Browse:Doctor Completes Work of Doctor (Volume 1, entries 924)
Doctor Completes Work of Doctor
Volume 1, entries 924. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → Consultation Technique. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 924
A lady had me lak dat after ah got dat wit dis man. An' he married me. She did me dat way - she had me tied an' mah baby would a-nevah born until de doctah take it. An' aftah take it he said it wus de hardes' case he evah had. She had de chile so dat ah'd bear tuh bring de chile an' it would drew back up in me - it jes' climb up, yo' see, it nevah would come down. An' when de doctah came tuh take it, it wus almos' bo'n an' all at once it take a suck an' jes' jump right back up in me. An' he said dat wus de hardes' case he evah had. An' befo' mah baby wus bo'n ah wus jes' as black as dis hat heah [see Hat, my black in Index]. Yo' know, mah complexion undah mah clothes shouldn't be dat way from de way ah look outside. Well, dey had me dressed. An' dey came dere. Yo' know in de country people wash dey clothes an' hang 'em out, chew know, at night dey left 'em out. Nobody takes anything - yo' kin hang out clothes at night an' leave 'em all. Well, dey [the spell caster] came dere one night - dey [the doctor] tole mah mothah. Dey [spell caster] stole a bale of cotton an' mama an' dem went tuh someone [and reported the theft] - ah don' know who wus it, an' took dat [piece of clothing] off from me. De doctah [M.D.] took de baby but aftah all ah wus still black. [The M.D. couldn't make her color less black.] See. An' if dey [family] didn't did somepin fo' me tuh come back tuh mah nach'ral size [the M.D. failed to reduce her size], ah wouldn't live, neither de baby, cuz when de baby wus bo'n it wus blue - all ovah de baby jes' blue. Yo' couldn't tell whut color it wus. So dey went to dis man [doctor] an' dis man tole mah mothah dat dis woman took bloomers - yo' see, yore underwears an' she took de seat of 'em. She cut de seat of 'em out an' she took 'em an' she jes' ball it up an' tie it up with a lot of twine thread an' - an' it's somepin she put in dere. Ah don't know how she got holt to it, but she musta got holt to it by some of mah frens'. Jes' got holt of a soiled pair of mah bloomers, yo' know, where a woman drips or somepin lak dat. When dey goin' lak dat, yo' know, it's somepin always comin' from dem. An' she got some of dat an' she put dat in a ball an' she tied it wit a twine - she jes' tied it so till it wus jes' lak a ball you could throw it. An' she took dat ball an' she went to a green oak tree in de woods an' she took a axe an' pick a hole or a hollow in dat tree an' she took an' buried dat ball of stuff in dat tree an den she take de axe an' she knock on it fo' three licks. An' she went back fo' nine mawnin's an' knock on that tree right on that ball fo' nine mawnin's befo' de sun rise. [This is called knocking for you.] She had to be there when de sun start peepin' tuh hit on dat tree - three licks every mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's. An' aftah she hit on it three licks fo' nine mawnin's, then it commence growin' up - de tree commence tuh healin'. An' aftah dat tree heal up, den dat tied dat baby up in me. See. An' de baby couldn't of bo'n. An' dey had it fixed so dat ah would have died, but de doctah took de baby. An' aftah de doctah took de baby an' tole papa an' dem dat he wusn't satisfied wit mah looks, an' den dey went an' had dis han' took offa me. [The Doctor of Medicine who "took de baby" was not satisfied with the mother's looks. This dissatisfaction - meaning she would need time and care to recover - almost signed the woman's death warrant, because the family immediately consulted a root doctor. The latter said a hand had been put on informant in retaliation for her mother's reporting the theft of a bale of cotton to the authorities. This hand, made from something belonging to her, had caused Caesarean operation, dark color, and large size. The medical doctor of course could not remove this hand, but he the root doctor could.] An' de doctah made me some black medicine [perhaps black draft, see Index]. Ah don't know whut kinda medicine it wus an' ah didn't ask papa an' dem, but he made me a bottle somepin lak dat bottle up dere - 'bout de size of dat, full. An' he tole papa tuh give me every drop of dat medicine, an' three weeks after ah taken dat medicine, ah commence comin' clear in spots - not all ovah, jes spots, an' come back tuh be mah size, to mah looks lak ah supposed tuh be. An' in six months time after ah took dat medicine, ah become jes' lak ah supposed to be all ovah. An' ah wus jes' as black as dat hat dere. Dis mah natural color.