will be successful and lucky and you - you change water with your fish, you know. Well, you keep your fish there. He will swim around, you see. Well, there be somebody always coming in - going and coming out your house. Keep a fish cause he's lucky and successful. ["Goldfish in the house are lucky say some; unlucky say others" - FACI,2ed., No. 1539, p.61. J
Entry 2481
Get you some mackerel brine - what I mean is mackerel brine off a mackerel fish. You take that brine - you gotta buy it, about fifteen or twenty cents worth - you take that brine and get you a bucket of water and put you some sugar and pulverized cinnamon in there and sprinkle it just as fer as your place extends; and whatever you got, you will sell out what you got. That mackerel brine, cinnamon and sugar in that water.
(That's for bootlegging?)
Any kind of business you're in you needn't a-worry.
Entry 2482
As good a way as any if yo' was selling something - jes' lak a fellah dat wus sellin' some moonshine or somepin an' he wanted to git in trade. Well, now ah heared dat chew could sit down an' take yore foot, wet it, scrape it an' all dat dead skin on it. Soak it [scraped skin] in whiskey or soak it in some water, either one. Anoint de whiskey wit it an' dat would draw customers to you. [Dead foot skin in food or drink is alsd used in love rites.]
Entry 2483
Ah wanta tell yo' now, ah run a bo'din' house once fo' a ole lady dat stayed dere, an' she went to de fo'ks of de road an' got de dirt outa de middle of de road - don't chew understand me. Den she took some bluestone an' saltpeter an' brimstone - git it all at de drug sto' an' then she takes them an' beats it up fine an' puts it into that pot an' some splinters ovah it.
(What pot?)
To a small pot whut'll hold 'bout two or three quarts.
(Of water?)
Yes. No, no - of de sand, don't chew understand from out de middle of de road. Yeah, de sand is under de bottom of dis heah, under de bottom of dese splinters an' dis heah stuff whut she sprinkles ovah dat, an' den she po's a little kerosene ovah dat an' burns it about three a'clock in de mornin' befo' day. That is to git roomers in her house. Yeah, dat has come from de fo'ks of de road. (She would put this dirt in the pot an' then she mixes this other stuff with that dirt.) That's it - de saltpeter, bluestone an' brimstone. (So that I understand perfectly what it is about: she brings this dirt back from the forks of the road, she puts it in this little pot, then she gets these various things and puts on top of this dirt.) Beats it all up together. (And puts it on top of the dirt in the Pot; then she lights this stuff, this mixture - burns it.) Yeah - three a'clock in de morning.
Entry 2484
To pay a bill on Friday gives yo' bad luck. (How does that give you bad luck?) Wal, since it's a business proposition - dey say it's not good luck to put out money on Fridays lak dat, to pay up debts on Fridays. Always pay yo' debts on Mondays an' Saturdays. Jest lak if yo' owe a bill, yo' understand, dey say it put chew in hard luck to pay it on Friday.
Entry 2485
Wait until the first Friday of the month - the first Friday of each month - you get you some cinnamon and sugar and get you some lye water.
(What kind of water?)
Lye water - purely lye.
(Like concentrated lye?)
Concentrated lye, and scrub that house. And in the four corners of this house after you have scrubbed it, you set that house aburning in the four corners of that house, you see. Set some sugar and cinnamon, mix it and light it, and I'll guarantee you'll rent your house.
(You really will rent your house?)
You'll rent your house.
(What do you burn in those four corners?)
Cinnamon and sugar.
(I see. But you only scrub with the lye water?)
Only scrub with the lye water. [One cylinder later in answer to my question about how a business could bring in customers, informant begins to repeat what had been said about renting a house - a further detail being added.] (Now, wait a minute - if you were bootlegging now, what are you going to do about it to bring in trade?) To bring in trade?
(Yes.)
Well, you scrub your house - scrub your place of business and after you scrub it, you know.
(Now, wait a minute. Now, tell me what you told me before.)
Well, every first Friday of each month.
(Every first Friday of each month?)
Of each month, yes sir.
(All right.)
And then, after you scrub your house every first Friday of each month, see, you close it up and put you some cinnamon and some sugar and mix it thoroughly and put it in each corner of the house. See. And if it's a business place, put it right in the center of the floor. And burn it until all of it's burned up. And then the-next morning you get up and open the door, and you let all kind of trade in. You do that every first Friday.
Entry 2486
Ah run a bo'din' house. Ah got oil of bergamine [bergamot], oil of cinnamon, oil of rose an' oil of wintergreen. Ah po' it in a ten-cent bottle an ah would put it in as much watah de size that ah wus goin' tuh mop mah house, an' then use Ivory Soap chips or eithah a bran'-new bar of Ivory Soap haven't been used anywheres. Ah'd start from mah front steps an' mop straight back to de very bottom step, an' mop all ovah mah house back to the back step. An' it would bring a crowd an' bring jis' whatevah yo' would want for de purpose. An' ah'd do that on Mondays an' Fridays early in de mawnin'. When ah wanted men transom [transient] trade, ah would let a man urinate in mah watah. Git enough of it tuh mop mah house through with that othah, yo' see - oil of cinnamon an' oil of rose, oil of bergamine an' oil of wintergreen. An' ah us'lly wanted male trade mo' den ah did de female, ah jis' - ah might git a young half-grown boy or somethin' an' jis' let him when ah fix mah watah bucket, he use it.
(Get any male water?)
Dat's it. (Well, what about women customers? What do you bring them in for? How do you do that?) Well, most times that's whut ah worked with [men]. Co'se if yo' wanted female roomers, yo'd git a woman tuh urinate in the watah.
Entry 2487
Chip it up. an' put it in mah scrubbin' watah, make yo' lucky. (This garlic?) Jis' chip it up an' put it in watah jis' lak yo' would a onion yo' see. Don't let nobody cross in dis house whare ah done scrubbed until it dry out.
Entry 2488
You mean bootlegging business like that - like I used to be in on Drive Street. You'd take you some garlic. You'd take them garlic and you puts on a tub of water. You boil that garlic in that tub of water and when the water is hot you scrub your steps. Let everybody be absent but the one that's going to scrub the place and the one that's going to dress it. After everybody is out of there and this water is real hot, you scrub this place. When you scrub this place you put everybody out but the one that's going to dress it. Then you take you some beer, put you some sugar in that beer, put you some cinnamon in there, and put you some Lucky Heart drops. If you can't get that, you get this Heart Perfune, and you take that bottle and you go from the banquette [sidewalk in New Orleans], thataway, and just sprinkle it right up to this [front] door, and outside in the entry. Lock the door.
Entry 2489
You take you some brown sugar and cinnamon and you get you some of this here oil of geranium and you mix that up together and you sprinkle that all over your floor. You take that sugar and go out from your place and come into your place sprinkling the sugar and your place be packed down with people. How I know that - I done try that at fish fries and I pack my place down. The other people don't have any with that [with a fish fry]. [A fish fry is a meal of fried fish served in a private home to the public. A sign with date, hours and cost of the meal is posted on the house or advertised by word of mouth.]
Entry 2490
[The preceding fish fry and the one to follow are separated by 2 years and 709 informants; the former story from my first trip to New Orleans; the following story from my second trip:] Use cinnamon, sugah an' oil of geranium - nine drops of oil of geranium - de sugah an' de cinnamon mixed together. An' yo' puts dat in de fo' corners - puts it - first yo' come to de do' an yo' come in wit that, yo' see. An' den when yo' git in yo' puts it in de fo' corners of de house an' dat draws yore people. Dat's de way ah used tuh do when ah give fish fries an' bring 'em in.... (This is sort of a liquid, then? Or is it a powder?) [She had failed to say what was done with the oil of geranium.] Dat's a liquish - de oil of a-geranium is a liquish, an' de steel dust, well dat's dry. An' de cinnamon, yo' kin git dat from de drug sto', too. It's de best from de druggist den yo' git it from de grocery, because de grocery keeps it an' it's weak. But de drug sto's is strong. [The oil of geranium would have been used in water for scrubbing; the steel dust, a drawing power, would have been sprinkled in the four corners.]
The informant names cinnamon with sugar and mentions oil of geranium in a fish-fry account; the later scrubbing explanation is Hyatt's bracketed interpretation.
Entry 2491
For that you go - you see, you go to people for to do that. They don't never get you - they won't - you'd have to pay them for to tell you. Like if I want a job, I go to one of them spiritual people and you go - you gotta scrub. You go to the drug store and you get you some oil of Geranium.
(Oil of what?)
[She had said something like gerange according to my penciled note on original transcription. Some of my informants had trouble with the word. I did tco - it being some time before I could be certain that my original guess was a fact. Thank heavens druggists did not call this substance oil of Pelargonium.] Oil of Geranium. You put that in your water and you put you some cinnamon an sugar an' you scrub, you see, an' then you get you some steel dust an' put it in the corners of your place - that's to draw, that's to draw people. Steel dust.
Entry 2492
I was in the bootlegging business - certainly I kin tell you more so 'bout that. Now, all you do is you get you some oil of geranium, oil of cinnamon and you mix it together, and you get you some sugar and a bucket of water and blueing, and when you startin' to sweep - like you sweep, you sweep in always from the street, you sweep in. After that you start to sprinkling that water, sprinkle that water coming in the door from the street. You start on the street and sprinkle right on straight in the back. You see. But you gotta put a little sugar in it to keep down the disturbance, you see. And you'll have the crowd. I used to be right round dere on Drive street. I kept the crowd in my place in bootlegging times.
(What did you put the sugar in for?)
The sugar is to keep down trouble - you see, you kin get a big crowd in your place but you kin have a lot of disturbance. You see that sugar is to keep down and ever'body be peaceful. You see that's what the sugar's for. See. And you scrub-like.
(You scrub when?)
Like on a Friday night - that's what I done did on a Friday night.
The informant names oil of cinnamon with oil of geranium in a sweeping-and-sprinkling account; sugar's stated purpose is keeping down disturbance.
Entry 2493
Now, this what you do if you want the house rented. You gotta use immaterials.
(Immaterials?)
What you call immaterials - prob'bly draw it by yourself - with 360 degrees of a person's mind to yourself. Then, you get what is called fast luck, [that's] No. 1. You get cinnamon, that's 2. Get oil of clover. (Oil of cloves or clover?) Yes, clover. (Oil of clover, yes.) You get these things together and you mops from front to back - not from back to front, start at the front. Get some woman to mop it from front to back, the corners and all round, and then you get you what they call Get Together. I ain't got none of it with me now. But it's a powder they call Get Together and Never Part Powder.
(What kind?)
Never Part.
(Never Part Powder.)
Yes. You take these things and you sprinkle all round that hall. Take the [something] of the immaterial spirit, like someone look like they was 'tracted by - more than anywhere else - by your place of business would be mor e'tractive to them than anywhere else, and they come and rent that place.
(I see.) [Did I?]
Entry 2494
Take sulphur an' ground ginger an' mix it together an' put it in a newspapah or any kind of papah an' put it in a ole can an' burn it in de middle of de flo', an' says dat will bring luck to yore house an' make yo' go way ovah yore [usual number of customers]. (That is to bring customers in to buy from you?) Yes. [Sulphur purifies; ginger gingers - makes lively.][ Wilson, N. Car.,
(1477), 2657:15.]
Entry 2495
In business yo' kin go an' take a penny - yo' take de head of dat penny an' put it down head-down an' let it stay dere, an' take dat dirt from round dat grave an' sprinkle it any place an' yore business will be successful. If yo' want 'em to move out [to put them out of business], yo go back to de same grave an' take that penny an' put it head-upwards dere, an' yo' take some of dat dirt from de left part de foot part of grave an' sprinkle dat under those steps or inside. Dey'll go.
Entry 2496
Yo' take de infant dirt from de grave [dirt from an infant's grave], take sulphur, yo'll take table salt - three things. Yo'll git up in de mawnin' at fo' 'clock 'fore de sun an' yo' starts from yore front do', jes' lak if, yo' know, yo' want plenty - ever'body tuh come in. Well, yo' stand to de do' an' throw it in de house, "In de Name of de Father an' Name of de Son an' Name of de Holy Ghost, ah wants all de customers dat ah kin git." An' yo' have mo' people den yo' evah able tuh git through with.
(When you get that dirt, you give it this money?)
Yessuh, always give odd pennies. Nevah give two or nevah give fo' - give odd.
Entry 2497
Dey take de same one foot of yore sock. Git chew - go to a baby's grave an' take three pieces of white cloth an' one silver dime. Yo' dig dis hole like dat, an' when yo' take dis three pieces of white cloth - dat's a baby grave now - three pieces of white cloth. An' a silver dime - yo' paying dis baby off. Yo' understand. Yo' dig a hole about lak dat, "In de Name of de Lord, yo' take care of dis in Jesus name. Ah'm only givin' yo' dis in Jesus name." Yo' put dem three pieces of cloth an' dat dime down dere. Befo' yo' put dat dere, yo' git out a handful of dirt. Den yo' put dat dime an' dem three pieces of cloth in strips - jes' little strips - in dere, an' yo' cover it on back, an' yo' take dis with you an' go on.
(What do you do with that, then?)
Go on an' fill yore sock with dat an' one silver dime. Yo' take it an' - either corner of de house yo' could put it. Or either yo' could run it up under de sill, it'll be good.
(What will that do then?)
Keep de police away. (Keep the law away. Well, why did you put those three pieces of cloth in the grave? What was the idea of that?) It's a baby an' a baby is in de arm an' is harmless an' sinful from de world.
(I mean what do those three things represent - those three pieces of cloth?)
Dese Three are One.
(Those three pieces of cloth represent the Three Who are One.)
Don't chew see.
Entry 2498
Yo' kin keep de law away from de house. Go to a colored cemetery an' git chew - go where yo' know dere's three people dat chew know, dat yo' wus dere when dey buried 'em. Take yo' fifteen cents an' yo' pay each one of 'em nickel a piece, yo' see, fo' each person. But let dis be newly buried - jis' yesterday or de day befo'. An' git chew ten pounds of dat dirt an' put it in yore bucket an' set it where yo' sweep yo'self. Dey won't even come near yore steps. Dose are spirits dat keep 'em back. Dat dead folks dirt whut wus buried, dey cain't come ovah it.
Entry 2499
Yo' know de truth always is right. We runs - we wus fulla dem things, too. Befo' mah husband died we run de same thing an' we run de same years, but de lawyers nevah caught us. Well, now ah'm goin' tell yo' whut we use on dat. It was learned to us tuh use dat an' ah used dat. Dat was saltpeter an' dat copperas, table salt an' red peppah, an' we made a powders of dat. An' a dead spirit from de graveyard to get de dirt - yo' know, after yo' done talk to de daid spirit an' tell him whut he want do. An' den mix dat togethah an' make a powdahs, an' he has crossed de road on many a time and de law could nevah come by our do'. (Well, how did you fix that - I mean what would you do with that after you fix that up?) Yo' jes' mash it all up fine.
(Then what do you do with it?)
Throw it in de road - jes' cross de road where dey come 'cross. Jes' ary road dat lead in to yore house with de law, why yo' put dat 'cross dat road - any distance yo' wanta from de home, where yo' know he kin turn in. An' if he evah git to dat one time, he ain't comin' in no mo'.
Entry 2500
Say jes' git graveyard dirt, red peppah, cayenne peppah, sulphur an' alum, an' beat it together an' sprinkle it all around yore place an' they say that will keep it away - say that will keep de law away. (What is the difference between red pepper and cayenne pepper? Is there any difference?) Well, dere's one ground, an' yo' know dere's one whole grain.
Entry 2501
Yo' go to a ole-time grave an' git chew some dirt. See, dig down in de grave lak dis an' git chew some dirt out of de grave. Well, yo' take dat dirt an' yo' mix dat dirt up with salt. Yo' put table salt in dat dirt an' yo' mix it up. All right, den yo' go to de sto' an' yo' buy yo' some lucky perfwme, Heart Perfume, yo' see. Yo' git chew some Heart Perfume. Well, yo' mix that in there with it. See. Jes' put Heart Perfume all in dere with it. All right, den yo' go an' yo' git chew some sulphur an' yo' put that sulphur in there with it. See. All right, yo' go an' git yo' some John de Conker an' den git chew fo' diff'rent cans - fo' diff'rent small cans, tin cans, where yo' kin put 'em airtight. See. An' yo' put 'em in a circle - jes' lak yo' runnin' a bootlaig place, yo' put 'em in a circle all de way round.
(Around what?)
All way round yore place, yo' understan', de place of business yo' carr'in' on - all de way round, yo' see. Den yo' take, aftah yo' put 'em all de way round [one can on each side of the business], yo' take dat salt an' git in de street all de way round where yo' got chure cans an' yo' care it all de way round yo' see, till yo' git clean round yore house. Well, aftah yo' gone all de way round yore house wit de salt, yo' come on back right where yo' left from an' say, "Ah put dis out, In de Name of de Father, Son an' the Holy Ghost, that ah may have no trouble." Then yo' spit up in dere three times. Yo' won't have no trouble. If yo' have any trouble atall, yo'll git out of it. [The four tin cans with seal-type lids, one on each side of the house, should have been sufficient - an airtight protection.].
Entry 2502
" Yo' go into de graveyard an' yo' gotta go a certain hour - about twelve 'clock in de night. If you got any kinfolk bury in dat graveyard, you'll explain to them exactly wot and wot not. Then you git some dust outa that graveyard - offa dat same grave which you have explained dese matters. You take dat qrave- yard dust and go home, and you jest sift it light right aroun' yo' step and you say, "Now, you take ca'h de home. Ah don't want no law or nobody else officiate round heah." You go on about your business and dey'll take ca'h of it. Dey'll nevah look dat way. Dey'll come right by dere an' when de git dere dey'll throw up dey head and go on by.
Entry 2503
Then agin, I git de graveyard dirt from somebody relative who is dead, [died] good -, ou know, make peace. Any person who dead, git dat dust you know. Den you git de white-horse manure, mix that with salt and sulphur, and sprinkle around yore place. An': hey'll [officers will] call round yore place but they'll go away - wouldn't stir about chuh.
(Keeps the law away.)
Keep away because yo' have a white horse in de pasture and dey'll tell de party, "Oh! Looks like a white horse." (That white horse keeps them away? This is supposed to be the white horse in the pasture?) Yes. See, if you have a white horse in de pasture, dat horse will fight all other horses, but dey never fight dat white horse. (Those other horses won't bother a white horse. That is why the white-horse manure is good.) Yes.
Entry 2504
Take dat graveyard dirt - take some and divide into each one, see, and git you some salt. Some of de graveyard dirt into each one of de shells.
(Of these shells?)
Yes, dey done already shot, you see. And you take another shell and git some of de gunpowder and put - divide it and put some in each one of those shells. And then you take a needle and stick it in each one - stand de needle up in dere like you goin' sew some cloths, but jest right on de tip. And put dat stuff in dere round and pack in around dere tight - jest like you fixing de shot in de shell, see. And then you take that and put one under your front step, and then you turn around and put one under the back step, you see. And if you got any side windahs or anything like that, chew kin jest take and put one at de main windah where you always keeps open, you see. [Three shells.] When de revenuer comes he'll come round to everybody house but chores, and people wonder how come he won't stop to yores - and you selling whiskey in dere, too. But he jest won't have no spirit to come towards that house. He figure there won't be nothing there, when the revenuer comes there. Never won't have no spirit. Co'se ev'ry- body don't know that, you see - don't know everybody telling that. See, if I tell a person that, I want some money fer telling that.
Entry 2505
A hustlin' woman in de streets, yo' know tryin' tuh make money, she should ever' mawnin' befo' sunrise fall on her knees an' say her prayers, de Lord Prayer three times, an' git up an' wash her face down with olive oil an' have a olive-oil bag pinned up on her an' salt - [she corrects this to] olive oil an' salt-bag pinned up on her [salt-bag only - fed with olive oil], if she wants luck in de street wit de mens. An' pee an' throw de pee out from de house, de east corner of de house - pee in a cup or 'nother an' throw it out befo' she has anything tuh say to anybody, an' she 'posed to make money out in de streets dat day while she's out. If a hustlin' womans want tuh git out on de streets an' be lucky, make money, she'd use de van-van holy oil, drop de van-van holy oil on her. She buy de van- Van holy oil an' drop it on her an' make a wish, an' be sho' she use olive oil too.
[Van-van is not called a holy oil - see margin-title Van-van later and Index.]
(How would she use the olive oil?)
Listen - wash her face down, bathe her down good in olive oil. Put de olive oil an' salt-bag you know on there as I 'fore tole joo, an' say her prayers like dat an' - let me see, I gon'a tell you whut prayer she supposed to wear. She supposed tuh wear de prayer in her purse - Holy Idy - de Holy Name Idy in her purse. An' if yo' leavin' goin' to a strange place, a strange city, when yo' in dat city an' want tuh be successful, yo' should walk out in a vacant field, somewhere where it's vacant an' turn yore face in the south an' use that word Holy Adam - Holy Adam - Holy Idam - Hebrew lang'rige - Holy Adam.
(Do you know how to spell it?)
Not Adam but Iden - I-D-E-N.
(Do you know what it means?)
No - dat's in Hebrew lang'rige.
(It isn't the Garden of Eden?)
No suh - Iden. Yo' use dis when yore hustlin' out in de streets or eithah goin' tuh a strange place an' want tuh be successful. Yo' kin jis' walk up to someone an' use dat inward Iden - inward - an' ask them fo' a favor - they'll come very near doin it.
Entry 2506
Well, ah tell yo', fo' good luck like that yo' git the good luck insane [incense]. Yo' want mah ideas? Yo' git the good luck insane an' yo' burns that with the holy oil every morning fo nine mornings. An' yo' take six drops of Hearts Cologne, one teaspoon of sugar to a gallon of water. Yo dust yore house down, yo' take yore linen off yore bed, clean up one room at a time. Pick up that dust an' put it on a piece of newspaper. Clean up yore next room an' take all de linen if you got a bedroom. Do the same room like that. Put all that dust, all yo' create, git it up off de floor on that one paper. Then buy yo' a box of table salt an' yo' use one cup of that table salt on all that dust that chew taken up. Take yore linen out of doors an' yo' wash it. Clean up everything. Wash yore bedsteads an' yore springs off an' put on clean linen an' everything. An' take that trash that yo've gathered up in those rooms and take one cup of table salt, take it out an' take a shovel an' dig a hole, an' place it in de ground an' kiver it up. Fust one go tuh sleep that night will dream a good dream an' it will be a good luck dream, be a game in it. If yo' play a game of chance yo'll win.
(Now you do all this cleaning up in the house for luck in the home?)
Fo' luck in yore home. (That is if you want to bring in customers to rent your rooms or something of that sort.) An' then when yo' go out, before yo' go out, yo' take that Hearts Cologne an' yo' sprinkle yoreself with it. Every time yo' go out yo' do that an' yo'll advance with everybody - influence with everybody. Anything yo' go after yo'll have influence with the people.
Entry 2507
Now, if you kin git it, I use that Holy MAMMY Oil, if you kin git it. An' you git one of these little blue moun's - BLUE MOUNDS it's a incent [incense], a little pointed [come-shaped] thing; it's a blue moun' [mound]. An' there's a little brown one. Well, you burn de brown one in the mornin' an' the blue one in the afternoon. That'll bring jis' wha' choo want.
Entry 2508
You wan'a bring in trade. Well, fo' whut ah've experienced about bringing in trade - ah used tuh be a bootlegger mahself, and ah kin say that ah done that mahself and got benefit out of it. Now hit's a oil - well hit's a water whut chew git and whut chew put in yo' scrub water, hit's whut chew call van-van oil. [See margin- title Van-van later.] An' put five drops in de water, even if yo' don't do nuthin wit it but jes' put it in de water, shake it up and jes' sprinkle it roun' in yo' business place. An' yo' take you some of dat same oil and some brown sugah - about a tablespoonful of brown sugah and about five or seven drops [uneven number] of dat oil, an' put it in a bottle and a tablespoonful of honey, an' take it an' put it in a bottle and fill de bottle most fulla water. An' den put two teaspoonful of holy water in it an' shake it good and set it somewhere close aroun' where yo' kin easily git chure han' on it. An' every time yo' see de law even down dere, if yo' think de law comin' in - but yo' sprinkle yo' place of business good wit dat water every morning. Every morning when yo' come in open up yo' business - when yo' open up yo' do's and do roun' lak dat - jes' sprinkle some roun' yo' do's an' up aside yo' do' facin' and all. But be shore tuh shake well befo' usin'. An' that'll jes' make business come in real breese [brisk] - yo' jes' be tuh de place - yo' jes' be overhanded wit business.
(And that will keep the law away?)
Yassuh. Ah experienced dat.
Entry 2509
Take some cinnamon bark - now, that's what they told me. Take you some cinnamon bark, holy water, and this Lucky Dog Perfume, wintergreen, devil-shoe- string and makes - boil that, mix it all together you understand. Mix all that together and every morning 'fore anybody come in there. You understand what I mean? You take that and you wash your place out. See. Start to washing it from right on into the back. And that make that - that'll draw the people in there. See. I guarantee you.
Entry 2510
(What about that holy water in scrubbing, now?)
The holy water you can put it in the water and scrub. See. And that opens the way in your house and makes luck in your house. You takes the holy water and you takes some sugar - nine lumps of sugar, and you takes essence of verbena or fast luck and you put that, mix that up in the water. Then, you put it in a tub and you get you nine buckets and then you scrub from your front to the back in that same water. Then you dip some in the bucket - you take it out of the bucket and you pour it in the tub and then stir it round, then clean from the front to the back with it. That opens the way for you and makes luck and success in your house.
Entry 2511
In the corner, looking and watching, trying to get hold of you, when you bootlegging. You get some honey and some white loaf sugar, some holy water and some tea.
(What kind of tea?)
Black tea. You take the black tea, you strain it and put that down in there. You shake it good and then take a little out every morning and you have it in a little bottle and go to all four corners, running [bottle at] corners, and the law will come and knock twice, knock his club and go away and won't come no more.
(You sprinkle that in all four corners of the house?)
Yes.
Entry 2512
I keep holy water tied on my bed - that's to keep the evil spirits away, and I sprinkle it in the four corners of my house-like when I scrub like that for luck. I scrub my house good like today and if I'm going to use lye, if I have any kind of suspicious idea of some of my enemies have crossed the sill of my door. You see? I scrub with lye today and tomorrow I will go aver my house with nine buckets of water. And I'll take that holy water, after the floor dries, and go to the four corners of the house and sprinkle some in each corner. You see? And I make the sign of the cross.
(That's supposed to prevent all evil?)
Evil. That keeps all evil spirits away.
Entry 2513
You get this policeman's name and after you get this policeman's name, you get you some - it's called this here java water. But you got to go to Palmer's drug store down here and get it. And get this java water and you get you some, some pure holy water, JAVA WATER only you got to go on Friday and get that kind. That's to keep the law from your door.
(Where do you get that [pure] holy water?)
You have to go on Friday to the church. Then, after you go to the church, be sure and ask the priest or some other be sure to bless that holy water. Well, after you get this here java water from the drug store, you mix that with that holy water and with that essence of cinnamon and then you get that policeman's name and then you write ii - not no nine times, you write hit 15 times. And you take that policeman's name ard you ball right up into that, into that water and you sop that water up, and you take that Water and you hang it in - right behind your bed, and that policeman ain't coming nowhere around that house. Nowhere around he come.
Entry 2514
The horseshoe is luck to bring in customers. Just get you a horseshoe and nail it up over your door outside. A horseshoe and a four-leaf clover, that brings you customers. That'll draw anybody. Haven't you went along by a man's store and seen a horseshoe?
Entry 2515
De first thing yo' do if yo' goin' in business an' wanta be lucky - de first thing yo' do, yo' hangs a horseshoe right up ovah yo' do'. Dat's de first thing yo do. Well, de next thing yo' do den to be lucky, yo' go in yore house - befo' yo' go in yore house, don't let nobody see yo', yo' take dis cookin' salt an' sprinkle it right in front of yo' do' where de people's comin' in. See, dat's to cut de hard luck off - if a man comin' dere, dat's tuh cut de hard luck offa him whilst he's comin' inside yore place of business to keep from throwin' yo' in hard luck. Well, he comes on it. When he git in dere [you do the third thing], yo' take dis sulphah an' burn it in yo' house ever' mornin' befo' nine 'clock - sulphah. Jes' take a little sulphah an' put it in a lid an' strike a match to it an' jes' let it smoke - ever' mornin' befo' nine 'clock. An' you gon'a be lucky and successful in yo' business.
Entry 2516
Dey says dat if yo' take a horseshoe an' nail it ovah de inside of de do', de front do', an' dey said if yo' walk undah dat nine times, that's to make yo move. (You put this horseshoe up over this other fellow's door? Now, if I wanted to make you move, I would take this horseshoe and put it up over your door inside the house?) Yessuh.
(Wouldn't you see it up there or not?)
Nawsir. Dey puts it up so dey see it up dere - dey say dat keeps de witches away [see Nos. 512-514, p.154] but dey put it dere unknown to yo'. Yo{ -jes lak yo' be's talkin', jes' slip one of 'em dere while ah'm dere [some other place] in dey house. An' den whoevah he is, go in dere nine times, he'd have to move. [This is a reversal rite, an unusual backwards ceremony - a through the lookina-qlass or opposite side of the mirror device, because an inside horseshoe has its prongs pointing into the house, thus inviting evil to enter, whereas the prongs of an outside horseshoe point away from the house warding off evil. Remember, this inside horseshoe is over the front door, only a few inches distant from the outside horseshoe, if one is there - a Janus-like situation. Remember also, most country cabins - unpainted inside and the wood naturally aged and stained - could conceal a rusty horseshoe until a person walked nine times through the door. Nevertheless, to nail up the horseshoe while the tenant of the house was near is easier said than done.]
Entry 2517
De law never was dere befo', see [and you do not want him to return]. You puts de horseshoe right ovah dat door, see, turn de toes up and write three "x's" behin' your door - three "xxx" - and lay one penny right on dis step, de doorsill. Ev'ry time I go [by them], pick at 'em, pick at 'em. Den you git four sticks jest like dat - get four sticks jest about six inches [long], put one in de under sill of yo' door, and put one on de corner, and put one in dis corner, and put one jest about five feet from yo' door and drive it down till you can't see de head. And I'm goin' dress dese sticks ev'ry day, keep up wid de sticks - keep it so dat nobody dig around it, see.
(How do you dress these sticks?)
Well, you see, you puts half cord - wrap one end of it on de end with cord, with the string, and the other with cord and the next one clean. De clean one must be a little higher den de end ones. But dat one in de yard [five feet from yo' door] - don't wanta put nothing on it. That's a footwalk. Ev'ry time dey be walking on dat, dey mighta know what coming. And if you feel, while dis man coming in - turn on it - must never be backward and all - let him come right in de house - let him look - no matter where he look. He might hunt chure house up and down, look at this, looking at that walking stick, that stick what you got in the middle of your yard, and he'll come out chure - ain't nuthin in yore house.
(That's if the law has come after you to arrest you for bootlegging.)
Put 'em [sticks] there and they walk over 'em all de time.
(Well, now, that stick in the middle of the door, how do you wrap that?)
Don't wrop dat atall. De two on de sides [of the door] you wrap dat - dat's de two guards, like two guards.
(Ohl You wrap that string around the two on the sides?)
De cord. Wrap it about that thick, couple inches on both ends - what chew leave on de top and drive it on down you know. And have it clear dat nobody won't have to stub. Drive that other one down without anything on it. Wit de fourth sticking out - one about five feet from de door, de step, put dat down so dat nobody will stumble over it.
(Do you put any cord around that one?)
No, de two of 'em dat be - two have to be not have anything on 'em. (The one in the middle of the door [at the sill] and the one out in the middle of the yard [five feet from de door] don't have anything on them.) See, dat's what you call dressin' dem two on de [each] side [of the door] - de guards, see. (I see. Now here's the stick on the side. You wrap around the top of that, wrap around the bottom of the stick, and then you drive it down in the ground.) Even down in the ground - see, so's nobody won't see it.
(You leave part of that stick outside the ground?)
No, don't leave part of that out of the ground atall. De middle stick, you leaves jest about a tip-end - dat's you guide, you see. You use de head right out, leave dat little out and then you kin pull dat eny time. When you pull dat you see, you shake de whole three. See, dat's fo' dem to care fo' you and yo' whole house.
Entry 2518
Takes a horseshoe an' dress it in red.
(Dress it in red?)
Dress de horseshoe ovah in red an' place it in front of de do' backwards an' farwards, an' yo'll run good business. (How do you mean dress it in red? What do you do?). Yo' take an' git - have tuh git ovah at de sto' - git a red piece of cloth an' yo' jest wind dat, yo' know, dat horseshoe all ovah in dat an' place it up ovah de do', an' to de back, an' yo' won't have any trouble by yore customers - yo' draw mo' den all. Yo' takes - go in de sto' an' gits yo' Red Devil Lye an' salt, an' yo' place it at de front do' an' de back. Dat go wit dat horseshoe, an' yo' takes chamber lye, a handful of sugah, salt, an' yo' goes round dat jest befo' day, all round dat house wit dat, an' yo' got no trouble wit de sheriff or with yore house. [Perhaps the largest hand ever wrapped in red, except the treasure hunter who insulted the devil by wearing a red shirt - see No. 424, p.127.]
Entry 2519
Tuh keep the law away yo' would take yo' a horseshoe an' nail it up ovah yore front do', an' git chew a red onion an' tie it up ovah yore do' - right up ovah de front do' right in de mouth of dat horseshoe. Turn it [horseshoe] up.
(Why is it turned up?)
Yo' mus' always turn it up - dat's always tuh turn de law aroun', see. Long as it down, it's a pointed thing - it won't do yo' any good.
Entry 2520
De horse's left shoe - git two of 'em or git one tuh ev'ry do' yo' got in de house an' put it there. An' take a ten-cent [silver coin] an' a nail it up in dere an' brand dem all dere in ev'ry do' yo' got. Say dey comin' to de do' but dey ain't comin' in.
(You place that ten-cents right in the center of that shoe?)
Yessuh.
(How do you nail that shoe, put the prongs up or put the prongs down?)
Put 'em down lak dat - de left shoe.
Entry 2521
It's de same thing as ah wus tellin' yo' 'bout while ago. Dat John de Conker root, it supposed to be buried to pertec yoreself if yore house is got a front do' an' a back do'. Yo' bury a piece at each place an' aftah yo' bury dis piece dere, yore supposed to make yore ma'ks - dat's a cross-lak. Yo' make dat right at each do', on de do'. An' if it's possible dat chew kin git a brand-new horseshoe, one dat nobody has evah walked on, an' cover it with dat silver-lak dat come offa cigarettes [tin foil] an' hang it dere - it be best tuh put dat in de middle of yore house. Jis' say fo' instance if dere a do' heah, put it up ovah dat do'. Dey not supposed - den yo' supposed tuh not evah be bothered wit 'em any mo'.
(Not supposed to be bothered with the law.)
Entry 2522
If you are bootleggin', to keep de officers away from your house, you get nine pieces of hoof of a horse - go to de blacksmith shop git nine pieces of de hoof of a horse, see, and git nine nails. (What kind of nails?) Horseshoe nails out of de shop - see, nine pieces of de hoof and nine horseshoe nails. An' git chew two piece of ginger and ten pieces of black pepper, see, an' grind it up together and boil dose horsehoofs and nails all to- gether. Den sprinkle dat from yore gate to yore house, see, and when de officers come dey can't - dey turn down de other street and can't come by your house.
Entry 2523
To have good luck with a boss for a job, yo' always use that sugar - 'vapored [evaporated = refined] sugar [don't use brown sugar on a white boss] - use your sulphur, sprinkle that in your pocket with your sugar. Yo' take your cinnamon bark - you put that in your pocket. All right, any time you go to speak to him, he's always willing [to speak to you]. [Another method.] You take his name and you write it three times - you lay it out on a piece of plain paper and you fold that to you. Don't never fold nothing from you if you want it to be close to you. If you running a place of business and you don't want the laws to bother you. You go to - like a blacksmith shop - like a - you know where they shoe horses at. You walk in there and you ask the man for a couple of [two] horseshoe nails, and he'll give 'em to you. Understand. But don't you take 'em, but you pay 'im for them. You understand. Now, in this you Wanta be lucky - you know, something like you running a place and you wanta have good luck at your place. You take them there [two nails] and you get you - buy you a pink ribbon - a little narrow pink ribbon, and you take them nails and you cross em like a cross, and you wrap that ribbon around 'em and hang it up over your front door where everyone comes in, comes in under that. And you always - when anyone comes, you going to have plenty, plenty, plenty trade. And they ain't going to bother looking. This man that give you them nails, now, when you offer to pay 'em for them, he don't want it, but you give him a nickel or dime or something for them nails any- how. He going to tell you, "Ah, they ain't worth nothing - take plenty." But you always hand him a nickel or dime, so you really having to buy 'em, you under- stand. And lay it down there for him. See. Course, if he just give 'em to you and you don't give him nuthin, they ain't any good to you. Anything that you can get - fust walk out and get it for nothing - that's no trouble for you to get, and you don't know how it come, then it s no benefit to you. Anything that you have trouble to get, why it's a benefit to you. You want to take care of it, you see.
(The law?)
You take the law's name - see, just like that law what you know is bad about raiding or something, you take his name and you write it nine times and fold it to you, you see. You fold it up and you wear it in your shoe. You take them horseshoe nails - them two nails that I told you - and cross 'em and put 'em up over your door. If he comes there, he ain't going to bother you. If any other law comes in town, he'll always know it, so he'll notify you or somebody - see, you ain't got no graft or nuthin to pay. Keep the graft and all out of your way.
Entry 2524
Now in that line [bootlegging line] ah have sold whiskey. Ah haven't tried anything but sell whiskey in that line. Ah goes downtown to a drug store and ah git some incense, this incense and burn that and ah have been successful in selling whiskey - didn't have trouble about de police. (What kind of incense did you buy?) Any kind of incense.
(You burn that at a certain time?)
Yes, yo' burn it in de morning and at night - early in de morning and at night.
Entry 2525
Yo' git de dragon blood, devil's-shoestring an' incense, an' yo' burn dat in yore house all de time; git chew sulphur an' yo' burn dat an' yo' incense, an' yo' have plenty customers an' nobody tuh bother yo'.
Entry 2526
Oil of cinnamon, dragon's blood, an' den devil's-shoestring. [Three ingredients.]
(Well, now, how do you prepare those? What do you do with them?)
Yo' buys dat right out de druggist. Yo' burn 'em, burn 'em all together an' put 'em in de fo' corners of yore house - jes' same as yo' in heah now in dis house heah.
(What would that do for me then?)
Give luck - good luck an' successful.
(Bringing in customers to buy from me.)
Entry 2527
Yo' git dragon's blood an' yo' git de wisteria incense an' yo' git lodestone. [Three ingredients.] Yo' pound dis up together - dis dragon's blood an' yo' put it wit dis wisteria an' de lodestone. Yo' git pulverized [lode]stone an' yo' burn dis at de do' at nine a'clock in de mawnin' an' as yo' close at night. Dat'll make yore business prosperous.
Entry 2528
Some use dragon's blood an' put it under de steps an' ovahhead of de facin' of de do' wheres yo' come in, an' dey won't come in yore place.
(To keep the law away?)
Yes sir.
Entry 2529
I understand that you get this high-graded incense. You use that, you smokes that up over your door. Course he'd come around, but he wouldn't never come for no kind of trouble. You understand? It keeps him quiet.
(I see. That's all you do - use that incense?)
That high-graded incense.
Entry 2530
Ah tell yo' whut ah does: Ah've been usin' few things round mah house since - see, nobody would patronize me. Yo' understand whut ah said? Nobody patronize me. Ah goes tuh work an' ah got me some of dis thing whut chew call de incense. Ah burns some incense an' some sulphur. Now [at present time], ah burns sulphur right on, an' ah've got all de friends - ah don't keep a thing. Ah used tuh use sech as kerosene an' soap an' all lak dat. Why ah had jes' a regular ole common 'fair [commissary?] an' ah can't keep none of it - dey runs in jes' buyin', jes' as fast as ah kin [restock], an' when ah first got it, why nobody 'tended me. Dey said ah wus independent an' all lak dat. But after ah used dat - ah burns me some sulphur. Right now ah put de pile in a plate in de flo' an' ah burns dat, an' befo' it kin git through burnin' de people is ies runnin' in, Yo got any soap - yo got any kerosene - yo got any this - here is yo' money - yo' got any sech-an'-sech-a thing?' Goes off lak dat.
Entry 2531
The grains [qrins?] of Job - you may hear'd of 'em. You ever seed 'em?
(They say there are Job's tears. Are they something like Job's tears?)
Well, it's a smaller size, but it looks just like a little fish-eye. You ever see a fish-eye? (Yes.) [If the eye of a fish is meant.]. About the color, but they weren't that - they are known to be the grains of Job. The grains of Job was used in the particular way of burning the oriental incense - any incense from Asiar - that's what they call clairvoyant incense. You burn two of them together and you take the ashes of the two what you burn ever' other morning and plant 'em around your place in the earth right outside - any place in the yard or around your place. You may repeat, as lots of 'em repeat, you know, "As I pray the prayer the Eastmen do, may sweet, etc. etc." You will not have to speak, you know, like they do in Asiar, but you kin say a very short part of it: 'In the Name of the Father, of the Son and Holy Ghost, there will be no one be coming to this home - officer or no one into my place of business." Either way that will take care of it and no one will ever bother your place.
(Never bother you.)
"In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, as no one will come near here to harm me - officers, or revenuers, or no deputies."
Entry 2532
Burn incense - rosgum [rosegum?] incense. Mix it wit de black incense.
(What kind of incense?)
Rosgum incense - the kind they call rosgum incense. Well, dey take dat and dey take de btack mans [black men] dey call incense, and cut dis black man up and put it all in de same top what you goin' to burn it in, and burn it and make your wish. And he won't come back.
(That keeps the law away.)
Entry 2533
Dey gits a powder called de incense an' burn it - it's not a powder but blocks 'bout lak dat. An' dey burn it in dey home. Say - dey claim it keeps de men - dey have customers. Ah have gone in houses an' dey says nobody has been in dere all day an' de time dey light one or two, dere comes two or three customers in.
Entry 2534
Dey tell me that chew could use de incense. When yo' runnin' any kind of a business an' yo' use incense, yo' jes' take an' light chew one an' sets it up on de table or anywheres on de floor an' makes yore wishes dat chure place will be crowded an' that yore place will be successful or anything lak that.
Entry 2535
Well, you will have to get some incense, lueky incense and brown sugar, and mix all that together and take - scrub the house out in the four corners and you burn your incense in the four corners in each room. You burn the incense in each room and then you wash your house out with oil of cinnamon and brown sugar and you scrub it out with that. Don't put no washing powders or nothing in it - just scrub it out with the clear water.
(What will that do then?)
That will give you luck to get your house rented.
Entry 2536
(When do you make your wish for roomers?)
When yore incense is burnin' yo' make yore wish lak that. Now yore incense need tuh be in all business places dat dere are - most in Memphis [use incense]. An' yo' burn that at six a'clock in de mawnin' in de business place. Well, yo' put a little dragon [dragon's blood] in there - a teaspoonfulla incense an' maybe halfa teaspoon of dragon aftah yo' scrubbin', an' at six 'clock make yore burnin' an' den call yore customers [by wishing].
Entry 2537
Well, yo' goes to de drug store an' buy yo' some of dis lucky incense an' burn it fo' de sunrise in de morning an' walk to yore do' an' throw de ashes de way de sunrise. That will keep 'em away.
(Keep the law away from your place if you're gambling or anything like that?)
Yes - keep 'em away.
Entry 2538
Burn garlic an' onion leaves an' incense, dis lucky incense. Lak it's goin' be a big dance or somepin close aroun', an' yo' wanta git in a lotta tran- sients, yo' know, why yo' burn dat stuff hard all dat week on yore stove. An' keep dat garlic layin' roun' an' draw in a lotta customers, transient customers.
Entry 2539
Burn candles - they's fer luck too. See, then you kin burn incense too. See, some burns these little incense they calls Black Men and some burns red and some burns de orange blossom - diff'rent kinds. But if they have perfume in 'em those incense is very good.
Entry 2540
Ah have heard of that. Yo' kin buy these Lucky Hearts an' burn them at nine a'clock, twelve a'clock an' three a'clock in de evenin'. An' de incense [Lucky Hearts] yo' burn dat at nine, twelve an' three hours lak dat on Tuesdays, Thursdays an' Saturdays. If yo' got any kinda trade or anything lak dat, dat will draw yo' know de customers to yo'.
Entry 2541
Jes' lak yo' got a place an' yore business is dull. In de mornin when yo' open up yore store, sweep de sto' from de front do' to de back - sweep yore trash out de back: An' about every night a little befo' yo' close up yo' burn a Lucky Star. Yo' kin go down to de drug sto' an' git 'em. Ah think yo' git about six fo' a dime. An' yo' put it on a little tray an' set it in yore store an' burn it. It smells kinda like perfume. Dat give yo' all de luck dat chew want.
(For bringing in customers.)
Yessuh. [See Lucky Star, p.607.]
Entry 2542
If yo' got a roomin' house an' yo' haven't no roomers an' cain't make no success, yo' git up befo' day in de mawnin' an' yo' scrub roun' in yore house an' den yo' scrub yore po'ch. Yo' scrub it with urinate, Hearts Cologne, oil of cinnamon - jes' diff'rent things lak dat. Den yo' make a wish. An' aftah that when yo' git through, den yo' come in an' yo' burn sandalwood incense or either dis Lucky Star - jes' anything yo' prefer burnin'.
Entry 2543
Ah use tah burn de Lucky Stahs. An' some of these things, understan', ah would burn de Lucky Stahs fo' diff'runt [times]. An' ah would burn five fo gamblin' an' ah would burn 'em befo' twelve a'clock - any uneven numbah, becus ah found fo' mahself that uneven numbahs wus luckier fo' me then even numbahs. If ah would burn 'em aftah noon ah would burn 'em at a unlucky [even] hour, an' it use tah bring me lotsa good luck.
(For gambling?)
Dat's it.
Entry 2544
First is incense powder. Dey takes dat and dey burn it and den dey takes - ah don't know where dey git dat, but dey takes a Lucky Star. What dey call a Lucky Star. Dey split dat star in half and dey takes a little birthday candle - little bita birthday candles, den they puts it on each part of this star and let chew burn dat in dey home. Dat's to keep de police away. Now I hear'd several people say it worked very good, but still de police don't [stop]. (But now that burning the incense and the star. There are two different ways of doing that?) Yes, dere's two diff'rent ways of doing it, but de Lucky Star supposed to be de best.
(What is the Lucky Star?)
Det git de Lucky Star at Savannah, Georgia - back in dat time from a woman on Miner Street. Dey called her Lizzie H. Yes, Mrs. H. Ah think she gets de Lucky Stars somewheres around Cincinnati, if I understood it.
(What did they look like?)
Jest looked like a little round something but they had four [five?] corners - which dey called Lucky Stars.
(Well, were they made out of metal or cardboard or what?)
No, it gots a something like a powder but it's hard, see - it was diff'rent from de incense powder. Twas a powder too, but it was diff'rent from the incense and then it smelled diff'rent. It smelled kinda sweet.
Entry 2545
Ah have run a rooming house an' ah didn't have no roomers. An' dere was a powder dey call de Sen-Sen Powders. An' yo' take that an' yo' burn it in yore house nine mornings an' nights, an' yore house will become full of roomers. Ah have tried dat.
(What time in the morning and the night do you burn that?)
Burn it about six 'clock in de morning an' about eight 'clock at night.
Entry 2546
Heard of that. Well, now, pract'lly ah noticed - ah learnt all dat since ah been heah. Ah notice dat dese fellows, dey git dis Hearts Cologne, yes sir, an' den dey use dis sen-sen whut dey burn. Dey say it's fo' luck. Dey take dat sen-sen an' put it in dere pocket an' saturate dis round dere chest an' dey hat wit dis Hearts Cologne.
(When they go for a job?)
Yes sir.
Entry 2547
Yo' git chew some spiritual incense, burn dat in yore place. Burn dat on Friday. On Tuesday burn sulphur. Now, dat'll bring people to yore place.
Entry 2548
Yo' take sulphah an' sugah tuh draw luck to yo'. Yo' take sulphah an' sugah an' burn it on de stove, see, or somethin' hot. Jis' sulphah an' sugah an' mix it up an' burn it an' it will draw luck to yo'. An' when yo' wants a quick way tuh git a small piece of money, yo' lights yo' a - ah cain't think of the name of it. Anything will do jis' since it's incense. Light de incense an' put it on yore bed - place it on yore bed, "In de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost," an' put it in a white saucer. An' in less time den three hours somebody will give yo' a piece of money if it's nuthin but a nickel or somepin othah lak dat - a nickel or a dime.
Entry 2549
It's kind of like a stick that they made or something like that. Well, they has a little concern like - like where he cut - it just about a little cup - just sits there just like a finger I hold up.
(I see.)
Well, you set that [stick] in here and burn it and the smoke goes up and after the house is full of smoke, why, they puts that out and let that smoke settle in the corners. That's the way they does that.
(What do they do that for?)
Do's that for luck.
(For luck? What kind of candles do they burn?)
Yes - they call it the lucky candle.
(What color is it?)
It just about the color of that cigar [I am smoking].
(Sort of a brown color?)
Yes, sir.
(I see. Luck for what? What kind of luck?)
Luck for your home - you know, to keep, to make friends come to your home. [Informant is describing what some persons call a lucky candle, a stick of incense or joss stick which stands in a holder "like a finger I hold up" with "a little cup."]
Entry 2550
They burns a - they got something - sweeps your house in de morning. Just like you done business in here, you sweeps your place out - sweep all your dirt, all your trash one way. You mop it, you mop it all one way and then you got some little old incense candles. You burn one in that corner and one in that corner, one in that corner and one in that corner, and one on your cash register.
[Here five candles form an approximate quincunx - see p.710.]
(I see. And how do you mean by sweeping this dirt one Way?)
All one way - don't never sweep nothing back thataway, sweep it all one way. Just like you going thisaway with it, sweep it all that Way and mop it the same way.
(I see. And what do you do with that stuff after you get it swept up?)
Sweep it right on out de door. (Sweep it outside the door? Do you sweep it to the front of the house or to the back of the house?) Right on out de front. (Out the front, I see. And you burn these incense candles in each of the four corners of the room where you are doing business and put one on cash register?) One right on the register.
(And that is supposed to bring in trade?)
Bring in trade.
Entry 2551
(Candle is used for what?)
Lucky fo' yore house, tuh bring peoples in yore home. Yo' burn it at seven a'clock, 'leven a'clock an' seven at night. Dat's de way yo' burn dem. Yo' burn two. If yo' want a big crowd, yo' burn seven an' yo' have 'em in a row right there. Yo' have 'em in a thing tuh burn 'em on. An' it's 'cordin' to how many yo' want, yo' burn dem many candles. Ah don't mean de candles, burn dem many incense [sticks].
Entry 2552
Scrub with Red Seal Iye, table salt an' sugah, bluein'. Take about a teaspoon of bluein' and de mo' sugah, have it white sugah, pure sugah - half a cup, teacup of sugah. Burn a little incense an' call 'em three time while it's burnin'.
(What do you call?)
Call yore wish - if yo' wanta make a call an' wanta make yore wish an' den call. Yo' kin call a special person or yo' kin call, "Send me a man." But chew make dat wish three times.
(Out loud.)
Whilst it's burnin' - not let it go out. Wait until it's burnin' an' make it three times on there. [This is a rite for roomers.]
Entry 2553
On bootleggin' it you have to - all bootleggers scrubs at four o'clock in the mornin' before de law's walkin'.
(Before the Lord's walking?) Yes, sir. (Before the Lord is walking?)
Before the lawr - like detectives - is walking.
(Oh, before the law is walking.)
Jis' like on your beat, dey scrubs so they'll pass up [police will pass by not bothering you]. You git dat cinnamon an' sugah, an' you git Jockey Club an' you put dat in an' scrub it - scrub your banquette, an' wash your banquette, an' you won't never be bother. Ah bootleggin's fo' fo' years an' never been caught. [This is banquette scrubbing, separate from house scrubbing.] [New Orleans, La.,
(790).1102:2.]
Entry 2554
Dere's a root dey call de king of roots. If yo' have a business, yo' kin take dat root an' bring it in heah, yo' know where yo' business at, if it's dull, why yo' kin have mo' customers den yo' kin handle. (Has that root any other name? Or just called King of Roots?) King of Roots. It grows an' it has three little prongs - leaves. It grows straight up like a okra blossom. It has three little okra blossoms on it, three little okras yo' see. Yeah, it look like okra - pod of okra.
(Like the green okra - like a vegetable?) [This is not okra.]
Yo' kin dig one dem little roots - Jest have room all de way round, yo' kin dig 'em. Some of 'em is big as mah wrist. An' yo' kin jest take a small piece like that an' put it in yore place of business where yo' work at an' yo'd have mo' people heah den yo' kin handle.
Entry 2555
Yo' take a white man and he like a king snake, an' yo' take a nigger an' he like a blacksnake. All right, den. Now ah want show you. Now yo' take dat - you kin git dust. You don't have to git nuthin but that graveyard dust and carry dat and throw it down all by yo' [his] doorstep where he gotta come in at. And suh, if he come in dere, ah pray to die - jes' as soon as he walk up dere his mind will change. Ah don't kere if somebody son [God's Son?] in dere. [Penciled note on original transcription reads "to keep law away."]
Entry 2556
Dere lucky, so ah heah de womens say. Ah wouldn't nevah fool wit 'em, but ah've seed women buy 'em. Ah've see 'em pay high as a $1.50 apiece fo' dem. [They were cheaper 50 years earlier - see No. 2417, p.672.]
(What kind of crabs?)
Dey call 'em a he an' a she.
(What are they body crabs or head crabs?)
Yes, crabs off of 'em.
(From the body. What do they do with them?)
Put 'em on 'em. Dey say dey gives 'em luck - dat makes 'em lucky if dey keep dem on 'em. But ah've nevah used none of those. Ah always try tuh git rid of all dat git on me.
Entry 2557
Yo' kin git crabs - de crab dat be's on people in de haid - an' take dem crabs an' keep 'em an' yo' kin win every game.
(Where do you keep them?)
Keep 'em in yore pocket.