Browse:FOLK MEDICINE (Volume 1, entries 963–1706)/Part 5
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.
1 listed entry is unavailable here.
Entries
Entry 1284
Jes' lak if a person have whoopin' cough, take de frog an' cough in his mouth three times an' roll him in yore han's three times an' bury it undah yore do steps. De next mawnin' yore whoopin cough will be gone.
Entry 1285
Jes' ketch him an' tie him up some place in yo' fiahplace an' if it's a enemy somewhere about chew he'll leave - de law will git atter him an' run him away from dere.
[As frog in fireplace becomes hot, so it becomes too hot for enemy.]
(This toadfrog?)
Yes.
Entry 1286
If anyone has a high fever - any kind of a fever - yo' goes to de swamp an' ketch yo' a swamp toad outa de watah an' cut off his tongue an' name dat toad aftah de one who had de fever. Throw it back in dis watah an' why his fever will become perfectly all right. He'll be all right in a few days.
(What do you do with that tongue out of that toad, then?)
Jes' throw it back into de watah.
Entry 1287
Yo' take dis frog an' yo' bake [dry] him in de sunshine an' when he become old - dry-like, yo' powder dat up an' yo' sprinkle dat on dis man when he come 'way.
(Where do you sprinkle it on him?)
Down on his privates - down dere an' when he have connection wit dis woman, well dat dust will git on her an' it will carry her ovahtime. (The wife would do this if this other woman was going to have a child by her husband?) Dat's right.
Entry 1290
Yo' keeps garlic on yo' fo' hoodoo, keep it in yore shoe - that keeps people from hoodooin' yo'.
Entry 1291
If a person have done yo' a little wrong an' yo' have a pain or somepin about chew - see, if anybody have done yo' wrong, why yo' git garlic and beat it up with a little salt an' wear it in yore shoes, an' den it cain't take no 'ffect on yo'.
Entry 1292
If anything dey settin' down fo' yo', yo'll go tuh work an' yo'll take red pod garlic.
(Red pod garlic?)
Uh-hunh, an' yo'll thin it jis' as thin as a slice - thin slice. Yo'll take yo' nine pieces of dat garlic an' yo'll wear dat in yore right shoe with a little slim piece of parsley an' yo'll wear dat in yore shoe an' den yo'll go tuh work an' sprinkle a little steel dust in dere. Dat'll eat up every piece of every- thing yo' got down dere - dat'll pick it up. An' make lak little beads, roun' sliced thin, till yo' git enough to go roun' yore laig, an' yo' kin eithah wear it roun' yore laig or in yore shoe.
Entry 1293
If yo' wanta put a snake in anybody, yo' kin take a snake an' yo' dry him up an' they put him in whiskey aftah they dry up, an' yo' give it to 'em in their glass tuh drink. An' den it's parsley. Yo' let chure parsley set, yo' know, lak if yo' would let somethin' set. Yo' let it set about three days an' den yo' give it to whosomevah yo' wanta give it to tuh drink. An' den in three days dat dust form aigs, an' den in nine days aftah dey become a snake in yo'. Now if yo' wants tuh take dat snake out chew, yo' take garlic an' yo' take parsley an' yo' take peppah - yo' know this horseshoe peppah. Yo' evah saw dat horseshoe peppah? Dey would call it a cayenne. It's in a powder, beat up.
(It has a horseshoe on the box?)
Yeah. [That was a lucky guess!] Yo' would take that parsley an' take de garlic an' cut it up an' yo' boil it - boil all that together an' when it git cold yo' add the peppah into it, an' yo' give it to an individual tuh drink, an' den yo' make 'em pass it up. The live things will come out.
Entry 1294
Ah heard 'em talk 'bout rattlesnake. De rattles of a rattlesnake, yo' take dem an' dry 'em an' if yo' want tuh put snakes in a person, why yo' jes' take an' shake dem in de water bucket or anything dat dey drink, an' de dust from dem rattles will turn tuh rattlesnake in 'em.
(Is there any way of getting those out?)
Yes sir, wit garlic.
(How would you do that?)
Eat it.
(Just eat it and that will bring those things out?)
Yes, sir. [This simplest of remedies comes from a doctor, man.]
Entry 1295
You could use diff'rent stuff. Like if yo' go to de drug store an' tell 'im yo' want yo' some bay rum, den yo' get yo' some garlic, an' yo' get yo' some white onions. An' yo' put all dat in a can an' yo' will boil dat. An' yo' would take a bath with it, an' yo' would tote some of it into yer pocket. An' whenever yo' take de bath in dat, yo' t'row it tuh de way de sun rise. Dat'll keep 'em from doin' yo' bodily hahm [harm].
Entry 1296
Always put gasoline in new shoes before you use them and you can walk over anything.
Entry 1297
Get a billy goat an' keep aroun' yore house an' the ghosts wouldn't worry you.
Entry 1298
Ah've heard of a person writin' a lettah wit blood tuh do yo' some harm...we jes' say fo' instance if yo' were 'fraid of me or somepin lak dat. Dey claim dat if yo' kin git de blood from a goat - yo' kill a goat an' yo' ketch de blood whilst it's runnin', yo' know, hot. yo' see, Yo' take de blood whilst it's runnin' hot an' then yo' would use dat blood to conquer dis person, don't chew see. Yo' take a turkey's quill an' yo' dip it into dis hot blood from a goat...why yo' kill a goat an' yo' ketch dat blood, yo' know, whilst de goat is dying, an' yo' [dip the] quill in dis blood an' yo' write wit dat blood yo' see. It'll conquer yo'.
(What will that do then?)
Dey claim dat dat will conquer anybody that have any evil spirit against chew. Yo' know, yo' afraid of em - jes' lak a woman is afraid of a man, her husband. She left him an' yo' know is afraid of him - afraid he'll do her some bodily harm. They claim dat dis goat blood will vanish away all dat.
Entry 1299
There's two or three diff'rent theories along that line. Now the first theory is - if you think you'll be bothered with the spirit after the deceased is taken away from the house. Why the first thing you do when you come back [from the cemetery], you understand, you git a horseshoe, you see, and take the horseshoe, understand, and nail it workways - just like it goes on a horse's foot, up over the door. And de next day [second theory] is to git a gourd, a green gourd, and holler it out on the inside - see, don't break the shell, jis' cut off the end and hollow it out on the inside, take all de peth out of it, you understand, and hang that up over your bed.
Entry 1300
Gourds, dey keep evil from round yo', de gourds do.
(What do you do with them?)
Plant 'em - jes' plant de seed an' let 'em grow all ovah de fences an' keep 'em, drink watah out of 'em. Dose people all de way back in mah grandparents' time use tuh use dem all de time, an' always lived peaceful an' happy.
Entry 1301
Jes' lak, now, if anyone should poison yo - put snakes in yo' or scorpions or anything inside yo'. Well, that's easy tuh cure. Yo' git chew a gourd, either a dry one or a green one, an' git de guts out of it - it's a very particular thing an' yo' have tuh be very particular with it. An' yo' boil dem guts an' give 'em one tablespoonful - if any kind of poison inside of yo', every bit of it's comin' out. If it's in de foot or de leg, den make a poultice an' it will kill it right in there. Jes' make a poultice out dose guts an' boil 'em - put a little meal with 'em, make a poultice. Dat'll kill dat.
Entry 1302
In case if a person is poisoned, swelled up bad, look like dey 'bout tuh bust and dey poisoned, sickly, swelled as large as a barrel, a hogshead barrel, yo' wants to go git chew a piece of saltpeter and put dat saltpeter in a half glass of water and yo' go an' git yo' some gourds, some green gourds, an' take de entrails out 'em an' boil 'em, and let 'em take a cupful of dat, an' all de worms and things in dere, will throw 'em up. Den yo' wanta release dose parties den - dose parties who did dat. When dey throw de worms up, dey take 'em an' put 'em in a bottle an' stop 'em up airtight and go to de river and throw it ovah yore shoulder. Well, den dem parties go an' jump in de rivah an' drown - kill demselves.
Entry 1303
Well, heahs another good one. Now, it's sech things as evil spirits. If a person luck have been taken away - now, dis is something dat most people dey don't know but it's true. If a fellah's luck have been crossed any way through de witchcraft way, it doesn't make any diff'rent if he's sick or a spell's been cast on him. Yo' kin take a simple thing which is gourd. Yo' take dat gourd an' yo' break it up an' put it into a pot containing saltpeter, sulphur an' salt - cooking salt an' yo' boil dat good. Then yo' take a bath with that. The person take a bath with it but dey don't bathe up - dey bathe down, see. An' after he finish dat, den he takes it to de rivah an' he throw it near de middle of de channel in a running stream of watah, an' dat relieve dat person of dat spell, whatsomevah that may be - crossing of luck or anything, sickness or anything.
Entry 1304
You can take the chamber lye and mix spirits of turpentine with it and then put it on and boil it until it dries up. That'll swell you up. {This bewitched condition, retention of the urine which causes hollering spells, is cured as follows:] You go right out and get one of these old fox grapes - some calls them tangle vines. Cut it off just about as high as your privates. Then you bend it over and put that right into a jar - the piece that's in the ground you bend over and put in the jar - and let stay twenty-four hours. Then, whatever [juice] you find in jar, you take a bath [with it] all over. That'll kill any 'craft [witchcraft] and hoZlering spells.
Entry 1305
Jis' like a mother die an' left her young ones an' they're worried a lot at night - says you kin take a stick an' go to her grave an' broke it acrost the grave an' - you know, jis' hit right acrost the grave an' let the stick broke in half - why that would prevent 'em from botherin' the young ones that night. [See titles Whipping, p.388; Hitting Remedy, p.399, Cure By Breaking, P.389.]
Entry 1306
Jest like I had a mother died or you had a mother died and de spirit you know, de spirit keep worrying you. See, lota people don't believe in it but colored peoples do believe in it. You git chew - you go to de grave and git some of that dirt and sprinkle it around de door and den de spirit won't bother you. Ah believes in it.
(Did you ever try it - did it work?)
Yes, sir - it worked.
Entry 1307
I heard that a spirit came to a woman's house one time and she didn't know how to keep it away and a woman told her to go out in the graveyard and get some fresh dirt off of a grave. She told her to take it and put it in a box and put a hole on top of the box and bury it under your house. She did that and she didn't have any more trouble with this spirit. She said that's what kept him away. That happened down on Vine Street here in town, Hampton, Va., (31), Ed.] had this woman's child and she kinda thought it was this woman [the dead mother] coming back because she had this child.
Entry 1308
Yo' take anyone dat chew wanta die - it's accordin' to whut chew want done - if it's anything yo' want done good - anything dat chew want done good, yo' know a person dat died good, well yo' go to their grave at twelve a'clock at night. When yo' go dere yo' have prayer, see. After yo' have prayer, yo' tell de - yo' talk to dem jes' lak ah'm talkin' to yo', "Ah am takin' dis dirt from yore grave for yo' tuh take care of me. Yo' know, when yo' wus livin' yo' always believed in things that were right. Things is goin' wrong wit me an' now ah want chew to drive away all evil spirits an' bring good things towards me - guide me, lead me. An' ah'll take dis dirt from yore grave dat chew protect from now.on, In Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost." Well when yo' take dis dirt yo' place a dime in dis place an' cover it back ovah. Den yo' take dis dirt. If yo' wanta use it fo' yo' own home affairs, yo' take it an' place it in yore home - see, a secret place.
(What would that do? What is the idea of putting it in your home?)
If it's evil spirits dat cause yo' tuh [be] like unhappy in yore home, dose good spirits will drive dose evil spirits away. Now, if yo' wanta do harm wit dat graveyard dirt, yo' goes to a sinner grave. Yo' go dere to a sinner grave; yo' don't have tuh pray wit a sinner. Yo' go dere an' git dat dirt, yo' go dere an' cuss em. Yo' cuss em jes' like he did - jes' de life dat he lived. Yo' go to his grave an' git it an' act jes' lak ah'm tellin' yo'. Yo' say, "Yo' know yo' raised hell an' made things go jes' yore way. An' now, ah'm comin' heah tuh git dis dirt from yo' tuh make things go mah way: -jes lak yodid when yo wus livin". An git it.
(When you got that graveyard dirt, how could you cause harm with it?)
Well, when yo' go fo' harm yo' go rough. Well, now, jes' lak yo' go git dis dirt, yo' see, yo' know dis person died bad - yo' low his life yo' see, yo' know how he lived. If he was a gambler yo kin git it fo' gamblin', an' if he wus a man dat raise hell an' bring confusion git it fo'that. Well, now, yo' go an' git dat dirt an' throw it on a person do' or steps an' ease it underneat' dere house, see. Well, it penetratin' dere. Yo' can't so well throw it in de yard because dey'll 'scover it, but chew kin put underneat' dere steps where dey transfer over it. De evil spirits will follow 'em all de time an' dey can't live in peace.
Entry 1309
De objec' of de graveyard dust - now, we'll have tuh git dat graveyard dust a sutin [certain] way. Now, yo' gotta pay nine cents. That's, yo' might say, buyin' spirits from de graveyard to perteck yo'. Yo' see whut ah mean. Take nine cents an' carry it to a graveyard, an' go to a pusson who hasn't been dere grave, who hasn't been dead fo' very long, somepin lak two or three yeahs, somepin lak dat. Dat ain't too long. An' go right about midways of their heart of the body - 'bout where dey heart is. Yo' drives it down in dere about eight or ten inches, an' drop that nine cents there and bring up that much dust - see. When yo' bringin' up dat dust, yo' say, "I git chew in de Name of God de Father God de Son, to protect me in all affairs of life." See. Yo' take that an' yo' compose it with that same salt, sulphur an' stuff. That keeps that spirit alive an' full of activity an' vigor - watch fo' him, see.
Entry 1310
Ah hear about dat too an' ah knows of it. But chew have to pay three pennies but chew gotta go to someone's grave dat chew knows well. Jes' lak, yo' know, some of yore family dat's been buried an' yo' go to de head of dis grave an' yo' pay dat dead man or dat dead woman - whoevah yo' knows -.de three cents. An' den yo' take some of de dirt an' den yo' tell dem to give yo' luck, don't let nobody harm yo', an' yo' bring dat graveyard dirt - git a han'ful of de graveyard dirt an' bury it undah yore steps. Bury it undah yore step an' den nobody can't do yo' no harm cause de dead will pertec' yo'.
Entry 1311
Go to the cemetery and go to a sinner-man's grave and right over the middle of his chest and get some of that dirt, and as soon as I kin get it and bring it back home, and mix it up with vinegar and water and make it hard, hard, hard. Let it dry, dry. Divide it into four pieces.
(You cut this into four parts?)
Into four parts, and put one at the front door, one at the back, one this side, and [one] the other side. Can't nobody harm you, nobody come near yuh. (I see. You have some of that on each side of the house.)
Entry 1312
Yo' kin take maybe half a pint of likker or half a dozen aigs an' go to de graveyard, an' right down somewheres on de breast of someone dat yo' knows is buried dere, an' git up some dirt. Put dis down in dere, de aigs or de whiskey.
(How many eggs do you put in?)
Half a dozen.
(Half a dozen and a pint of whiskey do you say?)
Yessuh, tuh pay him tuh take care - tell 'em, "Ah'm payin' yo' tuh take care of de situation." Carry it on back with yo', dis dirt - carry it at chure home. Starts to de right corner of de house an' sow it clean back on round and yo's jes' taken pretty well care of - de house is taken care of.
(What will that do to the house?)
Den yore enemies won't bother yo'.
(You do this to your own house?)
Yessuh, to yore house.
The opening offers half a pint of liquor or half a dozen eggs; the interviewer later combines eggs with a pint of whiskey and receives confirmation. These differences remain unresolved. The quoted payment words are prescribed speech, and the protection claim is source-reported.
Entry 1313
An old lady, she lives out there in [New] Kent [County, Virginia]. I can't call her name now, but she's a dark woman, she's got a daughter name Mattie about chore color, and she goes out to it every thirty days. She goes out to the graveyard and get about, I reckon about a half a pound that dirt. Ev'ry morning she changes that dirt in her shoes - says it keep the evil spirit out. And at nights when she go to bed she sprinkles it all around her door. [My informant, who intended no offense, is merely saying that a dark woman had a daughter name Mattie about as white as anyone could be.]
Entry 1314
Tuh pertec' yoreself why yo' git yo' some graveyard dirt an' some sugah an' mix it togethah an' put it on de stove an' dry it. An' yo' put a little cayenne peppah in. it an' yo' sprinkle a little of that in yore shoe an' roun' cross yore do' facin' lak dat an' that keeps away enemies.
Entry 1315
I wouldn't do nothing but git one penny and carry it to the graveyard and git me some graveyard dirt and tie it up and mark it crosstowmways wit a piece of yallah homespun cloth - tie it dis way and tie it dat way.
(Tie it what way?)
You tie it across like dat [demonstrates]. (Across one way and across the other way.) [Two diagonal ends are brought to the center and tied; then the other two diagonal ends are tied.] Cross it. An' I'll take dat penny and I'll wear it in my shoe fer three days and den I take it and throw it ovahbo'rd. No one will harm yuh, dey can't harm yuh. De only way dey kin harm yo' is dey kin go ovahbo'rd and git dat penny, but dey can't go ovahbo'rd to git dat penny - dey can't harm you no way in de world. [Crosstownways means two city streets crossing at right angles - a cityfied version of a country crossroad. Yallah homespun cloth is normally homespun. YalZah equals unbleached.]
The printed account moves from tying graveyard dirt in cloth to wearing and throwing away the penny. The interviewer and Hyatt's gesture and word explanations remain separate; those explanations do not establish corpus-wide synonyms.
Entry 1316
This woman, she's a frequent visitor to the graveyard. This has been going on for the last twenty-five years [before 1936]. [If] she feels somebody Wants to harm her or prejudice her, she takes this dirt and sprinkles it toward this person.
Entry 1317
Take some graveyard dirt like at [to] the crossroads - you know runnin' ever' which way, and make a cross and put this dirt right in the middle of it and kiver it over and put sulphur in it, and that keeps anybody from crossing you.
(Does what?)
You know, harming you or crossing you in any kind of way.
The informant describes graveyard dirt with sulphur at a crossroads and clarifies the reported protection after the interviewer's question. '[to]' is an editorial insertion within the printed speech.
Entry 1318
I've heard some people say you go to the graveyard and get some dirt from a sinner-man's grave and bring it home, and put that in a box and put a hole in the top and bury that underneath the house, and nothing will come there to hurt you.
The informant begins 'I've heard some people say'. The protection claim remains hearsay, rather than an observed result.
Entry 1319
If a person put anything down fo' yo', well yo' kin take that graveyard dirt an' mix it with some - yo' know whut ah wus tellin' yo', git some saltpeter. Mix it with saltpeter an' sprinkle - jis' sprinkle it in yore house an' that'll do 'way with that.
The informant describes graveyard dirt and saltpeter as a mixture. The conditional removal of something laid down remains a source-reported claim.
Entry 1320
Now, dis thing, when yo' go to this cemetery an' git this dirt, if a person happen tuh bite chew or anything, jes' take dis dirt an' put it on dis place an' it will rot out dere teeth. [The usual rite to rot teeth of a person biting you demands chicken manure (No. 1189f., p.428); less usual, chicken egg, No.1193f., p.429.]
The informant describes cemetery dirt and a claimed effect on a biter's teeth. Hyatt's following comparison with chicken manure and egg rites is separate editorial commentary, not a statement by the informant.
Entry 1321
Yo' kin take a dime an' put it round yore laig, an' yo' take some graveyard dirt an' sulphur an' red peppah seed an' wear it in yore shoes, an' yo' kin walk ovah it [hoodoo] an' it won't harm yo'.
The informant describes graveyard dirt as one ingredient alongside sulphur and red pepper seed. The bracketed word '[hoodoo]' is an editorial identification within the printed speech; the protection claim is reported.
Entry 1322
If somebody have done put down somepin fo' 'em, dey go in de graveyard an' git a little dirt an' rub on de spot - git ever'thing straightened out, git well agin.
(You say if they are poisoned inside?)
No sir, jes' lak a snake bit 'em, see. Dey kin go out dere an' git a little bit of dat dirt an' rub on it. Dat kill it.
Entry 1323
Ah heard dat a fellah was supposed to be a professional in dat kind of thing. He would take dat dirt if yo' in trouble - he'd go to de graveyard an' git it out of de north end of - yo' know de graves be's mostly east an' west. Well, de north side what ah would mean to say.
(of the grave.)
Of de grave. Reach down - jest go down an' git - put chure han' way down, even if yo' don't git clean to de body. But dey say yo' must go to yore elbow an' git dat dirt, an' save it till it come to - if it's dry sand, an' if yo' in trouble or want to git 'way from yore enemies, yo' hold dat an' let de wind blow north direction an' dat will free yo' of dat trouble - wit dat graveyard dirt.
(You just hold that dry sand.)
Jest hold it out an' let de wind take it away yo' see. (The wind blowing north. And where do you hold this - out at the cemetery or when you get home?) After yo' git home. Yo' see yo' take dat 'way from de cemetery.
Entry 1324
Take de gun an' take de shots out, an' shoot de powder off roun' de house in de mawnin'. Say dat would keep de things away - keep de hants away.
Entry 1326
Jis' lak if somebody got a spell on me or yo' an' yo' wanta git it offa there, yo' understan'. Yo' kin jis' take dat gunpowder, dat black gunpowder. Ah think it's a number seven - seven-'leven somepin such. But anyhow, de black powder. Spread it on a papah an' po' yo' 'bout a teaspoonful of turpentine on it an' light de papah, an' when de papah git up to de powder de powder will blaze up. An' whosomevah put dat spell on yo', it will jump offa yo' back on dem. (Don't you put anything else on that paper besides that?) [I was probably thinking of a name or incantation. Intention would be sufficient.] Nuthin but de gunpowder an' turpentine.
Entry 1327
You drink gunpowder and whiskey. They say that's good to keep 'em from hurting you. See, gunpowder makes you cross and that will keep the witchcraft work from hurting you. [Whiskey makes?]
Entry 1328
He used black gunpowder, and ah know ah was chafed in here and he tole me, he says, "I'm goin' fix you up something," says, "and I'm goin' tell you what I'm goin' put in it and then I'm going let you see." He says, "Now, you get me a half pint of whiskey." And I got the whiskey and carried it to him. He says, "Now, you see this ain't anything but black gunpowder." And he took that gun- powder and emptied the gunpowder into the whiskey and he shook it up right well, and he anointed me down there and all the way across and then, after that - after he anointed me, he gave me a little bag and he had asafitidee, bluestone and gun- powder in de bag. He said, "Now, you wear this bag next to your skin." And ah took the bag and ah put it on me. And, he says, '"And every morning and every evening," he say, "you anoint yourself with this gunpowder and whiskey." And I used this gunpowder and whiskey. And he says, "And you husband - you goin' get rid of your husband." And he was going to kill my husband for me and I didn't know it, you know, with this little bag he give me to wear. And so after mah husband got sick and stayed sick so long - you know how you kin just dream things. In fact, don't nothing else. I always dream things. And I just saw where my husband going to die, and something told me to pull that bag off and throw it in some running water. And I did, and after I throwed the bag away, then my husband got well. But that gunpowder and whiskey forever kept me from chafing and I haven't never chafed since.
(What caused the chafing?)
I don't know. I imagine just perspire or something - don't know what it was.
(Do you think that somebody did something to you for the chafing or what?)
Ah didn't know - that's why I went to somebody that I thought would know.
(I see. You went to a root doctor?)
Ah think so.
Entry 1329
Yo' kin take a young hick'ry dat grownin', lak yo' see in de spring, yo' see. An' it's jes' grownin' up good an' yo' say, "Well" - supposed mah name John." "Now, ah want John tuh go down, keep his haid down, keep outa mah business anyway." Twist dat limb - twist it until ah could, so ah could tie it. Den ah tie it - jes' lak ah tie a string an' den jerk it an' den stick de point of it in de ground an' don' look back an' go out 'bout chure business. An' he'll git out of yore business.
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.