Browse:Chicken (Volume 1, entries 2450–2455)
Chicken
Volume 1, entries 2450–2455. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → BUSINESS AND CUSTOMERS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 2450
Said yo' could take a aig from a black hen an' jes' peck a hole in it an' run de stuff out of de aig, an' dry de shell or either pound it - cook it an' pound it up an' wear hit in yore pocket, in yore left pocket. Said dat would give yo' luck in business.
Entry 2451
What you kin do to keep it there. You kin take a black hen eggshell - black hen, no other hen now, this a black hen. You take the shell, that white shell, and you put it in your oven of de stove and you'll toast it brown, and you put it under your steps. No one knows that but you. They will circle around but it's very seldom they kin come in. See, if they do, they can't find nothing - you'll be lucky. You'll get through it all right just as long as you keep dem eggshells under de front of your steps, or if you have no steps, just put it under dat doorsill. But it have to be a jet black hen with no white feathers at all.
(That's if the officers are trying to get something on you?)
Yes.
(What was that?)
[My question shows I had turned off machine and now want informant to repeat the lost words. This situation will be found many times in the text.] I said, if you was in bad luck and couldn't pay de collectors - you haven't got no money for to pay de collectors, but you say, "Well, I'll pay the Weekly man some way. Wait till I get some money." Well, you put 'em on back, he wasn't worrying you.
(You use these same eggshells for that?)
Yes. And didn't have no front, you keep 'em in your oven.
(Keep them right in the oven?)
Yeah, keep 'em right in your oven.
(If you are living upstairs?)
Yeah - keep 'em right in your oven.
Entry 2452
Yo' kin go git a frizzled hen aig [see margin-title Doctor Frizzly, p.59f.], git chew a penny, take it in yore han' an' hol' it tight till yo' git to a crossroad an' throw it ovah yore shoulder an' don't look back. Jes' don't come back dat way - go on roun' an' yo' come back. Den yo' have luck. (With a frizzled hen egg - that's to retain your luck. That is if you want to bring in customers to buy from you. For bootlegging or anything like that.)
Entry 2453
If yo' want good luck in yore house, if yo' runnin' a beer house or Zikker house or gamblin' house or poker game house or lak dat, an' yo' want de boys tuh come an' de law stay behin', wanta bring 'em in dere tuh leave dere money in dat house, you takes three hen aigs an' throw 'em up on top an' hit de roof of de house, smash 'em an' let 'em bust up dere. Yo' take two of 'em an' let 'em bust top de house. Den yo' take de othah one an' lak dat one is dey do' an' yo' carry dat one in yo' han's dere an' stan' off heah fo' or five steps, an' break dat one on top de do' - jes' bamm, right up dere ovah de center of yo' do', cast dat aig lak a ball an' let it bust de aig.
(Over the door?)
Right ovah de do', de front do'. See, bust de aig an' see dat aig will run down, an' when she run down don't have nobody wipe it up - don't wipe it up or nuthin, let it stay dere. An' den dat gives yo' all de power an' luck to yore house an' dat room dat chew want. Yeah, dey come in dere. Yo's de boss of de house an' has ever'thing - hit goes yore way ever' bit of it. An' now, when yo' do dat ever' time - but chew gotta keep it up - yo' mus' do dat on ever' change of de moon. But chew gotta git fresh hen aigs - don't git de cold storage aigs, git fresh aigs dat de hen jes' laid lak today. Git dem fresh aigs, yo' know dere fresh, use dem aigs lak dat.
Entry 2454
Yo' kin take chicken feathers an' then yo' kin draw a crowd with that, too. De way yo' do that, yo' take those chicken feathers an' put 'em in some kinda instrument [utensil or vessel] an' yo' put 'em out in de'open air. Den yo' git chew a quantity of brimstone an' den yo' burn it an' hit'll bring yo' success an' also hit'll he'p yore business place.
Entry 2455
Yo' take chicken feathers - yes, yo' take chicken feathers an' yo' put sulphur an' salt on dis chicken feathers an' yo' use perfume - Hearts Perfume, yo' use dat. Dat's all de 'riginal stuff dey use, an' yo' set dat afire. Yo' see yo' burn dat into yore home in de middle of de flo'. Sometimes it's good to burn it in yore bedroom. Yo' burn it mostly in de room - if a person is in busi- ness or somethin', yo' burn it in de room where yo' handle yore most customers. That will bring yo' in peoples too, chicken feathers - yo' kin burn chicken feathers.