Browse:FOLK MEDICINE (Volume 1, entries 963–1706)/Part 4
FOLK MEDICINE
Volume 1, entries 963–1706. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
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Entries
Entry 1204
Take a crab or anything like that - you just done heard people say - which you could parch. You parch their shell, you know, just like you'd ketch a live crab and you burn him. You burn a live crab and after you burn him down to dust, you take some hot water and sugar - like if you was crossed. If you know that people have got you crossed, that you can't be successful or nothing, you're starving, you take that crab, the whole crab, and you put him down in the fire and you parch him there, but have it where that you could get all that dust from him. Well, you get this crab and you get you some sugar and hot water, and you crumble that crab down in that. You pours your cayenne pepper down in there with your salt. You take that crab dust that you burned off, and you get down in that water and you stay in that water. You bathe from the mole [mold] of your head - just like this here [demonstrates] - just like I would take water with my hand - just like taking water with your hand - don't use no towels or nothing - just with your necked [naked] hand like that. See. Take it and you wash all over with that. Then, after you get out of there, you take this here crab shell what you done parched down to dust ~ take some sugar in with it - and you rub your hands and everything like that - come on down with it just the way you bathe [this is a dry bath] and nobody couldn't do you no harm or nothing. [This is a reversing rite - a crab moving backwards, here uncrosses the cross.]
Entry 1205
Dey supposed to let nobody see it. Dey digs a hole.
(At the forks of the road.) [He had said this before I turned on my machine.]
At de forks of the road - four forks of de road. Dey dig a hole and dey git de red sand. Well, dat is fo' if anybody do anything to yo', yo' know, an' yo' boil it in water with lemons and yo' drink it. Dat is supposed to be if anybody do anything to yo' for bad luck. Jes' like yo' is in bad luck - well, yo' do dat and dat is supposed to cut de bad luck off yo'.
Entry 1206
I walk to the forks of the road [crossroad]. I make four steps east and I make four steps west, I make four steps north and I make four steps south. Then I walk east if there's any dirt there. I gets me a small 'mount of that dirt and I bring it home and I take a little piece of pasteboard and in each corner of the house, if hoodoo is round, I just lay the dirt round in the corner, just lay it on the floor. If anything is in there that is hoodoo, it going to be moved. (You put a little bit of this dirt in the four corners of the house and then you tack this pasteboard over it.) Then the hoodoo is going to be moved, there is no mistake about it.
Entry 1207
Dat devil-shoestring [goat's-rue - Tephrosia virginiana] - well, if anyone hurt chew, why yo' jis' git it an' jis' wear it in yore purse or pocket- book an' also dat John de Conker root. Yo' jis' wear it round yo'. An' den it's lucky, too.
Entry 1208
A woman live out heah - she out heah now. She lived out to - by de Fairfax[?]. Well, she wus heah [in town] an' somebody put somepin down to her do'step an' she stepped ovah it an' dis laig here drawed up. An' hit's a man lived out heah from Sappville[?], Uncle Tom Williams, he brought some devil's- shoestring an' he tole us about how he did it. An' he tied it round dis laig an' tied a piece round her wase [waist] an' one round her ahm [arm], an' she got so she could walk. An' de doctors say she would nevah walk no mo'. An' he took dat devil's-shoestring an' wrapped it an' twist it, put round dere - put three pieces round her. [The magic three.] Dat laig straightened out an' she went to walkin' agin.
Entry 1209
If they put somethin' down fo' yo' tuh walk ovah, yo'll take devil's- shoestring. Yo' know dis devil's-shoestring. Yo'll git dis devil's-shoestring an' yo' tie it round, possible round heah.
(Where?)
Round yore laigs - devil's-shoestring tied around yore laigs an' let it stay right there round yore laig nine days. After nine days yo' take it an' tie you nine knots in each one dem strings yo' got round laig. Den yo' kin walk ovah anything dey put down dere - won't harm yo'. Tie dat devil's-shoestring right round heah - two strands of it. An' after nine days, den yo' tie nine knots in it an' wear it nine mo' days, understand, an' then yo' kin walk ovah anything an' it ain't gonna hurt cha.
(You tie one piece around each leg just below the knee?)
That's right.
Entry 1210
(They do what with the dirt dauber's nest?)
Make a tea out of it an' strain the tea an' give it to 'em to drink. Dey give it to 'em tuh drink. Dey give de girls in de home - young girls in de home an it will make dere periods start on 'em if dey have nevah start an' dey won't have any pains. Dat's de onlies' [only-est] thing dat ah heard dat wus good fo'.
Entry 1211
When a person is in labor with a baby an' dey don't have de baby, an' it seem dey can't have it, de ole lady dey had dey take de dirt dauber an' jes' throw de nest - de whole business in right hot boilin' watah an' den took it off an' let it steep. An' den give it to de woman an' dat makes de lil' one come right out. Dat's whut ah heard about dirt dauber.
Entry 1212
If a woman's in birth an' pain, it seems to be slow, well yo' kin git dat dirt dauber nest - git dem lil' daubers out of it. [Whole nest is not used as in preceding remedy.] Go an' git dat little trash out of it an' put it in a cup of hot water an' let it steep. Strain it an' put chew in a - jes' 'cordin' to how much yo' got. If yo' got a half of a half a pint of it, well yo' put a half of a half a pint of whiskey into half a pint of it an' give her a teacup of dat. An' in ten minutes aftah she drink it de pains rise on her - de pains will rise. An' when de pains rise den de watah first will bust - de watah bag, dat'll bust. When dat'll bust den de baby will come out.
Entry 1213
De dirt dauber nest - if a chile teethin' or anythin' lak dat, take de dirt dauber nest an' rub its gum all kind [ways] lak dat yo' know. It's one de best teethin' medicines yo' kin git in de country. Yo' can't git nuthin out de drug store to beat dat.
Entry 1214
I've seen 'em take a dirt dauber's nest and they cook it - see, it's nothing but - look like mud - that's all it is, but it's good though, you know. I've seen 'em take and cook a dirt dauber's nest. But they've taken it and they cooked it and they cook it with what they call this here linseed oil. Well, linseed oil is good for rubbing of any kind, but they taken this and they cooked this dirt dauber's nest with that linseed oil. See. Now when they've cooked it, it comes into a paste - after they done cooked it. You see, they left all that oil out of it - as the oil was cooking out of it, it 'vaporated or something of that sort. Well, anyhow, it came into a paste and it made just about a little box of stuff [demonstrates] - just about that big around, must have been about that deep. Well, anyway, it was a boxful, but it come into a salve. Now, there was a baby that was born with it's navel - it was stuck out about that big [demonstrates]. Well, they cleaned the baby up - I can show you that very baby, too - it's navel is out now - it's about like that [demonstrates].
(It was born with it's navel sticking out like that?)
But now, it's sticking out about that much now.
(About an inch?)
Yeah. [That baby is] right down here a couple of blocks. Well, they say that baby was crossed. Well, that's what they was told to do and how to do it. They taken and they boiled that - they cooked this dirt dauber's nest in this linseed oil. When they first rubbed the baby - her navel was sticking like this - they crossed that navel.
(How do you mean they crossed it?)
They'd taken and they took the stuff, you see, and they made a plaster out of it, you see, and they come thataway with it and they come this way - made a cross on it. And they made that cross and then they rubbed all around it, you see. Like the navel sets right here and it was sticking out like about like that, see. They crossed it and then they rubbed all around that place there, you see. Then they rubbed that navel - they pulled and they shoved it - they pulled and they shoved the navel like that - and they did that for about nine days, greasing that every day three times a day until the baby's navel went back. And they said that if they wouldn't of used that, that baby s navel would a been out today. That's the only thing I ever know 'em to use it for - the dirt dauber's nest for - to do good.
Entry 1215
Yo' kin take dirt daubers an' make a tea out of it an' cure de measles, whoopin' cough of a chile - boil it. Dat's de onlys thing mah mothah have did with it.
Entry 1216
Ah wus throw'd aftah once an' mah mouth wus round dataway an' de nose wus dataway [demonstrates].
(Just twisted to one side.)
Twisted to one side - jes' layin' heah, right heah. Well, ah went tuh Dr. Halpin, a medical doctor, an' he gived me some little white, large pills yo' see. Well, de pills seems tuh do me some little good but didn't do me much. One man [root doctor] come tuh me, says, "Yo' git chew some dirt dauber nest." Well, ah got dat dirt dauber nest wit de young ones. It's mighty nasty, all right 'nuff - an' ah mashed it up - dat dirt dauber nest - got me some saltpeter an' ah mixed it up good - stirred it yo' know, de stuff. An' ah took dat dirt dauber nest every night an' mawnin' an' rubbed de side of mah face. Ah wus fixed thataway. Jes' lak mah nose wus turned, why [demonstrates] it druv it from dis side dis way, keep arubbing that thing thataway.
Entry 1217
Heard dat chew kin take a dirt dauber nest an' if a person bleeding to death, an' kin cure 'em with it. Yo'll powder it up an', an' bandage 'em up wit it. I cure whut othah things ah don't know.
Entry 1218
If anybody's tryin' tuh harm yo' - 'specially if it's round yore neighborhood roun' dere - jes' git some of de graveyard dirt an' fix it up, an' fix de dauber nest an' de graveyard dirt an' de cookin' salt an' de sulphur undah de steps - or take a aig -
(What are you doing that for now?)
Put it up undah de step an' run dem away - keep dem from harmin' yo'. [For dirt dauber protection and health, see Tomb of the Babe of Bethlehem in Interview section.]
Entry 1219
Now a thing dat brings luck - something fo' bringing luck that's good, yo' kin protect a person from being witchcrafted - something dat goes high an' low [high and low covers all contingencies - a dirt dauber flies high and low]. He kin take that dirt dauber nest an' he take sweet spices - jes' a whole grain spice an' he beat up de dirt dauber nes' an' de spices an' he sprinkles or throw it up in de air an' dat brings luck an' also keep away the evil spirits from dat person's premises or wheresomevah they are dwelling.
Entry 1220
Git dirt dauber nest an' use it as a help to keep a person from harmin' or gittin' up to yo', doin' anything to yo'. If a man taken a sock or somethin' [of yours] an' harmin' yo' that way, a dirt dauber nest kin be wo'n about yo' in yore pocket or eithah in yore shoe an' dey cain't harm yo' in no way.
Entry 1221
If a person got chure foot track - you live in de yard, de same yard an' he take yore foot track out - you go back in de house and de same dirty water you wash in de dishpan, you throw it in de bottom of yore shoes and throw it in yore track and back out de gate fer three mawnings. Den dat person will turn loose yore foot track.
(If a person has my foot track? I see, that's to get rid of the spell.)
That's to get rid of the spell.
Entry 1222
She take dat bow in yo' hat. When she git dat bow in yo' hat, she's got somepin dat re'lly belongs to yo' fer true. Well, now when she git dat bow in yo' hat, you crazy to see her, you understand. But de way git rid of dat, yo'll take and take you a dishrag and squeeze de water into yo' hat - squeeze de water out dat dishrag into yo' hat. See, she done got dat bow out chure hat. Well, after you done squeeze de water out dat dishrag into yo' hat, that bow what she got is no good to her.
(Well, after she got that bow, what would she do with that bow?)
She would take dat bow and tie it up and put it in her mattress an' draw yo' more near to her. [For dishwater curing guinea sickness, see No. 991, p.382.]
Entry 1223
A girl in Jacksonville, Florida, heah 'bout foah yeahs ago, she wus sick. Well, she lingered an' lingered an' lingered. Well, lotta folks thought maybe she wus witchcrafted an' all lak dat, but de chile was tuberculosis like de doctor tole her. De doctor tole her mother that she had de consumption, yo' see, an' she had to be taken a good piece back in heah [inland] to some spring or 'nothah. Well, dere own mother spent a lotta money taken her to dat spring up dere. Still it didn't do any good. So ah came on back an' ah tole her mother, said, "Well, Delia, listen," ah say, "nuthin dis chile eat won't stay on its stomach." Ah say, "Peaches or nuthin like dat hold on her stomach." Ah say, "Jest a little whut chew call gruel soup." Ah say, "Listen heah, try mah remedy." Now, ah had a remedy heah yeahs ago dat a [someone told me]. "Yo' kin take a dog, jest draw a little blood out of him - yo' ain't gotta kill him to git his blood," ah said. "Tuh git his blood, jest draw a little blood like a person draw a little blood outa yo', ' ah said, "an' put 'bout three or foah drops into a aig, see, an' beat de aig up fine. After yo' beat de aig up fine," ah said, "put jest about two or three drops of kerosene, one drop of turpentine, into this aig an' whup it up. After yo' done whup it an' - po' [in] jest about a half a pint of real good whiskey, not moonshine but real good seal whiskey [unbroken revenue stamp on the bottle]." Ah said, "Let her drink it." Ah said, "Now jest give her whut chew call a dose of it - jest lak yo' give her a dose of doctor's medicine." Ah says, "See if dat do any good." Ah say, "Yo' jest try dat."
Entry 1224
Den you kin take and feed dat dog - kill dat dog and get her blood while - if she's howling and gwine on and cuttin' up, and feed it to a person and he'll howl jest like dat dog. He'll howl - you'll put him to howlin', you see, put him to howlin'. He jest howlin' like a dog: [For another method of making a person bark like a dog, see No. 775, p.256.]
Entry 1225
T. B's? There's a Way to kill that.
(How would you do that?)
You take a fat dog, you try to get a bird dog - like anyone got T. B., and you takes and you cut that fat off there and you fry it and get that grease, and you bottle up that grease and you keep it on ice or something like where it won't spoil, you know. And give her, this person that got the T. B., one tablespoorful of that grease for every meal she eats. And because this is - T. B's a germ that gets in your system and medicine can't get there, but this here grease it gets there from that dog and it kills that germ.
Entry 1226
Say yo' could take a dog when she's in heat an' kill her an' if anybody had consumption or T. B. or somethin' lak dat an' cook her unbeknown to 'em an' let 'em eat it, dey say dat would cure 'em.
Entry 1227
Dey use dat for asmee. Boil it, de dog livah - boil it right on de stove an' give 'em de juice of it.
(That cures asthma.)
Entry 1228
A man tole me if a person is crazy or anything, yo' know, an' it's not a natch'al disease, git a dog manure. He did tell me, aftah it so many days old it turns white or yellah-lookin' - something lak dat, an' make a tea out of it an' let them drink it. An' he said that will cure them.
(Any kind of insanity? A person who is crazy?)
Yeah. He tole me tuh use that on mah mothah an' ah haven't did it yet because ah haven't been where she is.
Entry 1229
Whenevah - if yo' have a dog, watch de dog carefully an' see whenevah he has an action. Den yo' git his manure whilst it's fresh an' place it in a quart cup of water an' den yo' boil it down to a pint an' den use it wit a cloth to dab dat in good - dis out-flannen-an't [= anointment (an't) out of (out) flannel (flannen)] it used to cure de piles.
Entry 1230
Ah've heard dat dey could - dey didn't special [specify?] a black dog, but it was yo' could take de drops from a dog - yo' know, his bowel stool, an if a woman has got body trouble, anything like dat, she kin sit down on it, an a-stape [steep? steam?] herself - po' hot water on that bowel stool of that dog, an' dat'd put dat body trouble back up an' hit will nevah come back down no mo'.
(What kind of body trouble do you mean?)
Yo' know lak a woman have female trouble - yo' know her body drop down, yo' know.
(You mean her womb drops down? The inside of her drops down?)
Yes.
(That'll brace it back up?)
Yes.
(You mean in the front? You don't mean in the back?)
Front and back.
Entry 1231
I have seen people use the mess from a white dog to cure people - to cure lockjaw.
(Well, how would they do that?)
Cause, you see, my brother had lockjaw and a white dog done his business and the man told my mother to take it and put it in a cup, an old cup, and pour boiling water on it and let it stand one hour and then drain it and let it get cool, and put spirits of niter in it and his jaws will come unlocked. My mother did that. I've seen it.
(I see. Did you come from Louisiana? Were you born in New Orleans?)
I was born in Bayou [something] Parish Louisiana?
(Where?)
Bayou Lafourche, Assumption Parish. [A few miles down the Mississippi River there is a Lafourche in Lafourche Parish.]
Entry 1232
Even if yo' bald, git de milk from de dog an' bathe de part dat's bald of the cranium an' yore hair will event'lly grow back.
Entry 1233
Well, a dog now, if yo' got de yellah ja'ndice an' yo' can't be cured from doctors, yo' have to catch it - it's hard to ketch - yo' has to ketch dat dog's urinate. An' den yo' take, yo' don't let chure patient know that, but yo ketch his [dog] urinate an' yo' mix it up in his bread an' yo' let him eat that bread, an' it cures the yellah ja'ndice.
Entry 1234
An' if yo' Wanta miscarry a kid, ah know how tuh miscarry a kid - diff'rent things yo' kin take: calomel powders, an' yo' kin take nine buckshots, an' yo' kin take bluestone, an' yo' kin take pencil lead from a pencil, an' yo' kin take yore finger an' miscarry. Ah know how to do that wit that. An' if yo' ain't impregnant an' wanta git impregnant, yo' kin take devil's-shoe- string, blackroot, guinsy light[?], an' yo' kin take life ever lasting [cudweed], lowbush myrtle, redshank an' dog-tongue.
(Is dog's-tongue a weed?)
Yes suh, hit's a weed - it grows [cylinder changed]. Boil"it an' makes a tea out of it an' takes it - a wineglassful three times a day. Dat'll clear up yore system an' git all de silt an' stuff stir up, an' yo'll git impregnant like that. Den yo' kin take dog-tongue an' dry it an' put it de fo' corners of anybody's house. Now hit's good fo' medicine an' den it's good for squabbling. Yo' take dog-tongue an' put it in fo' corners of anybody's house an' crumble it up an' rub it round in de house, an' he'll be aridin' an' agrumblin' an' aguarrelin' an' afightin' dere until dey separate or dey move out or dey do something. Dey won't live together happy no mo' - jest quarrel an' grumble an' row jest long as dat dog-tongue in that house.
Entry 1235
Take de dog fennel root an' yo' kin drink de tea out of that an' yo' kin git anything out of you that a person trying tuh hurt chew - that chew got down. Or if they tryin' tuh, yo' see, do anything to yo'.
Entry 1236
Yo' evah heah of dog fennel? Well, de root of dat is good. Yo' evah heah talk of the dogwood? Well, de root of dat is good. Ah used tuh go tuh work an' git a tea - take de root an' make a tea of it, an' dat insec' or whatsomevah it 'tis dey got down in yuh, well dat'll bring it out.
(You use either the dog fennel or the dogwood tree root? Each one is good?)
Each one is good.
Entry 1237
If yo' have a fever, yo' know, take it an' put it in whiskey or brandy.
(The dogwood tree bark?)
Yessuh, de bark, yo' know whut ah'm talkin' about now. Yo' jes' skin dat bark off - de inside skin. (Any place on the tree?) At de sunrise side, but ah don't believe in dat. Anyway, an' yo' put dat in dere. It's a fine tonic. (You take that bark off the sunrise side of the dogwood tree and make a tea with it if you are running a fever. Any kind of fever?) Yes, dat's whut ah've heard.
Entry 1238
Git some de bark off it an' git about ten rusty nails.
(You go to a dogwood tree?)
Yessuh, an' boil dat together an' den git chew some heart leaves an' put in it, an' if anybody gits hurt - dat's whut ah heard. [If these are not heart-shaped (cordate) leaves, they are leaves of the heart- leaf - several American species of Asarum.]
(What do you do with that? How do you give it to them?)
Yo' give it to 'em - yo' makes a tea out of it.
(You make the tea out of this dogwood and these nails and the heart leaves?)
Yes.
Entry 1239
I had a mother, she wus poison. Somebody took her hair. The fellah that come to cure her said they put it in a bottle, a cologne bottle, put it in some runnin' water - that cause her min' wus goin'. He didn't zackly make her, you know, straight; but he told 'er whut wus ailin' her. He told er to git up every night jis' befo' mid- night, she wus livin' in de country, an' walk to the fork of the road. She do that fo' five or six night. I don't know zackly how many nights that he told 'er, but I know he told 'er go to de fork of a road. He told 'er take some dirt from under her front steps an' wear it aroun' her head as a poultice. He said that would help 'er. It helped a lot.
Entry 1240
I've heard that people will take and burn dragon's blood on the stove and it's supposed to drive all their trouble away.
Entry 1241
Well, she wus a woman, she sold whiskey an' she had a little tree whut be in her yard an' she would say a verse from de Bible to that tree an' den she would burn dragon's blood an' frankincense up undah de tree an' she'd grab de tree an' whip it an' den she jes' turn it back up. An' she'd burn that stuff right at the tree - right at the root of the tree she would burn it. Well, that wus supposed tuh keep away evil spirits an' de law or anything tuh bother her. [See margin-titles Whipping, p.388; Hitting Remedy, p.399.]
Entry 1242
Jes' take a dry piece of eelskin an' put it on yore wrist, if any pain in dere or somepin.
Entry 1243
Gits de eel[skin] an' jes' ground it up an' they mix peppah an' salt - jes' de red peppah. They git that an' grind that up with the eel and they tie that up in a sack an' they will wear it around them. (What is that supposed to do?) Keep all dere enemies away from 'em an' keep dem from bein' harmed dem- selves. [The eel makes the wearer slippery like an eel, difficult to hold.]
Entry 1244
Well, if a person kin be sufferin' with rheumatism, if he kin git a eel an' skin him an' dry the skin an' wear it - make a brace of that an' it will carry away the rheumatism.
Entry 1245
Dey takes a little alcohol an' elder root and go an' bath [not bathe] 'em, if it's [a live thing] in de laig - bath 'em right on out de laig.
[Jacksonville, Fla., (586), 752:6.] [Alder (p.411) and Elder are often confused.]
Entry 1246
My ole grandmother wus poisoned an' dey take elder [leaves] an' sulphur an' put it together [by boiling] an' [take] a feather an' an'inted her laig an' worms wus in her laig. [Wilmington, N. Car., (232), 156:3+85.] [An ointment is also made of 'elder, tobacco and lard to take out live things" - Wilmington, N. Car., (?), 234:1.]
Entry 1247
Yo' go to a fig tree an' dig yo' some roots from three diff'rent ways of de world - take some from de no'th, some east an' some south. Yo' don't want nuthin from de west - don't want nuthin tuh carry yo' down, yo' wanta build yo'self up. An' tote dem roots in yore pocket - pocket book. An' de longer yo' tote dem roots de better it will smell. Anybody will tell yo' to put Hearts Cologne on dere, but chew kin take dem fig tree roots an' long as yo' tote dem de better it will smell. Den yo' kin let chure wife or somebody else smell it an' yo' can't smell it - it's dead. [As in any hand, to let anyone touch it, smell it, even sometimes to see it - kills its power.]
(Why do you carry these roots?)
Fo' luck - protection - fo' friends.
(Would this protect me against any bad luck?)
Yes, it's good. People whut will hate yo' will come to be yore friends.
Entry 1248
(How are you going to cure this snake bite?)
Why yo' take that bark an' boil it - de bark from de fig tree, an' yo' boil dat an' yo' give that tea to the person who's bit by the snake. That'll drive de poison out.
Entry 1249
Yo' know, yo' see people has bumps all broke out in dere face. Yo' wanta [should] learn dis. Well, yo' go 'head if yo' got bumps on yore face - broke out all on yo' face jes' wit bumps - yo' know whut's a cure fo' dat?
(No.)
Go to a fig tree and git de fig leaves off dat and git de milk in de fig leaves - jes' git dat milk out dem fig leaves an' tech all over dem places and cure 'em. Dat'll cure dat.
Entry 1250
Dat's good tuh cure any poison. Yo' take de fig tree - first yo' take de leaves an' then yo' go an' git the root. Yo' git de root an' de leaves, stir it together an' make a tea. Aftah yo' stir it together an' make de tea, yo' git brimstone, sulphur, sweet milk, an' fifty cents in silver, a ole fifty cents, an' boil it together. Make a tea an' drink the tea three times daily. Take the fig root - boil de fig root an' bathe wit de water an' always throw it to sunrise; if yore poisoned, every bit will come out - it couldn't stay in.
(You drink this tea only from the leaves?)
Outa de leaves.
(And the root tea you use just for bathing?)
Fo' bathing - dat's right.
Entry 1251
[The following beliefs are ordinary folklore:]
On Christmas night yo' kin go to a fig tree about twelve a'clock an' dat chew could hear Eve an' Adam on de fig tree quarrelin' an' fussin' on de fig tree.
(Where did you hear that?)
Mah father tole me dat.
Entry 1252
Yo' mustn't cut down one - a fig tree. Say dere'll be a death in de family. Den dey say no girl mustn't climb it, because it will pine away an' die - no girl, no woman must nevah climb a fig tree.
Entry 1253
Yo' use a file if yo' got de cramps. If yo' jes' have cramp all de time, why yo' take a brand new file an' jes' put it right wheresomevah yo' got de cramps. Put it on yo' an' de cramp will pass an' yo' nevah have a cramp any mo'. (What kind of cramps do you mean?) Jes' pain cramps yo' know, jes' lak yo' take a cramp in yore laig.
Entry 1254
Dey say dat if yo' come prey wit a diff'rent disease, yo' could go to a dogwood tree an' git some root an' skin de bark from de sunrise side, an' go to a cherry tree and git de bark from de sunset side. An' then go to a firewood tree - dey call it firewood tree [the ironwood CyriZla racemeflora of southeastern U. S. A.; a number of trees are called iron- wood] - an' git some from de south side, an' put those ingredients together, and it would fin'lly turn if yo' had - somebody had tricked yo' or somepin, it would turn all dat away from yo' an' yo' become well. Ah heard dat.
(Well, what would they do with those barks? How would they fix those up?)
Dey said dey would take 'em jes' lak if ah got a bark from de dogwood an' one from de cherry, ah would take dem an' de firewood tree. Ah'd take dose barks an' ah put 'em in a pot an' ah boil 'em down to a certain ingredients, so dat dey Would become liquid, yo' know. Git some of de strength from each one. An' then ah would use 'em as a drug fo' to take or to rub until de parts dat were affected would pass - de pain would leave an' ah'd become well.
(What is a firewood tree?)
It's a tree that grows in the woods. De leaves all when dey come out, the bright side - in de nighttime dey give a light, jes' de same as if it was de, yo' see, de moon or somepin shinin' on it. It has a brighter leaf den any othah tree in de woods. Dey call dat firewood.
(Do they grow that out here?)
No suh, dey all be in de rivah swamps, mostly in the rivah swamps - jes' lak soggy [ground] or somewhere lak dat. Yo' mo' or less find dose kinda tree in that.
Entry 1255
Take fish gall - make a woman miscarry by rubbin' it on her navel. (What kind of fish gall - from any kind of fish?) Any kind of a gall from a fish [gall from any fish]. Put nine drops of it or as many drops as you kin in her navel an' let it stay in dere, an' let her lay flat on her back an' put a silver button ovah it or pearl button ovah it on top of her navel. Dat will make her miscarry.
Entry 1256
Well, you get you a fresh fish - you get the heart, the liver and the gall. You understand? And you lets it out in the sun and dry - see, till you can make a powder with it. Then you smoke yourself with that. You understand, you just stand over it and smoke yourself with it. Then you can use the gall - like someone done did you, put something in your hat like people say they do, steel dust or anything that fail your eyes. They can use this gall and anoint your eyes. [This cure is a variant of the one in Book of Tobit (in Apocrypha) 6:1-8; 11:10-14.]
Entry 1257
Dey say if yo' kin ketch a catfish, yo' know, an' ketch him 'live an' yo' jes' cut 'im open an' git de gall of dat out. An' yo' kin take dat gall an take it an' put it on a person eyes an' cure dere eyes with it. Dat's all de further ah heered 'bout dat.
Entry 1258
Dey take de blood from de catfish an' cure people of de dropsy. Dey take it an' dev put it in some oil, some cookin' oil an' dey take it three times a day. See, de catfish ain't poison, yo' know dat. An' yo' cook dat oil an catfish blood together an' give it to 'em.
Entry 1259
[We have already heard two persons tell the same story, neither knowing the other had told it (see Nos.73-74, Pp.30-31.) Here a story is told first by the husband at my hotel in town and then he, my contact man Carter and I drove nine miles out into the country to interview his parents, others, and wife. The latter unaware of what her husband had said, retold the story:] [Husband's story about wife:] My wife, not knowing she had created any enemies, woke early one morning and started to enter the kitchen. The door being closed she got to the door and could not touch it. She could only stand and scream. What she thought, what she seen, what she felt, nobody knew. We got my mother. She asked me did we have a salt fish. I did not. I went to the store and secured two. She taken these salt fish and crumbled them in water and washed her hands, and she could enter the door.
Entry 1260
[Wife's story about herself:]
One morning I got up and I started to cry. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I went out in the yard and came in the house and didn't have any mind what- ever. I was as crazy as a bedbug. I didn't even know my own children. I broke down and all I could cry was, "I can't touch the door." Every time I went near the door I could see snakes and everything. A lady came in and said, Take some salt fish, urinate, and take that and wipe the door knob off, wipe the doorsill." And I did that, and the next morning I was all right. [For similar experiences see Arrestation and Paralysis, Nos. 749-753, Pp.251-254, and Index.] [Nine miles from Fredericksburg, Va., (69?), written by hand or by hand-cranked Ediphone.]
Entry 1261
Yo' kin take a person's hair as dey comb it out chew see - git dandruff and all and wrap dat hair right tight. Yo' know people combin' dere hair it come out in de comb, an: yo' jis' take dat hair an' wrap it real tight in some red flannel wit a piece of lodestone, an' stick needles all through it. Jis' stick 'em all through dem - Jis' diff'rent ways an' dose needles will inflict de body some way. Yo'll break out in spots de size of quarters or half dollahs on yore laig or on yore body. An' yo'll always be afflicted until somebody in de family finds that thing. Ah'm telling dis from experience. Mah mothah wus hurt dat way an' ah found it when ah wus thirteen yeahs old. An' den she bathe her laig in fish brine an' she got well.
Entry 1262
A grass known as five-finger grass, they say, if you git a hold of that grass and take a piece of - a real light piece of papah and write the 23rd Psalms on this piece of papah, tie this piece of papah and this five-finger grass up with some clean piece of cloth and wear it next to your body [skin], no one can't harm you with any tricks and things. [This cloth-paper package is a hand.]
Entry 1263
[Three men together are talking about two absent men:]
Ah've [informant] seen a [doctor] man take a [culprit] man's shoes an' seen 'im, you know, dressin' dem. An' so dis [third] man axed 'im [doctor], say, "Whut chew goin' do wit dis fellah [culprit]?" An' he say, "Well, he [culprit] been givin' de man [doctor's client] trouble to 'is house 'bout 'is wife." See. An' dis [client] man had hired dis [doctor] man to fix dis [culprit] man up. An' so dis happened, you know, up de country. The three men are in town.] An' so dis [third or objector] man tole 'im, say, "Ah wouldn't do dat." He say, "Yes, dat's mah job." An' so he [doctor continues] says, "Yo' ain't got nuthin to do wit it." So he went to work and he dressed dis [culprit] fellah. He say, "Ah'm goin' have to fix dis shoe and den ah have tuh [fix] dat pedal, ' say, "if ah can't git tuh fix his shoe lak ah wanta." See, he [culprit] was a truckdriver. He say, "Ah go an' dress dat dere clutch' - yo' know, where yo' have tuh put in clutch, yo' know, tuh change gears. "Ah kin git 'im good on dat." So he fixed up de shoe and dis fellah, yo' know, jes' lak ah say ah'm gon'a.
(How did he dress the shoe?)
Well, he took dat shoe and he took two toadyfrogs - see, took two toadyfrogs and he cut dat toadyfrog wide open live, see, an' got dat blood and put it down in dat man's shoe, spread it down in dere. [A frog for each shoe.] An' den he put somethin' else in dere. Whut it was ah don't know, but he put something else in dere. An' dis heah [objector] fellah heah, tole 'im, say, "Would it hurt me now if ah wear his shoes back to 'im? See, 'cause ah jes' borrowed his shoes playing partner wit 'im, see, 'cause make out lak mine was too little and want 'im to break 'em out. Ah swap wit him tull I git a chance tuh fix 'em?" He [doctor] says, "No, it ain't goin' hurt chew. It jes' goin' hurt de one hit was fixed fo'."
[Why objector borrowed shoes and then objected, I do not know.]
An' so dis fellah wears de shoes back an' so dis [culprit] man den puts on his shoes, see. Well, he goes down de next morning tuh git his truck. Well, dey got 'is clutch fixed on 'is truck. Well, when he went an' got on de truck, well dat night he wasn't able to walk home. He was hoppin'. His laig was hurtin' all up, clean up tuh 'is knee. An' yo' kin hear 'im hollerin'. Ah heard 'im my ownself. You could hear 'im hollerin' two blocks. De doctor he come. De doctor couldn't do no good. Dey had to go git another hoodoo woman - big hoodoo woman stay out from Bergen Junction, back out dere - ole lady Rivers [Ridders?]. Well, she goes tuh work an' she come dere an' she lays her han' on 'im jes' lak dis heah [demonstrates] an' drag it over 'is face - we was all standin' dere lookin' at 'em - bring 'er han' right down ovah his face jes' lak dat an' carried it straight on down, right ovah dat laig. An' she done dat three times, an' when she done dat three times, two toadyfrogs hopped outa dat man's laig, an' dat man got all right. Come out back dere where de two places 'bout tuh come to a haid - where it done, you know, formed a corruption.
(What was this woman's name?)
Rivah - Ridder.
(Is she near St. Petersburg?)
No sir, she stay right up 'cross de rivah from Rocky Ford, Georgia. [Speaker is from Georgia.]
Entry 1264
If you'd git a toadfrog - if you swole up in your joints or something like that and you can't git it 'way, and if somebody tricked you. Well, you git you a toadfrog and cut him open, put it right on that place until that will come out, and jest whatever it is - if it is yellow or green or whatever it is - makes it come out in dat frog.
Entry 1265
Jes' lak ah could take a frog right now - yo' supposed to be plagued with spasm or fits. Jes' ketch a live frog an' split 'im open - slap it right on dere an' tie it an' dat'll kill de fits.
Entry 1266
If somebody poisoned yo' in yore laig or yore feet or anywhere yo' poisoned - paralyzed poisoned [paralyzed by poison] - yo' git chew a green - don't git nuthin but a green one, green toadfrog, an' rub him - rub him until he dies. Be sure yo' rub him till he dies.
(Where do you rub him?)
Jes' take him in yore hand an' rub him right down de back till he die - rub him right down his back till he die an' den split him open. After yo' split him open git chew a flannel - a white flannel string [strip about dat wide an' put it in dere an' sew hit back together so hit won't come out dere, an' bind him on dat place an' it will turn black. Dat's de poison.
Entry 1267
Dey'd use a toadfrog - if yo' kin git a toadfrog - if a snake wus tuh bite chew - most any kinda snake - if yo' kin git de frog at de time an' split him open an' tie him on dat particular place why yo' would git to some doctor or 'nother, see.
Entry 1268
These things on yore neck whut chew call a wart [goiter?], take a frog an' rub on dere till he dies - rub him jes' as hard as yo' could. Ah be dogged if it don't go.
The instruction describes rubbing a frog on the neck, with its death as the endpoint; no therapeutic effect is verified.
Entry 1269
Well, my daddy know whut de matter. My daddy was a riverside man. I ain't born by de riverside but I'm 69 years old right now. My daddy was a man, you know, he was purtty wise. And he says, "Well, I don't [do] know what to do with my Charlie." He went to work and takes [four] live toadfrogs and cut it open, and like he [the frog] is in dere [the raw inside], you know, git some sulphur and you fix like a batter for to fry bread - he daubed the [inside of] the frog with that red peppah and sulphur, and he bind dis one here and bind the other one here [but by action he indicated four frogs - one at the front of Charlie's head, one on each side, and one at the back]. And he done that fer nine days. And my brother commence to come back to us. My brother - I'm a year older than him. He is dead now. Tie 'em with a new bandaging of cloth that never was used - homespun. And he bind 'im with that and my brother lay there fer nine days. He stunk like a buzzard.
Entry 1270
I've heard they use a frog, but it must be a toadfrog. You know what a toadfrog is?
(No, what is a toadfrog?)
Well, he's a thing he abides on dry land. He's not a water animal. Course he kin swim but he abides on dry land, see. And now, I've heard that you gets the toadfrog but you don't get him dead - don't let him be dead. You wants to let the toadfrog be alive and when you get him, you take him and you puts him - well, you may have you a little box made. You put him in this box and you go get you some salt and you sprinkle that on him. You goes and you gets you some baking powder and you sprinkle that over him, and after you sprinkle that over this frog you don't want - don't kill him, you may be hurt. You bind this frog to the place where you hurted and just leave him lie there, see, with that pepper and baking powder on him, but brang him to the place where you hurted, and in seven days that place will come to a head and whatever in that place it will run out. Where doctors have failed to do you any good, well, that frog will kill it.
Entry 1271
Well, dey use toadfrogs for fitses. Well, someone might put a fit on yo' - on anyone. Dey takes de toadfrog - takes de toadfrog 'live an' take an' tie him right round yore neck an' yo' worry de frog an' de fits will go right out of yo'into de frog an' it'll run him crazy an' he kill himself.
Entry 1272
Take a toadfrog an' tote him in yore pocket 'live fo' chills.
(Just put him alive?)
Yes, put him in yore pocket 'live.
Entry 1273
Dey tell me dat yo' kin take a frog an' wrop him up in a silk pocket han'chief an' take jes' dis common bread an' salt. Give him de bread an' put salt in yore shoes, an' have dis frog in yore pocket han'chief an' wear him dere in yore pockets, an' yo' kin walk ovah anything dat dey put down fo' yo' an' it's no harm dey kin do.
(This frog, do you keep it alive?)
Yes.
Entry 1274
All right, she had me - ah did it mahself. Ah went an' caught a bull- frog, not a bullfrog but a toadfrog, up heah in de yard. After I caught dis toadfrog, she took dis frog an' put him in a little cloth like an' put dis frog right on her side an' wore him dere fo' a few days until dat frog died. After dat frog died den dis pain left her jes' on account of wearing dat frog dere.
Entry 1275
(How do they cure the whooping cough?)
Well, dey jes' take a toadfrog an' kill him an' make a soup an' cure de whoopin' cough.
(What do they do with that soup?)
Give it to the child to drink.
Entry 1276
Jes' lak if a person have any kinda - been tricked in any kinda whiskey or been hurt by a person by puttin' down somepin, yo' kin take dat frog. Yo' kin cut him wide open an' take an' put him in some boilin' hot water an' let him boil down. Take an' strain dat water out an' give it to a person tuh drink, let him drink de water - jes' put it in a bottle an' jes' give it to 'em to drink.
Entry 1277
And then you kin take a toadfrog - you know these toadfrogs. Well, just like person got rheumatism - I don't tell nobody this one, though. That's one I made plenty money on. Just like a person got rheumatism.
(Yes.)
You know these toadfrogs that hop around at night. You kin take - you gather them and stew 'em down and take that grease and grease people. Ah'm de only one in dis town kin cure rheumatism. I've cure many people round here of rheumatism.
Entry 1278
If a fellah put a spell on yo', yo' make watah and bath in it fer nine mawnin's an' po' dat watah toward de sunset. And den yo' kin take nine toadfrogs and put 'em into a pot alive an' cook 'em down - put nuthin in 'em but a little watah an' a little grease, an' grease wit de grease from dem fer nine mawnin's. Dat will break up anything that dey try to put on yo'. (These are different ways of doing this - one is you use the urine and the other way is you use the frogs. You don't use both of them together?) No, don't use both of them together - use either one of them.
Entry 1279
This is by experience. I seed my mother do this. She made us boys ketch her nine toadfrogs. And we caught 'em and we brought 'em in the house and she got a skillet of red hot grease and the lid ready to place on it. And she'd taken them frogs one by one and put them in that skillet - one by one - one by one - and put 'em in that skillet and fried 'em down to where dey was crisp. She'd taken that grease and she put it up, till it congeal - that is, you know, until it got cold and thick, and she used it as a hair dressing and give it to her friends. Well, my mother, her hair -
(She what?)
Used it for a hair dressing. She had hair that long. She Was mulatto and she used to make it all the time.
(That will make your hair grow?)
Yes, sir, it make the hair grow - you know, turn it straight. That's what she would get out of it.
Entry 1280
(Tell it again now, the whole thing from the beginning.)
You take you a frog - what I mean, them old frogs. Now, this is the truth from here to heaven. You take you a frog - one of them old hoppy frogs, rainy frogs, you know, be's hopping after de rain in the country. Well, it be night - you know, dark, up there [in the country]. Well, you just take you a yeast [something] can and just let it run up in there, you know, alive. Stop him up while he alive - stop him up there tight and put him over a door, over your door there. And he'll [you'll] pass the door - he's [you're] going to pass all the time, back and forth, back and forth. And when you passes that door about nine morning, your piles is cured and you go up there and you look at it and open it, you won't see nothing but brown ashes. You won't see no bones or nothing from that frog - nothing but brown ashes. And you leave it there and that's just going to molt away and you'll never have the piles on you long as you live.
Entry 1281
If any harm done to a person in de bed, yo' put dis frog in dere 'live an' when de frog dies, dat disease dere he would have consumed dat - whatevah dey have spread in de mattress fo' yo', fo' tuh make yo' sick or tuh make yo' in bad luck. Den dat's all ovah. When he dies he supposed tuh carry it away with him. Yo' put him alive yo' see.
Entry 1282
Jes' lak a person got de asthma - he ketches a frog an' take an' ketch him 'live an' take an' hold his mouth open an' blow de breath in his mouth three times, an' she give dat asthma to de frog, she won't have it any mo'.
Entry 1283
An' then yo' kin cure disease with that frog. A frog is wonderful tuh take off spells.
(How would they do that?)
Well, now, yo' kin ketch a frog an' yo' kin let the party that has the spell Spit three times into that frog's mouth an' blow their breath three times in it an' then yo' kin - when they do that yo' read the 23rd Psalms. See, read the 23rd Psalms an' after yo' read de 23rd Psalms, yo' let them take that frog an' throw it ovah dere shoulder jest as hard as they kin an' don't let that frog come back towards where that sick person is standing - keep that frog off from that sick person. An' that frog will carrv that disease off. Yo' kin take off witchcraft fo' anybody wit dat.