Browse:CURE AND PROTECTION (Volume 1, entries 1090–1706)/Part 4
CURE AND PROTECTION
Volume 1, entries 1090–1706. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → FOLK MEDICINE. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 1330
Heah's another one - this is important an' this is worth a heap, too, because this is true. In de event yo' say, now if a person had turnt a - cast some evil spell upon a person, dey was undah dere spell. Dis is a sure Way of dem turnin' dat spell, breaking dat spell an' turning it back to de one whomsomevah did it. Yo' take then - let him take about a cup or two cups of meal, make him a small hoecake of bread which we say. But he makes that up using a level cupful of salt an' his own chamber lye. He gits white homespun an' lay that - take away all the ashes out de fireplace an' he lay dat homespun down first an' he jest pat - put's dat bread down in dere an' he pads [pats] it out down dere see, after he's mixed it up, an' he turns dat - has it long enough that he folds that cloth back ovah, jest towards de chimley: An' that turn that back an' burns it until it all burn up. An' den dat turns dat same spell back to de person whosomevah did it. [The baker cleans a place on the hearth by removing ashes, lays a piece of white (unbleached) homespun on the cleaned place, spreads or pats out his hoecake on the homespun, has the homespun long enough so that by lifting up the outer edge and bending it back towards the chimney the hoecake is turned completely over towards the chimney.]
(Where did you hear that?)
Well, ah got dat from a ole master craftman.
(It sounds old.)
Yes, sir. Well, it's not so old but dat's de truth.
Entry 1331
Take black hog hoof an' make a tea of them an' give a body dat's got pneumonia an' dat will kill pneumonia.
Entry 1332
Well, this cow an' hog hoof, de hog hoof - yo' take yo' a hog hoof an' boil it - jes' lak yore chile - take dat hoof an' boil it an' take and give a chile some de watah, let him drink de watah, an' take a frog, a live frog an' split him wide open an' hol' de chile, put him on his mouth lak dis, wit de whoopin' cough.
(You must use both things?)
Yessuh - boil de hoof of de hog an' let him drink de watah an' den jes' ketch yo' a frog an' split him open an' hold him right ovah de mouth - dat's fo' de whoopin' cough.
Entry 1333
Take de milk of a hog, de hog milk, an' maybe yo' got boy dat stutter, anybody dat stutter an' cain't deliver dere words. An' while he's tryin' tuh git his word out, yo' hit 'em in de mouth wit dat milk, he'll always talk plain.
Entry 1334
They tell me you can take a frog, catch a frog alive, and you put him into any kind of a pot or skillet and you parch it until it come to a dust, and you sprinkle this over the food - you know, just parch it until you can just make a dust out of it and put it in the food. And when they eat it it become live again in 'em. They do the same thing wit a snake or scorpion.
(How do they get those things out of them?)
How do you get 'em out? You takes sweet milk and something they call hog hoof - that's a powder you get it down here at the Cracker Jack Drug Store and you put it in there and you boils it. See, get fresh sweet milk. Well, you put it in there [the hog hoof powder] and you boils it up. Well, you drink that and you vomit it up.
Entry 1335
Ah know a man right in heah, in Jacksonville, that had caught a spell and he told me that he was slobbering - took dat additional spell. And he tole me - said a man [doctor] give him a horsehair that he had pulled it out of de horse's tail, not at de tip end of de horse's tail [but] up heah some- wheres close to his back. And he put de horsehair into a bottle and he told him to let it stay in there nine days. And de horsehair, he told me, turned to a snake. And he said, he told him den, to take that water and bath his head with it and his eyes. And he [doctor] said after den, he said after den he never would have de spell. Now, that man is right here right now.
(You say he was slobbering.)
He was slobbering at de mouth. Ah know dat to be true - he was slobbering, he'd shake his head like dat and slobber-slobber go all over him.
Entry 1336
A woman's in de family way an' if it be from mah husband an' ah didn't care, an' ah knowed it be from mah husban', an' she give me a lot of trouble, den ah git a mare's rope an' put it right where she walks, an' put dat mare's rope an' if she cross it, she cain't have that baby - that baby's goin' be crossed in dere. Git a mare's rope.
(It just has to be the rope they tie around a mare's neck?)
Dat's right - whut dey been usin' on a ole mare horse. Try tuh git the rope from her an' put it in where she passes all de time an' if she cross it she can't have that baby.
Entry 1337
Well, dere somethin' de woman gits out his [horse's] laig called dat night-eye [see following rite], an' yo' take some of that, if a man or a woman is perishin' with de toothache an' dey can't git ease. Take a leetle bit of dat, take an' pound it up an' git it in de hollow of de tooth, an' yo' won't have any mo' toothache an' yo' won't have any trouble wit none of yore teeth.
Entry 1338
An' then, if you wan'a makes sores on a person - you wan'a know about that?
(Yes.)
Well now, if you wan'a make sores on a person fer jes' sass [perverseness], eat 'em up jes' like it do vitrine [vitriol], you know - eat choo up if they throw vitr'ol on you. Well now, you see these horses go up an' down the street? Well, you see them little black places on 'em? Those rough places?
(Those little knots like warts?)
Yeah. Dat's wha' choo call horse night-eyes. Now, I'll say fer a ninstance - now, if I wan'a hurt choo or harm you in any way, I cut dat out dat horse. Ain't gon'a hurt 'im, cut it out. An' then I take it an' rubs on your clothes, on your wearin' appureZ. See, rub it all on your collah [collar] - see, like this. An' then when I rub it on there, when you put them clothes on, that jes' continues to eat choo up - sores all over you.
Entry 1339
You kin take a horseshoe if you see ghostes and - you goin' in a dark place and you kin look and see ghostes, you kin have yore horseshoe and spit on it and throw it over your shoulder and the ghostes won't harm you all de way home. Like if you stayed in de country and you have a long journey to go late at night, and you used to seeing yore grandmother and you don't wanta see her - you know, it frightens you to see her coming and dere is nobody. Well, you throw that over yore shoulder and yo' all right.
Entry 1340
If they kept making noises at night and you can't rest, and you hear the doors opening and closing, after that body has been carried out of the home, they say, "I have an idea they're still coming back." They would get this horse- shoe and hang it over the door and they would have no more trouble, they said. They hang it with the ends down.
Entry 1341
[An old horseshoe is almost invariably used in folklore, but it takes an opposite to prove this rule:] If the house is haunted, put a new horseshoe over the door.
Entry 1342
Yo' hang a left-foot horseshoe ovah yore do', front do', an' dat'll keep all evil an' bad spirits out. [Left-foot horseshoe is rare.]
Entry 1343
Take a horseshoe and put it over the door and take some silver paper [tin foil] and wrap it around it, and hang it over the top of the door and you won't have any trouble with the spirit coming back - the prongs down.
Entry 1344
Well, yo' kin - jest lak, now, if somepin be's aroun' yore house sorta lak a spirit or somepin, yo' jest git chew a ole rusty horseshoe an' nail it up ovah yore front do' an' nail one up ovah yore back do', an' yo' won't nevah be bothered wit dem no mo'.
Entry 1345
Yo' makes a ring outa it an' wear it fo' luck. An' then yo' take it, too, an' wear it in yore haid [hair] fo' headache. (If you have the headache.) Yes, the horseshoe nail.
Entry 1346
To give you bad luck, if yo' have a enemy or somepin like dat. Dey come to your house - dey got stuff dey call de insent [incense] - yo' kin burn dat incent in yore house an' drive dat evil spirit away from yo' out de house. Ah've witnessed dat mahself. Yo' kin buy dat at de drug store.
Entry 1347
Then burn this plain temple incense. Plain temple incense brings the good spirits to you and the evil spirits can't stay there. Sulphur, you know, that drives them away, too.
Entry 1348
Dere's a lady out chere dat ah went tuh once about that - like someone was tryin' tuh harm me, and she tole me to take mah sock.
(Both of them?) No, take one of 'em an' cut it up. (Which one - the right or left or both of them?)
No, jest any one my sock. Say, take one of de socks and split it up, and say paint it wit some iodine and den put it in de bottom of mah shoe and wear it. And dey say that nuthin never would - couldn't do nuthin with me.
(Was this a white woman or colored?)
Colored.
(Was she sort of a root doctor? Or something like that? Fortune-teller?)
Fortune-teller. She had hanging on her do' a sign - Madam Roose[?].
Entry 1349
Ah want tell yuh dis. Ah got hurt oncest in mah feet so ah couldn't walk. Ah got dese doctors aroun' heah and dey all of 'em say diff'rent things. You know what called to me to do? Yo' know what a jimson weed is? (Yes, I know what it is.) It got cockleburs stuck on it. Pull up de whole jimson weed, put it in a pot and boil it, put a handful of table salt in it, a handful of red peppah, and you suppose to jest bath in it - see, jest as hot as you kin bear it. But ah was in such a bad fix that I drunk a teaspoonful of it before ah went to bed that night. An' ah was [had been] down fer about eight months - ah couldn't walk - an' de next mawnin' ah hit de floor fo' mawning [could stand up and walk]. An' after ah did it, ah talked wit a old experiment [experienced] root doctor and he tole dat would kill any kind of poison. [Presumably informant took bath before drinking tea. See jimson-weed bath, No. 1075, p.405.]
Entry 1350
(What did these people do to get rid of these snakes? Did you say? She got what?) Jimson weed an' ah'ny [ordinary] dock - all dat's a weed an' some Epsom salts, an' mix it together an' rub dat on her laig an' it jis' come right on out.
(Got rid of these things that way?)
Yessuh.
Entry 1351
I know of another lady, she had a swell leg, an' she went right in the back of the field an' she got some bushes - I reckon you have heerd talk about jimson weeds. Well, they got some jimson weeds an' put vinegar on 'em - put 'em in vinegar - an' put 'em to her leg, an' the leg completely went down.
(How did she get that swollen leg?)
She think dat she was hurt.
Entry 1352
[John the Conqueror or John de Conker - plain, high or low - is not the name of a root; it is the commercial label of several roots - identity depending upon digger or seller.] Yo' cud [could] git John de Conker. Yo' writes to New York an' gits dat John de Conker. Yo' git John de Conker an' - why yo' keeps it perfumeded wit Hearts Cologne an' dat's whut dey call de root, King Of de Worl', an' hit'll bring happiness, good luck to yo'. Everything that chew undertake to do, that chew'll have successful at. Yes, ah've tried that mahself.
Entry 1353
Low John de Conker, dey tell me dat's mighty good tuh drive away evil spirits an' bring good luck to yore home - even in other affairs, money affairs.
(How would you use that?)
Yo' totes that in yore pocket.
Entry 1354
If you chew High John de Conker and spit it around, no one can harm you. [This well-known rite is more frequently reserved for trail before judge, asking job of boss, and gambling.]
Entry 1355
If you carry three pieces of High John the Conker wrapped up in your pocket [a hand], no one can harm you.
Entry 1356
Dey say dat if someone wants tuh hurt chew, git a John de Conker root, wrap it up in a piece of cloth with - an' keep it wet [feed it] with Hearts Cologne - on de left side nearest tuh yore heart.
(That will protect you.)
Fo' protection. Have a John de Conker root in yore pocket wrapped up in dis cologne nearest tuh yore heart an' git up befo' de sunrise every mawnin' an' say yore prayers with yore mind on dis root. Say it helps yo'.
Entry 1357
You can mix three diff'rent perfumes and grated High John de Conker and rub with to keep anyone from harming you.
Entry 1358
Yo' would go ahead an' yo' would git chew some John de Conker an' yo' would git chew some salt an' yo' would git chew some peppah an' yo' would git chew some sage or somepin, an' put it in a bag an' tie it roun' yore waist - sew it around yore waist.
(They couldn't harm me?)
Couldn't harm yo'.
Entry 1359
Take any ole snake dust that is dry or lizard dust or any kinda ole creeping, yo' know, a snake lak that. Take that dust an' place it up undah the lettah an' as yo' open that lettah an' git that on yore han's, natch'ral yo' rub it on yore skin an' it will create. It take yo' in yore han's right immediately. May be a little while befo' those han's goes tuh eetchin' but it will go through an' through. Dose are black art works.
(What happens to my hands?)
Whut happens tuh yore han's? Yore han's start tuh eetching an' burnin' an' if yo' don't take care of 'em with that snake dust or that lizard dust, those bumps will fin'lly graj'ly grow, an' aftah while why that snake or that ole scorpion will grow roun', yo' know, in yore skin. Yo' see people dat have snakes in dey laigs. Dey eithah gits it from sweepin' or not takin' a bath when de had things lak that. Dat whut it comes from. If yo' git it in yore laigs, yo' be sweepin' yore flo' - dat's when it gits on yore laigs, yo' see. Dat rattlesnake dust is on de flo' an' when yo' sweep it gits in de pores of yore skin an' by not takin' an' washin' it off, it'll jis' grow an' graj'ly that little bump will come an' that snake will fin'lly grow.
(Is there any way of getting them out?)
Yes, dere's a way tuh git it out, but yo' have tuh take herbs. Yo' have tuh take jimson weeds an' John de Conker, lodestones. Either git John de Conker an' give it to yo' three times a day in a pint of boilin' watah - a teaspoonful, or a tablespoonful is bettah, an' he will gradually die.
Entry 1360
Well, you could go to the drug store. There's some sort of a root there you call John.de Conker root. You see, they got j'ints [joints] in 'em and you get three j'ints in the root, or else you could go to the woods - old people could go in the woods and git them themselves without going to the drug store. Yes, sir. You knows 'em in the woods that they's used. You can't miss 'em. And you can get them roots and boil 'em, and scrub your steps down with 'em with water and ah - for nine mornings, and sprinkle it round on your gallery. Then you could break that up [whatever the devilment was].
Entry 1361
Had a corncob dressed and put in mah flower yard an' mah sister stepped on it - right in de hollow of de foot she stepped on it. And shortly after she stepped offa dat cob, de corncob, she got where she couldn't walk. An' after that it went all over her an' hit turned her eyes - her eyeballs were sharp as de end of yore fingernails. We had fo' doctors tuh her - couldn't either one of de doctors do her any good. Well, my brother went fo' miles from there and found a hoodoo and brought tuh her, and he'd taken some John de Conker and some whiskey and put in a quart bottle and gived tuh her to drink and to bath her knee with, and that's de only thing that cured her.
(Where did this happen?)
Thomasville, Ala.
Entry 1362
You put dis dime and den if you use de same root what I tell you about.
(John the Conquer?)
Yes - John de Conker and dis dime and call it a bodyguard. A dime and dis John de Conker and dis same Hearts Cologne use that together, and den yuh take dat and you make dat up like a bag, and den you got'a put John de Conker and dis dime, fix dat together and put 'em in a glass, in the chamber lye and let it lay over all night. See, leave that lay over all night and den de next morning dey take and dey feed it and dey wear dat around dere waist. See, den nobody can't hurt cha. [To feed is to dampen, letting the cloth soak up liquid - see Feed in Index.]
(What do you feed that with the next morning?)
You feed that with that same Hearts Cologne. Now, dey take dis and dey get a bottle of de Hearts Cologne, see and they put that in that, and you draw that together and put that aroun' - and dey put 'em around dey waist and then you take the Hearts Cologne and put it in another bottle. You do that over your face in the morning-time when you go out in de morning-time - dress your face. You go out like dat and ain't nobody can't worry you - you see, if you got a enemy and you puts that thing on your face like that, you see, it will stick there.
(I see, and they can't harm you.)
Entry 1363
Well, you take some steel dust - steel dust and Conquer Root Powder, and you mix that together with a little silver. Lift up that back piece in your shoes, don't you know. (That little piece inside there?) Inside the shoe and you puts that - sprinkle that in the shoe and put a dime down in there in your shoe and wear it.
(What will that do then?)
That keep anybody from doing you any harm. Or takes a dime, put a hole in the dime and wears it around the ankles - you know, tied around the legs.
Entry 1364
If a spirit-lak worryin' yo', well yo' kin open a pocketknife an' put it in yore pocket an' no spirit can't harm yo' - any kind of pocket- knife an' put it in yore pocket an' walk off.
[See jack-o'-lantern, No. 136, p.46.]
Entry 1365
A root fellah tole me de way he done tuh keep 'em off him. Ah axed him, 'How come, '' ah said, "dey don't bother you?" He showed me, he said, "Yo' see dat knife sticking up dere on dat tree - sticking right opposite to de way dey come?" See, he had a pocketknife sticking right up in de tree, de forks of 'em. An' he say dat pocketknife is to keep dem offa him. An' ah axed him what did he do wit dat pocketknife. He say he had written de name down on a bar of soap - Oxol Soap, an' den he take dat bar of Oxol Soap an' go to de washstand and wash it away, and dat mean dat wash dem peoples, if dere's any of 'em his enemies jes' clean away from 'im. He can't be bothered about 'em.
(What kind of soap? What color is it?)
Brown Oxol [Oxydol] Soap. Lak if ah don't want tuh be bothered wit a person an' ah know he worrying me, ah write his name wit a piece of - take a match stem, anything, an' jes' write his name on dat bar of soap and go out dere to de washstand and jes' wash your hands till yo' wash it aways. Dat gits rid of dat.
Entry 1366
Yo' take yore knife an' [from your tooth] git a drop or two of blood on dat knife, an' den yo' take it to dat tree, de black gum tree. Yo' git dat blood outa dere an' den take dat knife an' go dere an' chip dat tree, an' stick dat knife in dere an' den put de chip back ovah it an' leave it there. Dat cure yore toothache.
Entry 1367
[A few knots were given in Nos. 1016-1025, pp.389-391.] Fo' cramps, or say if yo' havin' chills an' fever, tie one [string] roun' her waist an' put three knots in dere an' wear it. Do dat, dat'll counteract that.
(Just tie these three knots into a string?)
Yes.
The eligible wording is the interviewer clarification, followed by Yes; the earlier bracketed string remains a separate editorial insertion.
Entry 1368
If you be having chills, you see, [you] kin take a piece of cord string and just as many chills as you done have, you just tie a knot in there and dip it in some turpentine and tie it back round yo' waist; if you done have five chills, you put five knots in that string there and tie it round yo' waist. That's going to stop them chills.
Entry 1369
That's another thing in chills that you kin do. You kin take a cord string and fit it around your waist, that is, leave it long enough to tie. And if you having any chills or anything like that, you put it down in turpentine and pull it out - dip it down with your finger and tie it around your waist. It's a sure cure for chills and fever. It'll re'lly break 'em up that will, too. Put nine knots in it - see, nine knots and if you do it, you ain't goin' to have no more chills. You might have one more but after it you won't have no more. Wear it nine days around your waist and after that you kin take it off and burn it up. Them chills is gone. [Cf. No. 1019, p.390.]
Entry 1370
For backache you take a cord string and you tie nine knots in it and get you a bottle of turpentine and wet that string good in that turpentine and wear that around your waist. And that turpentine will kill the pains in your back.
Entry 1371
Git chew a string an' tie nine knots into that string an' dip it in de turpentine an' tie it roun' dey haid an' dat a good cure fo' headache. Ah've tried that, yes. [Cf. No.1024, p.391.]
Entry 1372
If yo' have de headache, ah've heard dat one. Jes' lak yo' have de headache an' can't git rid of de headache - headache's worryin' yo' all de time. Every time yo' turn roun' de headache worryin' yo', yo' go ahead an' take yo' a thread string an' tie nine knots in it - take it to de back of yore haid an' tie nine in de back. Jes' take it aftah yo' tie nine heah - tie nine heah at de back of it but tie nine heah, too. Nine on de fo'head an' nine on dat rope [string] behin', see. Jes' tie nine back dere an' dat'll stop de headache.
Entry 1373
If it's a fever dat chew have nevah been cured of befo' - that is if it's a fever dat yo' wus goin' round wit - if it wus malary fever - that yo' could take an' tie nine knots in a piece of string an' take an' tie it round yore waist an' sleep wit it at night, an' git up in de mawnin' time an' go an' tie it round a tree - jes' any kinda tree an' leave it wit'out lookin' back.
(That would cure you?)
Yes sir, dat would cure yo' because ah've done dat.
Entry 1374
[These are protection hands against evil intent. A better description of lodestone qualities and uses will be found under subdivision Hands and in Index.] Git lodestone, cayenne peppah an' sugah - not salt, sugah. Git lode- stone, genuine lodestone from de drugsto' an' yo' git chew some sugah an' cayenne peppah, not black peppah, an' sew it into a flannel an' wear it right in yore hip pocket where yore watch go in at. An' that crosses yore enemies - they cain't harm yo'.
Entry 1375
Ah hear that yo' kin git a piece of lodestone and take a needle and break in three parts and on a Friday morning - be sure it's on a Friday morning, and stick each part of that needle in de side of that lodestone. Sew it up in a red piece of flannel and wear it and dey can't do you no harm.
Entry 1376
Yo' git yo' a little bit of saltpeter and a little table salt and a little tiny bit of lodestone and yo' put dat together. Git yo' a piece of red flannel - jes' a red little shallow cloth like, and roll it up in a piece of red flannel and make a knot out of it, and you take that flannel and yo' take you a string and tie it and wear it around yore waist. And yo' take that thing and yo' reduce [feed] that thing with Hearts Cologne fer nine days, and den that breaks it up - dey can't come dere.
(What can't?)
If dey tryin' do somepin to yuh - keep it away.
Entry 1377
[Hoodoo lye is almost always Red Devil or Red Seal commercial brands, the former more frequent than the latter, and both bearing pictorial labels of symbolic significance - magic and legal approval.] If they find a red spider on the steps, they get lye, concentrated lye. Red Devil Iye they call it - it's the same kind but they get the kind that's got the red devil on it. They seem to think that the devil will have some effect on it, but you see it's nothing - that's only the man's trademark. But dey don't even seem to realize that. Well, they'll scrub that porch off with it and sprinkle sulphur and sugar around - burn it, you know. And they'll burn sulphur on an ole shoe sole. That's to dispel the witchcraft that people will put down.
Entry 1378
Git a can of potash - Devil Lye. Yo' hear talk of Devil Lye with the devil with the red head on the can of potash. Git chew nine nails - ten-penny nails an' git - put in nine new needles, dese goldeye needles. Bury it in de center of de gate. Dat's to turn back de devil-like - dat's if anybody tryin' tuh hurt cha.
(What do you do with these needles and nails? Where do you put them?)
Put them on top of that can of potash in the gate, when yo' bury it about that deep.
Entry 1379
Is dey botherin' yo', whut shall yo' do? Well, yo' shall git yo' a can of Red Seal Lye. See, yo' take dat Red Seal Lye an' yo' git chew a tablespoon of sugah an' yo' git chew two or three drops of Jockey Club Perfume an' yo' take that an' yo' go all aroun' yore house an' aroun' the edges of yore po'ch, lak this. Jes' sprinkle it all around in all de corners as yo' come in yore house, an' yo' take jes' a little of that ley an' throw two or three grains up in each corner, an' that keeps 'em away.
Entry 1380
Ah heard 'em tell of - say if anybody got poisoned or put down anything fo' yo' an' yo' don't wanta move, yo' jes' git chew two ten-cent can of potash, Red Devil Iye, an' at twelve a'clock in de night yo' dig a hole as deep as yore elbow - measure yore hand all down - gotta do it exactly at twelve though. An yo' bury a can of dat potash an' git chew a brand-new box of cookin' salt.
(Where do you bury that potash?)
Tuh de gate - between de gate an' de steps, at twelve a'clock in de night.
(That's just one can?)
Yo' put one can dere an' a fresh box of salt whut chew have nevah nused any of it.... Yo' dig dat hole an' yo' put dat potash down in dere an' po' dat cookin' salt, de whole box, on top of it tuh yore front an' yore back. Ah don't care whut it is dey put down round dere, dat potash will eat it up. It can't hurt chew - can't harm yo'.
Entry 1381
Dat a very cheap thing, dat lye. Take dat lye an' open de can an' bury it at de foot of de front steps when yo' comin' out, an' bury it at de foot of de back steps. Aftah de lye is sot down, no witchcraft whatevah kin take yo' in, because it eats it all up. See, it cain't set in.
Entry 1382
Now, if anyone try tuh harm yo' or anything lak dat in yore home, yo' heah talk of dis Red Devil Iye. Well, yo' goes tuh work an' git chew - put one tuh de fust: gate chew git in, right as yo' come inside yore gate, an' de nex' yo go tuh work an' put one on dis side of de step an' one on de othah side an' den yo' kin put one right settin' in de middle of de steps. Dat'll keep 'em out.
Entry 1383
Git chew a box of [Red] Devil Lye an' bury one at chure step, one at each corner yore house or either at each corner of yore yard where yo' comes in an' go out, an' bluestone an' brimstone, but open de top of it an' put de brim- stone an' bluestone an' de red peppah on de top. Yo' see, dat's good tuh keep 'em away, kill out all de germs an' everything an' take care of de home. It will destroy all dat wus dere.
Entry 1384
Peoples has buried things in trees an' it's lotsa times people kin use de bark offa an' dat's good fo' diff'rent kind of medicines. From a willow tree it's good fo' whoopin' cough. An' yo' kin git de twigs from a maple tree cause - yo' heah de name of maple tree didn't chew? Well, yo' kin git de twigs from a maple tree an' it's good fo' any kind of eyesight tuh boil de bark an' use it fo' any kind of bad eyesight, jes' lak yo' got a catarac' ovah de eye. Or eithah, prob'bly, maybe yo' hard of hearin' - it's caused from yore eyesight. Yo' kin boil de watah an' it's good fo' dat.
Entry 1385
Yo' kin take the dust from a ants bed an' it's lucky to yo', because de ant dey say is got de busiest body of de creatures dat lives or somepin lak dat an' yo' kin use the dust fo' luck. Yo' don't have tuh use anything with ant's dust fo' luck, jes' perfect luck. But if yo' wanted it fo' gamblin' or somepin lak dat, yo'll have tuh take de ants dust an' take May-watah, yo' gotta use jes' one month - see, May-watah, whut it rains lak when it first rains. Yo' git this May-watah an' use it in a bottle an' use this ant's dust in it an' it's lucky fo' gamblin'. Yo' have tuh stop it up real tight an' let it set in a dark place, see, fo' luck.
(You don't carry that with you when you gamble or anything?)
No, yo' washes yore han' in it - wash yore han' in it befo' leavin' home.
(The May-water is the first rain in May?)
De first rain in May, yo' gotta git dat fo' luck but chew cain't use it. Jes' lak if it already done rain in May, don't git de second watah, yo' gotta git de first watah.
(Anything else you can do with May-water?)
Yo' kin use fo' eyes, yo' kin use it fo' sore places, use it fo' any kinda 'fected part of disease. If a person prob'bly have de siftic [syphilis] or gon'rhea 'bout de body, yo' kin use dis May-watah but chew gotta use othah things with it. [See May-water, No. 986, p.381.]
Entry 1386
That's if you can git it. That's hard to be got, because she won't let you take it anyway, to carry it away anywheres to use for eye purpose. Just like you have a sore eye or something gits in your eye, and a Woman's got a baby, you let her milk drap in your eye and if there is a sore or something in your eye, that'll take it out. If you got a sore eye, it'll cure it. [For cow milk, see No. 1196f., p.429,& Index.]
Entry 1387
Well, a mistletoe is a bush - a little bush dat grows.in de oak tree down in de swamps. Doesn't grow any higher den dat [demonstrates]. An' yo' git that. As long as yo' keep dat - (What do you do with that after you get it?) Yo' take it an' yo' keep it dressed.
(What do you mean by keeping it dressed?)
Wit Hearts Cologne.
(And what do you do with it after you dress it with Hearts Cologne?)
Keep it with yo'.
(What does that do?)
Well, dat keeps yore enemies off yo'.
Entry 1388
Only, lessen it was a kid or somepin couldn't talk plain: yo' know, an' anybody else dat, yo' know, dey say couldn't explain de words plain enough. Yo' takes a mockingbird egg an' cook it chew know good an' hard, an' eat it an' put a little vinegar on it. Dat'll make 'em talk plain. (Where did you hear that?) Dat was done in my country - ah experienced dat.
(In Georgia?)
Yes, sir. [After No. 1035, p.395, was typed I found this more detailed belief.] [St. Petersburg, Fla., (1021), 1652:11.]
[There are dangers in the preceding rite:]
Entry 1389
If you rob a mockingbird's nest, that makes you go necked [naked] an' hungry. It's a sin to rob a mockingbird's nest. Yes sir, they say that's re'lly the truth.
Entry 1390
Say if yo' eat de mockingbird's egg why yo' couldn't keep nuthin but whut yo'd tell it tuh ever' an' ever'body - say if yo' eat de mockingbird's egg, but ah haven't tried it.
(What would it do if you eat those eggs?)
Say if yo' eat de mockingbird's eggs why yo' couldn't keep no secrets atall - yo' tell ever'thing yo' know.
Entry 1391
Well now, jest lak a woman in a pregnant condition - now, ah kin take dat mockingbird aig an' fix it an' go scatter it in her tea an' give dat woman some, an' dat chile will nevah be nuthin but a tattler an' news-carrier, be jest busy bee or anything.
Entry 1392
A mockin'bird to make a man always untruthful - cook it an' put it in his food, cook de mockin'bird aig. Yes sir, tell lies in ever'thing he mention.
Entry 1393
Ah've heard about wire nail. Jes' lak ah be walkin' in dis house or either walkin' out dere in de street. Ah go an' git me a wire nail - git one dat stickin' up in de groun' an' ah go ahead an' walk on dat nail. Ah'll take dis wire nail an' carry it to a tree. When ah carry it to dis tree, take it den an' nail it up to de head, an' ah'll nevah have any soreness in mah feet from no wire nail. An' either dat, den if it's a rusty nail, ah'll nail it in de tree an' ah will nevah have no lockjaw.
Entry 1394
I have heard the old people say that you can take a lock of your hair, and a piece of your underwear, and nine nails - five up and four down, and bury it right down at the sill of your door and lean it out from the house. You lean the package out very carefully - you bury it just out of sight. Take your left foot and drag the dirt over it and cover it. If anybody walks over it, that keeps them from trespassing. You won't have any trouble with them any more.
Entry 1395
(What do they do with the needles?)
They string 'em all on a thread an' drop 'em down between de breast tuh dry milk in de breast fo' a baby.
(They just let them hang on the breast?) Yes.
Entry 1396
Wal, yo' jest git yo'self a brand-new goldeye needle and stick it in a stopper - cork - and yo' wear it aroun' yore neck. Let it go right heah below de heart. An' yo' wear it around yore neck an' nuthin dey do, as long as dat needle is on yo' - tain't nuthin dey do kin harm yo'.
Entry 1397
You gets their name. After you gets their name, take a needle, and take that needle and you cross it like this and after you cross it like that, you take it and you put in a piece of paper - brown paper, mind you - and you write their names on there five times. And after you write the names five times, you turn thisaway and you take it [demonstrates].
(This way - they wrap it to you?)
Wrap it to you - don't wrap it from you - wrap it to you and then you takes that and you wear in your pocket - in your pocketbook and keep it on you and anybody can't do you nothing.
(You take one needle, did you say?)
Two needles, and cross them like this.
(Ohl two needles, I see, you just cross them in that piece of paper?)
Cross 'em in there and turn 'em thisaway.
Entry 1398
Put nine needles an' a toothpick in a bottle, an' pbur Hearts Perfrone on it an' stop it up real tight, an' keep dat roun' yer bed all de time to keep peoples away from you from harmin' you.
Entry 1399
They say you take nine needles and put 'em in a bottle of turpentine and you can wear it or either put it down under your bed and nobody won't hurt you.
Entry 1400
Maybe yo' got a catarak in yore eye, or maybe yo' have dose little ole bumps chew know dat come on dere an' nearly put chure eye out. Yo' git nine cambric needles an' stick 'em all up togethah - yo' know, a little bunch, ovah de do' an' den yo' walk, pass in an' out de do' fo' nine times - keep count, for nine days yo' know. Den yo' kin take em down - yo' kin throw 'em away - yo' kin see. So you don't sew with 'em [again].
Entry 1401
You use four goldeye needles around the house - put one in each corner on the side of the house on the outside. It's against the one [intending evil] outside, an' they can't interfere [with] you at all. Nobody kin do anything to you.
Entry 1403
Go to a oak tree an' git jes' lak dis red oak bark, if a woman be's sick or anything with stomach trouble, an' take an' make a tea of it an' take a douche wit it. Why, it will cure stomach trouble.
Entry 1404
I know one thing - you wear a acorn on a string around the neck beneath the shirt and that will keep spells away.
Entry 1405
If you take a red onion and cut it and put half up over your door or jes' anywhere where it could be kept and take de rest of it and burn it up to ashes and wear it in your shoes, that'll keep anyone from hurting you.
Entry 1406
Let onion peelings and sulphur burn all day in closed room; no one can harm you.
Entry 1407
Take de red onion an' split it open an' if yo' got hot fever, yo' kin bind it to yore haid or bind it to yore breast, anywhere 'bout chew lak dat, an' it'll break a fever.
Entry 1408
Peel a onion an' chop it up - cut it up real fine an' put it in a pan an' put it underneath de bed fo' fever. Dat's all ah know about that. Dey says fo' fever.
Entry 1409
If anyone poison yo', yo' take de frog an' kill de frog, or either yo' kin, if yo' got nerve enough to gut him 'live, jes' take all his guts out an' cut both side of him off - all dis flesh an' stuff off. Jest leave his back an' his hind leg an' his front one an' his head - jes' cut his belly off an' put it into dis bottle wit vinegar, red vinegar, an' after yo' put it in dere, yo' put some artichoke, something dey call artichokes. Put dat in dere wit some red cayenne peppah. Put dat in dere an' some sulphur an' set it fo' nine mawnin's - nine mawnin's, an' then yo' drink that three times a day or at night - when yo' want to. That will relief anything dat evah happened.
(What does an artichoke look like?) [It is just as well that I asked.]
Artichoke is somethin' dat grows somethin' like a potato but it's knotty. Ah got some home. (Green - green on the outside isn't it? And you pull off the leaves like that?) [I must have demonstrated.] It's most lak a Irish potato. Yo' see some Irish potatoes got little knots in 'em, comin' out - well, it's jes' lak dat. (Does it grow out of the ground?) [I should have said, does it mature above- ground.] Yes sir - under de ground.
(What color is it?)
It's white. Yo' don't have tuh peel it, yo' kin jes' wash it off an' scrape it lak dat an' yo' kin eat it jes' lak it is. Jes' it ain't got no nice taste to it; it jes' fo' lak vinegar an' peppah an' onions an' stuff dey put in dere wit vinegar. It something lak somepin dey sprinkle ovah greens, yo' know whut chew call dat.
(Sauces?)
Yes.