Browse:Devil's-Shoestring (Volume 1, entries 1829–1832)
Devil's-Shoestring
Volume 1, entries 1829–1832. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → HANDS: MAGIC HELPERS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 1829
All right, yo' kin take Hearts Cologne. Yo' git chew Hearts Cologne an' yo' go to de - yo' know de devil's-shoestring. Yo' git de devil's-shoestring an' yo' cut it in fo' pieces to a inch - one inch long, an yo' put it into yo' little sack an' yo' keep dat devil's- string. Wear it in dat Hearts Cologne, keep it where it'll smell loud, an' whensomevah yo' go to gamble why yo' renew it ovah wit dat Hearts Cologne. Keep it where it will scent - where everybody kin git de scent of it. Dat's lucky in gambling.
Entry 1830
Dey say if yo' git some devil's-shoestring an' nine shots out of a shell - nine shots an' three lengths of devil's-shoestring. Yo"sposed to keep dat with yo' an' yo' kin put most any kind of perfume on it. An' yo' have a piece of lodestone with it - dat makes it bettah. Dat's whut ah hear a man say he wus doin' - ah seen some of it.
(How did he carry that?)
Jes' put it in a little bag an' put it in yore pocket.
Entry 1831
Fo' a gamblin' han' yo' git chew some blacksnake root an' some devil's- shoestring an' some John de Conker, an' some cinnamon, an' a van-van perfume. An' yo' git chew a piece of shammy. Yo' put dese ingredients in dere wit de silver dime, an' yo' takes dat perfume an' yo' dresses it an' yo' wears dat piece in yore pocket.
(What will that do then?)
That's supposed tuh be a gamblin' han - whut dey call it.
Entry 1832
An' you know dey tryin' harm you. Well, all you got'a do - git chew a piece of devil's-shoestring and git chew some of dis salt and red peppah see, and devil's-shoestring and some sulphur. And you take it and wear some in vour shoes and take an' make a belt out of it, out of de shoestring, see, and wear it around your waist. But chew use a little piece of copper wire, you understand, mix a little piece of copper wire in it. If you ain't got devil's-shoestring, spread it [copper wire] out round your waist - see, you kin just ball de little piece of copper wire up and put it in dere amongst de red pepper, see. And then when you do that, you take and wear it around your waist. That would stop anybody, they couldn't do anything. They can't do nothing to you but put in your stomach, if dey goin' get cha. That's the only way they kin get cha.