Browse:HANDS: MAGIC HELPERS (Volume 1, entries 1704–2402)/Part 5
HANDS: MAGIC HELPERS
Volume 1, entries 1704–2402. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 2024
Ah uses Jockey Club perfume an' Oil of bergamine [bergamot] an' den ah burns incense and make a wish, whenevah ah'm goin' out, yo' know, tuh gamble.
(What do you do with the Jockey Club perfume and bergamine - mix it together?)
Ah mix it together an' ah 'noints it roun' mah ears see, an' up undah mah arm in de palm of mah hand an' rubs an' ah makes a wish.
Entry 2025
[The last name, John the Conqueror Root, is never used - it is given here to explain the preceding three. john de Conker is the usual name. King of the World (No. 1352, p.455) and other names are sometimes used. What is John de Conker root? Like goofer dust (p.222), John de Conker can be many things. Act- ually, it is a mythical, at least a very uncertain, root, identified differently according to various per- sons in the root-selling business or according to the particular root worker who digs his own. Few root men during my collecting days dug their own.] An' den when yo' wanta git money, she tole me a way, too, tuh git money - dat yo' go to work an' go in de swamp and git what chew call a man ruler root. Take dat root an' it got joints in it lak yo' finger. [Some- one somewhere else speaks about these joints.] Yo' take dat when yo' go to a fellah tuh make a trade wid him or either buy anything, yo' bit off a piece 'fore yo' git dere, one joint, measure it wit chure finger, de joint of yore finger, an' bite it off right dere at dat joint, and yo' chew it up an' be spittin' as yo' talk to 'em, right down on de ground where yo' kin spit. See. An' he comin' yo' way. Now why ah believe dat - hit works in love too, cause one time a man's wife quit him and he got a pice of dis John Ruler Root - no, it's Conker - Man de Conker - see, John de Conker - but dat's de same thing, John de Conker Root. Well he goes tuh work then an' bit dat off and was standing up talking to his wife an' ast her did she wanta come back to him. Well he had never, yo' know, went to chewing it. She say, "No." And dat time he went to chewin' an' spittin' and said, "What objection yo' have to not comin' back tuh me?" An' she say, "Well, yo' won't treat me right." An' he spitted 'bout two or three times, see, an' say, "Well, kiss me." An' she say, "Well, ah kin kiss yo' but ah ain't goin' back to yo'." An' she kissed him. An' 'fore dat man left dere she went back home wit him. An' dat's right - wit dat High John de Conker root.
Entry 2026
Well, yo' git dis John de Conker an' put it in yore pocket an' while yo's - yo' go to yore bossman an' yo' stand an' talk with yore bossman, an' have dat John de Conker in yore pocket an' keep yore han's on it. While yo' talkin' to him, yo' know he wouldn't pay yo' no min' anyhow, yo' jis' pattin' lak dat. An' yo'll git de job. Mah husban' did dat.
(You take your hands out of your pocket while you are patting it, don't you?)
Yeah, keep yore han' out chure pocket. Mah husban' he did that an' he wus out of a job an' couldn't git nuthin an' a man sold us a quarter's worth of dis John de Conker, an' he went tuh de bossman an' wus talkin' wit him an' de bossman turnt off a boy an' gave him a job.
Entry 2027
Yes, I've heard that, too. I've heard 'em say if they get John de Conquer - some High John de Conker and there's Low John de Conker - and they say if you kin get High John de Conker and go anywhere to the boss to get a job, they put it in their mouth and chew it and spit, and walk up and talk to this boss and spit around, say if there airy job anywhere there' the boss is goin' to hire you.
Entry 2028
Called John de Conker. Now yo' kin take that root an' put it in yore mouth an' when yo' walk in de room, when yo' come in de co'thouse an' yo' first cross de do', yo' jes' spit in dere. Ev'ry do' yo' pass by yo jes' spit dere, spit dat John de Conker root, spit it. An' when they call yo' up there to the judge, an' tell yo' tuh take the witness chair, well, when yo' spit out, yo' spit ovah there in that cuspidor most. An' they be done turn yo' loose.
Entry 2029
If you wanta conker a white man, or you know, like any business, want him to do a favor for you or borrow money from you [him], say you just get some of that John de Conker root, they say, and chew it and spit - spit all around him. Now, here, just like if you spittin' - and say you spittin' nine times. They say you'll get any amount of money from him that you want to.
Entry 2030
You kin get some John de Conker and chew dat John de Conker when you go to de man, jes' like you wanta go to look for a job, you kin get dat John de Conker - well, you know what John de Conker is, don't you? You take dat John de Conker and you chew it and when you go to de man talking to him, you chew dat John de Conker and look him right in de eyes like this. And have some Heart's. Cologne on a pocket han'chief and when you talking, spread dat out and he'll give you a job.
Entry 2031
Tuh git de bossman tuh five yo' a job - lak if yo' should go to de man lak heah tonight. Yo' git some Heart Perfume an' have it fixed with High John de Conker root, yo' see. Git chew some High John de Conker an' chip it up - beat it up fine an' Heart Powders, see, an' some of yore pee in dat. See. Beat it up an' jes' have it beat up re'l good an' fine. Den take it an' have it in yore han'cheff when yo' walk in an' yo' shake de han'cheff lak dat, an' yo' walk up there to him an' yo' shake it three times, an' yo' ask him fo' a job an' he'll tell yo', "Wait a minute, ah'll start yo' directly, son."
Entry 2032
John de Conker - yo' put that in with Hearts Cologne. Hit'll git soft an' when hit git soft hit ready fo' de work.
(Well, if it doesn't get soft?)
Long as hit won't git soft it's no way fo' yo' tuh turn dat to yo'. Well, if dat git soft an' yo' take it, an' it won't git hard any mo fo' de month. Long as dat case is dangerous it stay right dere. But when yo' see de hollow of it git hollow, it's a doubtful case fo' yo' - no hopes fo' yo'.
(When that is soft - what do you do with that root now?)
When it git soft jes' put it in yore pocket, in yore pants pocket, an' while yo' be talkin' to de judge, be rubbin' it, mashin' on it. John de Conker it conquers anything yo' go up to.
Entry 2033
Now, I know a man and he got out of a job. He was out of a job for over a year and he got some High John de Conker and put it in some Hearts Perfume and heli'trope perfume and saturated hisself right good and went 'fore dis man. Well, when he usu'lly used to go dere the man wouldn't talk to him. So he made his wishes as he came out de door what he wants to happen. "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, I'm going before my boss for a job, hoping that I be successful." Well, when he got there the boss walked up and shook his hand and said, "Walter, you huntin' fer a job?" He said, "Yeah." He said, "You ought been back long time ago." And give him his same job back, which he had knocked him off.
Entry 2034
High John de Conker root is fo' gamblin'. Yo' kin take it if yo' want tuh be lucky an' successful in gamblin' an' yo' could put it in a small glass an' po' some whiskey on it fo' about fo' or five days. An' if yo' let it stay dere de fo'th day an' de sixth day, yo' take de High John de Conker root out an' yo' bite off de tip end of it an' turn to de sunrise an' make yore wishes. An' yo' go tuh de game an' yo begin tuh gamble an' yo' begin tuh win. An' if yo' want 'em tuh lose - if a person want a man tuh lose all of his money, he wanta be lucky in gittin' all of his money, he git him a box of salt any time de day of de cards an' he take some of dat salt an' sprinkle it on his back. He'll lose his money. (And that other thing about biting off that end of John the Conquer. What do you do when you bite that off?) You chew that up.
Entry 2035
Well, yo' go - dere's a High John de Conker, yo' kin dig it out de woods, High John de Conker root. Yo' dig dat out de woods. An' if yo' can't dig it, yo' kin order it - High John de Conker. Yo' take that an' yo' sleep with dat undah yore haid nine nights an' yo' put dat in yore pocket, an' when yo' go to skin game, yo' jes' rub yore han' lak dat onto it, onto de flesh an' make yo' wishes, an' dey tell me yo'll win lak anything.
(You just rub your hands over that root?)
Yeah, jes' rub yore han's ovah this root an' yo'll win lak anything.
Entry 2036
Fo' gamblin' yo' kin git chew John de Conker - dat's a root. Git de he one an' git de she one. Yo' git chew some oil of verbena, yo' git chew some van-van - de perfume kind, not de oil kind. Yo' git chew some Jockey Club an' yo' git chew some lodestone, any silver dime, an' yo' take those things an' yo' make yo' a little bag an' sew it up in dere, an' wear it aroun' yo' fo' yore luck in gamblin'.
Entry 2037
Some woman said she - it's some kinda oil, but dey said dey takes it an' grease it round de ear an' under de palm of dere foot. John de Conker's oil, dat's whut it is. Behin' de ear an' undah de bottom of dey foot an' dey say regardless to whut chew gon'a do, dey won't turn yo' down.
(If you are hunting a job.)
Entry 2038
(What could I do to keep the law away?)
Go an' git yo' some John de Conker. Yo' could git it in liquid or yo' kin git it in pieces. Yo' kin take John de Conker, if yo' wants to keep him away. Pull off yore own shoe every mornin', dip yo' own finger in it three times and place it under yore feet, an' rub it back of yore own ear three times, an' yo' won't have no trouble with the law.
Entry 2039
Dey goes out dere long about twelve. (Where do they go?) To de fo'ks of de road 'bout twelve or one a'clock in de night an' git some sand right out de fo'ks of de road an' carry it an' put it in a bag an' wrop it up an' put it ovah yore mantlepiece. Go tuh de graveyard an' run yore arm in de cemetery to yo' elbows an' git some dirt an' sew it up wit dat. An' dat'ud [that would] make yo' lucky - good a jomo as yo' want.
(That's luck for anything - luck in the home.)
Yes, sir - yes sir.
Entry 2040
[Here is a hand which bears a price and also a moral - perhaps I should say magic - obligation.] Yo' kin take graveyard dirt for gamblin'. Yo' go to a grave at twelve a'clock at night - when de clock strikin' twelve yo' go an' git some dirt at de front, right 'long about de breast. Yo' bring it back home an' drop nine drops of vine- gar on dat graveyard dirt, but let it be a fresh [new] grave - use apple vinegar. Jes' drop nine drops on dere when yo bring it back home. Den yo' take a lil bit of sulphur, jes' pinch of sulphur an' put it in dere. Take it den an' put it in a papah an' tie - yo' can't work wit dat dirt right away, yo' ties it tight an' lays it up somewhere an' let it stay till dat dirt dry out real good. Well, when it dry out good, den yo' kin rub dat to a powder. Den take it an' jes' keep it an' ever' time yo' go tuh fix up anything, or tuh give a person a joomoo, jes' take some of dat an' put in it. But let it be not as a person dat chew know as a christian - let it be a real gambler or some wicked man, where yo' gittin' dis dirt off de person. An' ever' time yo' fix up a joomoo for a person, put some of dat in it - dat's whut chew call de Conker, High John de Conker.
(In fixing this joomoo for gambling...what else would you put in this thing?)
Well, yo' goes in de woods an' yo' gits some stuff called Eve an' Adam, an' dere 'nothah root dey call High John de Conker, and lodestone.
(Lodestone?)
Yeah. Yo' take jes' a pinch of dat an' put in it, dat's good fo' he'p [help]. Dat's jes' nuthin but lodestone, no joomoo atall - jes' a piece of lodestone. Yo' take a piece of dat an' put in it, an' dis stuff dey call Eve an' Adam, jes' a piece of hit, an' a piece of High John de Conker an' dis graveyard dirt.
(You take those things all mixed up?)
Dat's right, an' yo' sew it up in a piece of red flannel an' give it to a person, an' tell 'em tuh go 'head on an' ever' time dey makes $500 - be sho' an' give 'em de understandin' ever' time dey make $500 - to give some ole person dat unable tuh work fo' deyself, $5. Jes' give it to dem or buy 'em anothah present. Only it works best if yo' give 'em $5.
Entry 2041
Last February, a year ago [1936] he was in New York. Well, he used to write often and he used to send me money. Well he got so he stopped writing and he stopped sending me any money. So one night I got down and prayed and after I got up off my knees, I thought about the old tale I had heard. Go to the keyhole and put your mouth to the keyhole right up there and call him for nine times and tell him what you Want him to know. And it wasn't two days 'fore I got a letter and ten dollars from him. Simple things, you see, lotsa times does good.
[Later he returned home.]
If he stayed out later than I want him to stay.
(Oh, at night. I see. Then what would you do?)
Nothing but git right on my knees at that keyhole and call him nine times through dat keyhole. Say like dis, "In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, Purcell, come home to me at once." He comes, and when he comes here sometimes he say, "Honey, I'm worried to death - couldn't get chere fast enough." [Cf. margin-title Knothole, later.]
Entry 2042
If yo' got some enemies an' they worry yo' an' yo' wanta be friends with them, yo' take dis heah de King of de Woods. Dey call it King of de Woods an' put it in a bag an' take an' put some John de Conker in de bag with it, an' wrap a piece of papah dat yo' keep de [person's] name on in de bag with it.
(After you put these things in the bag, what happens then?)
Dey'll commence bein' friends to yo'.
Entry 2043
They use John de Conker and they uses King of the World too - they have that in a powder too, and then they use dragon's blood and Queen Elizabeth root. They have all that in powder and they say if you sprinkle round their door, ain't no law coming there.... You uses this High John de Conker and uses the Black Marster and: you use the King of the World. The King of the World is wonnerful - it does so many things. And then you uses some kind of powder - they say this powder - something - Queen Elizabeth. And then you kin take this powder she says and that [John de Conker] and you uses it, and also go to their house and say and jest sprinkle, sprinkle this around. And says fin'lly they comes to be friendly with you if it's an enemy. And say if they got anything, say, they come back to you so undermined-like, and while you find what you were looking for before, because they done brought it back, she say. But this Kina Of the World they say that helps you in everything. It changes your mind, High John de Conker.
Entry 2044
Dey got a root dey call - well, dis root dey call de kina-snake root. Dey takes dat an' wears it. An' den dey gits this other thing dey call - dey burn it in de house - incense, burn it in de fo' corner of de house. Dat will gain yo' customers.
Entry 2045
Dragon's blood and High John de Conker and a little bit of devil's- shoestring and five-finger grass, Adam-and-Eve, King Solomon Root - put that all together. (That's the charm that will get you a job.) That's a charm works about five or six diff'rent ways.
(What else will that charm do?)
It will hold your job and people will like you a great deal, and then people that have been enmity against you will be more friendly to you. And you see, then it makes you very lucky in coming in contacts.
Entry 2046
I know of a man and his wife had a misunderstanding, and the man he decided that.he was going to leave home. He didn't want to strike his wife, so for that cause he left her alone. He went away and stayed a long, long time. So after awhile he stayed so long somebody asked his wife as to the whereabouts of her husband. And she said, "My husband has been gone quite a good while. Where he is I am unable to say." This was a very old-aged person that was talking to this woman. So she says to her, "Child, come to my house tomorrow and I will tell you something that will do you good." So the next day came and this girl went to this woman's home. The old lady she set down and began to talk. She said, "Now, Anna, when you go home, I want you to search your home and see if you can find a knothole in your home. And if you do find it, you take your pencil and mark all around this hole. And after doing that, every morning for nine mornings go to this hole and call your husband by name. On the ninth morning tell him that you means what you say - you want him to come home. And he will come." So it was done and he really came. [Cf. preceding margin-title Keyhole.]
Entry 2047
Now, Jest lak if yo' goin' tuh have a trial in co't. They tell me yo' tie nine knots in - tie a knot each morning fo' nine mornings befo' de trial is tuh come up - a big case yo know. Well, each morning yo' tie a knot an' yo' say, "Let me win dis case," 'long lak dat chew know fo' nine mornings. An' each morning why yo' dip this string into de Hearts Perfume an' yo' tie that round yore waist. An' more den likely yo' will win yore case - a big case dat's in de big co't.
Entry 2048
Dis wus a man dat wus buried in de undertaker [was at undertaker's place]. An' she took a long string an' she wet dat an' measured dis man from his haid tuh his toes, see. Den she, yo' know, jes' fold dat string up tuhwards her an' tied nine knots in it, an' she wear dat round her waist. She had dat round her waist when she died an' she tole de wumman tuh take it off. [Auto horn.] Well, she turned round den an' she measured [horn] a live man - see, jest lak yo'd be lyin' down an' somebody come in dere an' measure yo' an' she done hit de same way. An' now you talk about lucky woman - she wus lucky a wumman as ah evah seen in mah life.
(What did she do with the other string then?)
She wear both them strings.
(She measured the live man from his head to his feet?)
Yes sir, an' de dead man from his head to his feet. Ah wus scared tuh do it, you see. And she kept it. An' she tole a wumman befo' she died - if she died first, fo' her to come an' git her strings offa her. She took it off her. So ah went down dere an' ah ast her did she git it off her an' she say, "Yes." She had done it.
Entry 2049
Way ah heard a story - ah heard dat if yo' got a man an' he run out, yo' git chew a string an' git a piece of his underpiece, drawers or anything lak dat, an' yo' take an' tie nine knots in de string an' yo' take an' sew dis piece onto dis string an' wear it round her waist. Dat'll keep him dere.
(You don't do anything with that string first?)
No, don't do anything with it.
Entry 2050
Ah heard agin if yo' got a man an' yo' love him - see, yo' could take an' mess wit him an' tie him up in nine knots an' he couldn't mess wit no one else but chew.
(What would you tie the nine knots in?)
In a towel or a new piece of yellah homespun.
Entry 2051
A stockin' - yo' kin take a stockin' an' yo' kin tie a knot in that stockin'. Say, now, if yo' got business out there an' ah won't want yo' to run that business an' ah wanta put chew outa there, ah kin tie that knot in that stockin' an' draw it right tight an' ah kin take that stockin' and conceal that stockin' into the dark - in a dark place. An' every time - well, say, every three hours ah kin go to that stockin' an' draw that knot a little tighter, see. An' as ah draw that knot yo'll begin tuh draw outa that place. Yo'll git so worried an' everything will go wrong with yo', yo' can't be no success. Yo'll leave outa there.
(Whose stocking will you use?)
Well, any ole stockin' at all - jest so it's an ole stockin'. (And you conceal it in your own house.) [I am repeating what he said after I had turned off the machine.]
Entry 2052
A root doctor tole me dat if anybody was trying to harm you in any Way - like telling de police to come to yore house and different things or you in some kind of a business - you could go in de woods and ketch a black snake. Ketch him and yo' skin it - kill him and skin right there while he alive, and take that wet skin and you tie it in a bowknot and you take it home, and you sleep with it under yore pillah always. Don't ever move it from undah yore pillah. Even when you change beds let it stay right in the same spot - let it stay dere no matter how stinking it gits, let it stay dere. De law would even come at yo' doorstep but he never would wanta come in. [Jacksonville, Fla., (562), 699:5.]
[For more knots, see Spirit Caught in Knot, p.389f., and Index.]
Entry 2053
Now, many people have used this partic'lar thing. If they have a job and - say they like it, like this job. They get 'em a piece of John de Conker root, piece of ladyfinger root, and a small piece of lode- stone. [Three ingredients.] It's not very good to use lodestone if you don't know how to use it. You use a very small piece about de size, I'd say, of a large-sized butter bean I think. You put these together with a few drops of oil of cinnamon - say about three drops. And you make of them - they call it a toby. You've heard of people saying they tote a tobu. Well. that's what they are talking about. And you carry that in your pocket - if it's a man he carries it in his pants pocket; if it's a woman she carries it somewhere on her person, where you kin always keep it. Well, every morning fo' nine mornings, drop a drop of oil of cinnamon and jest a little perfume - you see, the perfume on it jes' to rid the odor of the cinnamon. People gen'rally think when you got cinnamon, you got a toothache - it's used for somethin' like that. Well, you put that perfume on there...jes' you're using this on the job. You know people have to use this on the job to impress people. [Ladyfinger may be a variety of red pepper.]
Entry 2054
You almost hooked you onto a wife over to de country somewhere - she done quit you and you want her to come back. Now, if you write a person, dey can't do nuthin with your handwritin'. But you kin write yo' wife you want her to come, if she done tell you she won't come, and den you go to a hoodoo and write a letter and give it to him and let him dress dat letter, and when she git it, de minute she git dat letter and open it, her mind falls on you. Well, dere ain't nuthin in de world den but to come home, 'cause he done fixed dat letter, see.
Entry 2055
From a lightnin'-struck tree yo' kin take a splin- ter an' go 'head an' boil it, an' put it in whiskey or somepin lak dat. An' dere any girl or somepin othah yo' love an' give her some of dat whiskey, dat will bring her to yo' - 'cause dat's fiah, bring her to yo'. [Hands also in margin-title Wood (2) Struck by Light- ning, p.514f.]
Entry 2056
Git a piece of dis common lily dat grows in de yard an' a lil piece of red cloth an' a silver dime an' sew it up together an' yo' always [have] somepin. An' yo' always have money an' luck.
Entry 2057
[The best known of living hands is the toadfrog, but there are more - chicken, louse (human), snake and others.] Git chew nine - git chew nine red ants, put them in a red bag, use them fo' luck. Go to de red ant hole an' yo' git chew nine red ants. It's luckier tuh git 'em as dey come out de hole. Yo' set there an' ketch yo' nine. Ketch yo' nine red ants an' sew 'em up in there live. That'll make yo' luck fo' anything - yo' jis' be lucky in gamblin', anything lak dat.
Entry 2058
Use Hearts Cologne an' lodestone fo' luck. Well, yo' take yore Hearts Cologne. Take yore lodestone an' jes' sew it up in a piece of flannel. Yo' feed that lodestone with that Hearts Cologne. That's for luck. [This is a simple lodestone hand - nothing else in the bag.]
Entry 2059
To make yo' keep a job after yo've got it. Dey tell me yo' kin git chew some - somepin dey call lodestone. Yo' orders it from a book. Yo' kin git dat an' git some sulphur an' bluestone an' mix dat all up together fine, an' take yo' a new piece of cloth an' sew it up in dere good an' wear it round yore waist or anywhere on yo. Keep it damp wit Heart Cologne. Say dat keep de police out
Entry 2060
Buy yo' some live lodestone, put it in a cloth, a red cloth, sew it up wit black thread. Yo' go put it on yore body. Den yo' go down an' ah ask yo', "Mister, will yo' give me a job?" Yo' say, "Well, ah might not have a job fo' yo' tuhday, but chew kin come back tomorrah."
Entry 2061
Have yo' a little piece of live lodestone an' we call it blue oil in a little bottle about like dat. Take dat blue oil an' po' it by itself in a little bottle an' put dis lodestone in a bottle by itself. Well now, when yo' start out to seek a job, take out a little piece of dat lodestone from dat oil an' po' some of dat blue oil on it an' rub it good, dry it off, take dat wit chew in yore pocket. Well now, wherevah yo' go yo' may not be successful de first time, but dey say in de second-third trip yo' get a job by yo' comin' back an' taking dis lodestone from dis, everything, cleanin' it off good an' droppin' it back in dat bottle to itself. Ah've seen men order such things.
Entry 2062
(This lodestone grows, you say?)
It grows with oil - I mean with hair on it. That lodestone don't grow no bigger, but the hair grow on it - just like hair growing on my face.
Entry 2063
Ah've heard tell of 'em using lodestone. Lodestone is supposed to be a drawing power with yore money. Yo' place it with yore money an' yo' wear it round yore waist with a dime or any silver piece of money. Yo' put dat lode- stone around yore waist an' wear it an' it will bring yo' luck - yo'll always have money.
Entry 2064
You take some lodestone powder, tie it in a bag 'bout: like a 'bacco sack and put it right behin' your door - right behind your door and the people that draws 'em - you see, that brings them. (Draws the trade?) Draws the trade - come in all de time, people dat be coming in back and forth all de time.
Entry 2065
I mean you get some lodestone like dust, carry de lodestone in a little bag. You get [can buy] dat already sewed up in a little bag: Get chew a bottle of perfume - Hearts Cologne. Well you feed dat bag and whenever you go to a man fer a job, when you talk with the man, you just squeeze on de bag while you talk- ing to him and you see, when you squeeze on it all dat perfume go in his face, and you give him a look. He'll say, "You want a job?" 'Yes, sir." "You not working?" "No, sir." Without fooling around he will give you a job. Man don't need have anything but that tote [toby] in your pocket.
Entry 2066
Yo' kin fix yo' a lucky han' fo' tuh gamble with. High John is good tuh conker. Yo' kin fix a good lucky han' tuh gamble wit. It'll work wit it. (What do you do, just put High John in this or what?) Put some lodestone. Dey got several kinds, white an' black-lookin' lodestone. Be sho' it's lodestone an' git John de Conker an' put it in yore pocket, an' if yore playin' cards, dere ain't no harm in yore han' in yore pocket ever' once in a while.
Entry 2067
Dey throw salt an' sech as that behin', yo' know, an' burn incense. Dey use graveyard dirt - mixes graveyard dirt an' git a sewin' needle an' break dat all up an' black lodestone, an' dey makes tobies from dat. Well, yo' git a piece of flannel, yo' know, red flannel an' break dat lodestone, crumble it up, an' take de needle an' break dat up an' sew dat up an' put a little perfume in dere. A man dey always say, carry dat in his left pocket. Dat'll keep lucky - dat'll keep him an' his wife on good terms.
(And it's very lucky to do what?)
Burn incense.
(Where?)
In de right corner of yore house, or eithah underneat' yore bed - burn it all night. We giner'lly burn it all night undah de beds.
Entry 2068
In gambling, you wanta have luck in gambling, you got to - of course, you can go to church and make your wishes there for anything you want. I have did it and I was successful too. And now like you wanta be lucky in gambling, you go to a drug store wherever you can find - you get you a piece of John the Conker Root. You get some John Conker Oil and the root. You take this root, you put it in a bottle, you pour this oil on it. You get you a piece - if you are a man and wanta gamble, you get you a piece of she lodestone and you get some per- fume and pour on this lodestone and that'll make life in it. What I mean by, by it make life in it - it would make a lodestone as thick as this key [she shows] when you pour that perfume on there. It will grow and little spangles come out all around it, but you gotta keep it corked up good.
(Little spangles. Little hairs?)
Yeah, that what it do. That's the life in it. And if you are a man and you gamble, you use she lodestone. If I would gamble, I would use he lodestone. I would get the he Conker Root and you should get the she Conker Root. But now when you go on gamblin' and you come home, you always take it out of your pocket and put it in the bottle and shut it up, where the oil won't evaporate. And when you go on out you can take a piece of that Conker Root and chew it and spit it around whenever you gamble on the floor and you will be lucky.
Entry 2069
Dis here magnify lodestone [magnetized?], that will create chure busi- ness, make yore business more greater. Yo' know dere's two diff'rent kinds of stone an' dere's some lodestone that ain't magnify lodestone, which de magnify lodestone whut chew call a he an' a she - dere's two points of it, dere's a she an' a he. Yo' kin take dat'un [that one] an' set it in yore room an' hit will increase your business more greater 'an anything yo' mostly ever had. Ah've used it and ah've seen other people use it. (You mean this piece of lodestone is both he and she, or are there two differ- ent pieces?) Two different pieces but dere's a he an' a she in 'em.
(Magnifying lodestone?)
A magnify. Dere's lodestone but dis heah magnify lodestone is a whole lot better. Ah've got heah magnify lodestone now, with me now. Course whenever it's died down ah creates it up.
(How do you do that?)
Ah creates it up by giving it some whiskey - put on it. Ah'm gittin' 'long all right. Whensomever ah don't use whiskey on it for say, three-four weeks, why it goes down on me. Ah kin tell de change of it. But yo' kin take dese magnify lodestone an put it in dis building heah, a piece about so size [demonstrates].
(You wrap it up in a piece of rag?)
Yeah, jest about dat size.
(Only this little piece?) [The piece he held.]
Yeah take a little piece - don't care how big it is - yo' take an' put it in dis building [Negro hotel in which I was Working] yo'll cultivate more business. Yore business will be more greater. Why ah happened tuh write to dis fellah, ah had a friend an' mah friend he got in touch wit dis man by name of Johnny. He got in touch wit dis man an' ah wrote to him. He give me dat address an' ah wrote to him. When ah wrote to him he give me an answer back. An' after he give me an answer back, then ah wrote back to him an' then he sont me - he sont me this lodestone.
(Where did this man live?)
In New York [City]. An' he sent me lodestone an' he tole me how to handle it - what to do fo' it. An' ah did it an' ah has had very good luck.
(What did he tell you to do for it?)
Tole me to put de magnifying lodestone in it [sack] an' put one ten-cents with it - one ten-cent piece with it.
(You put whiskey with it?)
Put whiskey with it an' then put a dime with it.
(How long did this stone last you?)
Well, ah've it yet. Ah've got it continuing yet.
(If the stone sort of got weak, then you were told to?)
Put whiskey with it. Feed it, feed it and keep afeeding it.
Entry 2070
Yassuh, ah experienced dat. De way yo' do, yo' git chew a piece of John de Conker root and a piece of de devil's-shoestring and a piece of lode- stone. Dere two kind of lodestone, de male lodestone and de female lodestone. Git chew two pieces of dat lodestone.
(The male or the female?)
A piece of each, yassuh, an' put 'em in yore pocket. Put 'em.in yore pocket or pocketbook, anything - in yo' shirt pocket, coat pocket, anything jes' since yo' got 'em about chure person. An' dat John de Conker root, yo' jes' chew dat root and jes' ack likes it's 'bacco and be jes' chewing - chewing it an' talkin'. If it's any kinda job, yo'll git it.
Entry 2071
When you got a case or something like that and you want to get dis- charged, well you go and use a thing they call lodestone - it's two pieces, it's the he one and a she one. Take and wrap it up in a dollar.
(In a what?)
Take and wrap it up in a paper dollar.
(Paper doll?)
Paper dollar.
(Paper dollar? Oh, a dollar bill.)
Yes, a dollar bill - one dollar bill, and you wrap it up in there and you keep it in your pocket, and when you go - well, when they call you up there in front of the court, well they going to throw it out - they just going to tell you - throw it clean out of the court.
(Well, which piece of this lodestone do you use in that dollar?)
You uses two pieces - it's the he lodestone and it's the she lodestone, it's black lodestone and a white lodestone.
(Which is the black?)
It's got fringes on it just like iron rust. You see iron rust on a old piece of tin. Well, it thataway when you knock that dust off of there.
(Well, is the black the he or the she....? What color is the he lodestone?)
It's white.
(What color is the she?)
It's black. It's got kind of a nose - kind of a tip on the end of it.
(Which one?)
The black.
(Which one did you put in this dollar?)
You put both of 'em. You make two folds with that dollar and you fold it up. You put one just like that and you make another fold, you put that other piece, and you bend the four corners of it together. Then you take this and you put it in your pocket and you keep it and you go up there. Every time you go up there they discharge you or either throw it out, say you come the next day or somepin.
Entry 2072
You kin fix that yourself, far as I know. I have did it and I know it holped me out, 'cause I was selling whiskey and I used it. Now, you take the John the Conker and a little lodestone, that is [if] you kin get hold of a piece, a lady piece, and make you something like a toby - just sew it up in a piece of flannel with silver in it. They sav vou use a silver dime and you keep it damp with alcohol. Keep it damp with alcohol all the time and put it up over your door where your customers come in at. Then that will draw plenty of customers. One will bring the other and everyone pays his own way, and they'll be back again - everyone.
Entry 2073
[This hand is in two parts, each coming from a different community.]
[Here is the first version:]
A man told me that he went to dig up a woman one night, and before he got tc open it [the coffin] he got scared. And the man was a cripple man and walked with a crutch, and he was about drunk; and when he got there he took another drink and got scared - a whirlwind came on the graveyard and scared him to death. He said he run a mile before he ever stopped running. And when he stopped running he forgot he'd ever been drinking. He said he was never more sober in his life. Somebody told him to get the fourth finger [forefinger] of the right hand [of the female corpse] and carry it in his pocket and he would be a good actor among girls - any girl he wanted would go with him.
[St. James, a Negro community about 5 miles from Pocomoke City, Md., by hand.]
[Here is another version of the preceding story:]
A little humpbacked man, he spent ever' cent he got fer to win girls. I didn't see him do it but I seen the finger. It was told me he went in the grave- yard'and cut off a woman's right [index] finger - I seen the finger - cut that off, and was carrying it around in his pocket.
Entry 2074
This love powder, just love powder, you have to put it in food to give a person to eat it. That makes them in a length of time the more they give 'em the more stronger the love gets. See. And if you don't check off it, they'll love you so sincerely they love to kill yuh; and you won't have nuthin like that to be done, because it's a wonderful thing [if used properly], but it's still and all [dangerous]. Now, if you Wanta fightin' powder - that fightin' powder will make you fight and always make you fight till you kill one another.
Entry 2075
I was lovin' a girl, she didn't seem to care so much about me, and I said, "Well, I'm goin' away." And she says, "Wha' chah gon'a leave for?" I say, "Because you don't care about me." I say, "Because I rather not be around joo." So I goes right on about my business, stayed away from her about five years. I was writin' to her all de same time. And so she fin'lly got to de place dat she didn't have no one to love her, she wrote me. And she went and got whut dey call dis love dust. She put it in de letter and wrote it to me. I read de letter and de more I read it de more I began to think of her. In a few days I pulled up and comes back to her.
Entry 2076
(What is it you use?)
Three S [sSs] Love Powder.
(You've used that?)
Yes sir, and the oil. Use it in a syringe and pour it down the steps in the morning before anyone come up. That's to draw trade, transom trade [transients].
Entry 2077
I was stealing a ride on a train and as we went into the yards the railroad detective made me get down out of the train [boxcar] and they put me in jail. That was in Florida. The penalty from riding on a train is ten days. The charge was trespassing on private property, so they put me in jail in a part known as the bull pen where there were about twenty-two fellows. The fellow that slept in the bunk above me had a little disk-like of metal in his pocket. When we went to bed that night it fell from the top bunk of my bunk. I picked it up and looked at it, I lighted a cigarette, but I couldn't make it out. Next morning when I looked at it good I saw that it was something in the shape of a luck piece and I put it in my pocket and it has been with me ever since. It's hard for me to lose it. Not because I think it does any particular good. It fust stays with me. I have lost it sever- al times and each time I get it back again. I don't look for it however, it just seems to come back to me. I lost it one night and I couldn't find it anywhere. So I went home thinking I had lost it. When I went to pull my pants off I found it in the cuff of my pants. I don't know what became of the boy that dropped it. I only stayed there ten days. After I left there I came straight here [to the Atlantic Hotel, Ocean City, Maryland]. I was some weeks getting up here. The same night I entered this town I got my present job. You know what a hobo looks like, ragged and dirty. After I got here to his hotel, I had nothing like money or the shape of money, only this luck piece I found in jail. And my boss went and got me some clothes after giving me a job. Any time I want to go out at night, if I knew I was going out at night for a good time, I somewhat depend upon this luck piece. I put it in my left-hand pocket and go on and think no more about it. [I ask informant to lay luck piece on the table so that I could describe it. Since I was then using an Ediphone, not Telediphone, I had to speak into the Speaking-tube, adding the note about superstition after informant had departed:] (This luck piece is about the size of an English penny or an American dollar and being stamped out of copper [brass] with a dye classifies it as an article sold by mail-order firms catering to the superstitious. On each side of the medal, in the center and occupying.one half of the space, is a large open hand raised above the surface. The inscription on one side says HELP, HAPPINESS, PEACE, SUcCESS around the edge of the disk. In the center of the hand it says THE LUCKY HAND. Below the hand it says AND LUCK and below that IS MINE BY RIGHT. On the other side of the medal at the top I SHALL BE GUIDED BY THE HAND OF and below that THE SPIRIT. Below that LOVE IS MINE. Below that PEACE HAPPINESS PLENTY.)
Entry 2078
Course ah got something ah got up in the country that ah had made [by a doctor] wlt ai chicken breast [wishbone] on all dat. Well, ah keeps it in mah pocket all de time. Yo' wanta look at it?
[I evidently nodded yes.]
Well, ah keeps two pieces of cord all de time. Yo' see dat's to keep it [the bag from falling apart].
[He then lays a good luck medal on the table and I describe it:]
(This is a good luck coin. It's made of brass. It's a horseshoe [on this side] - says Good Luck Coin on top of it. There's a swastika in the middle and underneath the swastika a four-leaf clover. To the right of the horseshoe is a rabbit's foot and to the left is a chicken's breastbone. [My poor description will not show all readers - that horseshoe over swastika over rabbit foot is the vertical (upright), and that breastbone followed by swastika followed by rabbit foot is the horizontal (bar or beam) of a Latin cross.] Underneath is 17, 89, 19,33 [odd numbers]. There is a hole right over the top of the horseshoe where you can put on a string. On the reverse [obverse] side it says Gold Seal. It's a big 'W' and under the big "w is the number 57880 and under that is the word Award and there is a scene. This is all a seal like a red seal, stamped on the coin. That's one of them [of the two medals he hasl.) (This other one [medal] here is a huge swastika on the side, and here's a little scroll at the top of the coin that says Good Luck. In one hole [open space] of the swastika is an inverted horseshoe, in another one is the four-leaf clover, in another one is the little breastbone, and the other one looks like it might be some Egyptian hieroglyphics although they really are not. [The ancient swastika - word from Sanskirt meaning well being - has many forms but the typical form, the one used here, is the form of the Greek cross with four "arms bent at right angles all in the same direction."] Then it says on this same side, Manufactured by the Excelsior Shoe Company, Portsmouth, Ohio. On the reverse [obverse] side it says Medal, July, 1910 and there is a cowboy on a horse and it says The Excelsior Shoe for Boys.)
(Are those [two] pieces supposed to be good luck?)
Supposed to be good luck - that's right.
(You carry them when you gamble. What did you say about two grades of coins?)
Two grades of coins. Well, dere two grades of cards, yo see. Well, yo take dose two grades of coins an' whatever you have in yore hand, yo' has 'em in yore pocket. [The two grades of cards are good and bad. One lucky medal or coin can be at one time only heads or tails, good or bad, yes or no. Two medals or coins are needed.]
Entry 2079
Ah got a little somepin ah been wearin' for a good length of time an' ah haven't been broke since ah had it. Ah don't guess yo' mind lookin' at it.
(No, no - let's see it.)
(You wear this right over your heart - in this little bag - little tobacco sack. There is also a [metal] cross near it - and that's for luck, for money?) Yes sir - through life. (And this [cross] begins: Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil mam. Preserve me from the violent man.)
(That is a Psalm. Do you know what Psalm it is?)
[I wait, he does not answer.]
[I suggest] (141?)
Yes sir.
[He agrees with my error - it is 140.]
(Do you dress it in any way?)
No sir, jes'[wear it].
Luck and money are proposed by the interviewer and followed by 'Yes sir - through life.' The asserted prosperity and object details remain unverified.
Entry 2080
If you wanted a job, I've heard that you kin go to work and there's diff'rent things which you kin use to get a job. You use a powder. There's a powder that you calls luck powder. You kin get that powder and put on you and you kin go and present yourself to the boss and as he gets a scent of that powder, I've heard that he will give you something to do pref'rence from anyone else.
Entry 2081
Some of these little bags they call lucky bags. Yo'll string that an put it aroun' yore neck an' let it fall inside.... (Get that fresh rabbit foot.) [He had called it fresh.] A fresh rabbit, yo' know, an' cut off his foot, an' yo' string it on a cord yo' see, an' yo' tie it on yore waist underneath yore clothes.
(What will that do then?)
Well, dat's good luck.
Entry 2082
You go get you some luoky seed. I'll get you a piece of lodestone.
(What are lucky seed?) A lucky seed. (What's that?)
It's a lucky bean, they calls it. And you get you a piece of lodestone.
(What does that lucky bean look like?)
It looks something like a pink bean - beans.
(Is it a real bean?)
No sir, it ain't a real bean - it's a bean but it ain't a real bean.
(What's it made of?)
It's hard, chew can break it.
(All right, then what do you do?)
Now, you get you a piece of lodestone - you get she lodestone, and you get you some gunpowder and you get you a piece of red flannel and you put all that to- gether, and a little cayenne pepper and stuff, and put it in that bag and sew it up and put it in your pocket. That's lucky.
(For gambling?)
For gambling.
Entry 2083
Get a lucky button and put it in dere pocket and wear it - dat will make dem lucky.
(Well, what is a lucky button?)
Leettle bit of small button whut white folks put on dere shirts whut ain't nevah been used - gets it right out de store. You know dem leettle bit of china buttons, dey call dem lucky buttons. (Have they holes in these buttons?) Yes, sir. Dey use 'em - white folks use 'em on little chilluns clothes. You get dem buttons and wear it in your pocket.
(And what will that do for you then?)
That will make you lucky and that will make you hol' a job and make you lucky, too.
Entry 2084
Told me to get some oil of wintergreen - wintergreen oil. Go to the drug store and get some wintergreen oil and this lodestone and get some steel dust and bring it to him. And he put it in a little red piece of flannel and he told me, he say, "Now, you go to this man and tell him, ask him for a job - say your prayers before you go to him. When you go there you ask him for a job. Just before you get there you say your prayers and then you ask him for a job." He say, "And he turn you down the first morning, '' and he say, "you come back to me." And after I went back to him, he give me another little thing but he didn't tell me what was in that bag. And he give me some perfume, something smell - just smell like perfume, you know. So I taken that perfume and I went there and I asked the man for the job driving Goodman's Beer truck. And so he give me a job. So I went back to him and I asked him, I say, "What kind of perfume that you done give me?" He told me, he say, "Well," he say, "I went to the Cracker- jack Drug Store and got some of this same perfume." I say, "What kind of perfume is that?" He say, "They call that Lucky Dog per fume." That's what it was - Lucky Dog.
(He didn't tell you what was in that second bag though?)
He didn't tell me what was in that bag.
narrated request for and receipt of a beer-truck driving job. The first preparation and quoted instructions, second unknown bag, perfume and claimed hiring remain separate episodes. The text does not disclose the second bag’s contents. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 2085
On de order what chew call a little lucky glass - it's about dat long.
(Long as your finger.)
Yeah, wit a whole lotta little diff'rent shinin'-lookin' things in it - some of it look like gold, some look like silver, all diff'rent colors. De directions tells yo' how tuh use that - jest tote it in yore pocket. Well, when yo' go down dere to de job, jest put chure hands on it an' begin tuh talk to de bossman an' he'll hire yo'.
Entry 2086
To keep de police away is tuh git chew High John de Conker root. Git chew High John de Conker root an' Lucky Heart - dat's a weed dat grow up an' it shaped in a heart like, lak dey call it Lucky Heart. It's a red leaf, dey call it Lucky Heart. Yo' take dem two tuh- gether an' yo' put 'em together in a red flannel sack, yo' see. An' yo' take an' put chew some sulphur in dere wit dat. Yo' understan'. An' yo' bury dat right undah yore do'step. Git chew two sacks so yo' kin make two of 'em. Put in each do'step an' dey tell me if de law come dere, dey can't come in. If dey do, dey overlook ever'thing whut dey come in dere fo'.
Entry 2087
Ah know a lady dat she got sage an' cal'mus roots an' wropped it up in a bag, an' gits dis same Hearts Cologne an' Lucky Heart an' put it in a lil sack - a lil flannel, red flannel - an' tote it on her. An' then take this white Lucky Heart Powder - whut yo' jes' got it [preceding Lucky Heart] fix in dat lil bag, yo' know - an' rubs in front of yore house across de front do'steps an' cross de back, an' de law won't come dere. Dat s de way she did ovah heah an' dey nevah did come.
(You use White Lucky Heart Powder. Face powder?)
Yes. [Calamus should be the sweet flag (Acorus calamus).]
Entry 2088
Lotsa times yo' do it by bein' in diff'rent offices [fraternal organi- zations] diff'rent Odd Fellows, Masonic, or somepin lak dat - but jes' fo' de mercy of de judge but no help but whut chew git from, yo' know. (What do they call that around here?) Hoodoo. Yo' go down dere, now. De first thing yo' do, yo' see, yo' go by de fountain somewhere 'nothah an' yo' prob'bly gits yo' a coke, somepin - providin' yo' ain't drinkin' no whiskey or nuthin, it ain't good fo' nuthin. An' yo' git chew - we have whut we call a lucky star an' in some instances yo' burn dat. Yo'll find dat in de two chapter of Exodus, yo' find in de Bible where it speaks about dis lucky star. Well, in place of burnin' dat, yo' take it an' bring it back an' jes' a day or two 'fore trial, yo' see, yo' dry hit dere, an' yo' wear dat in yore pocket, an' yo' go down befo' de judge an' dat will he'p yo' through.
Entry 2089
It's a fact that a person kin take lucky oil an' use it, jes' rub it on his han's, an' with a strong determination that he will win an' he will win providin' he believes in it - in gambling, any kind of game.
Entry 2090
Well, now de beginnin' of dis first story is tuh git his shirt, his sweaty shirt - jes' lak yo' go out dere an' work. An' yo' git de sweat outa dat shirt an' de strength is in dat shirt. Not no one man's strength is de same - de're [dey are] not alike. An' not no one man's taste is de same. Yo' take dis shirt an' mix it wit magie control powder, but git de powder jes' de color of him an' yo' put it into some box - jes' lak into a box there. An' hit'll grow. Yo' know, magic will grow - magic lodestone an' steel dust. An' jes' as that grow, why he'll go. He won't stay no one place. He won't even stop tuh tell yo' [good-by when he leaves].
(You must put this magic steel dust and what else?)
An' controllin' powder but git de powder de color of him. (In addition to that controlling powder, you take steel dust and lodestone, and put it in this shirt and then put the shirt away?) Yeah, put dat shirt away.
(That is to get rid of him - to make him move?)
Yes. ["Beginning second trip to New Orleans, La., Wed., Feb.14, 1940 [[four persons were interviewed and then came]] 1562 - man - works Crackerjack Drug Store [[see Index]] - Ida Bates [[meaning he was brought or sent by Ida Bates Whose interview will be given in the Interviews section]]" - Numbers Book 1558- 1605. A note on the present text reads, "He became a sort of contact man."]
Entry 2091
[Magic sand - black and white - is what some persons called powdered lodestone, black lodestone and white lodestone - see preceding margin-titles Lodestone.] In gambling, we say yo' kin take a little piece of High John de Conker, we take three guinea seeds, you take a piece of lodestone and you take magic sand and you sew this in a piece of cloth. Upon your hands you would use oil of van-van. Then you hold this lucky charm in your hand whilst you are playing with a piece of money and you will be lucky.
(What is magic sand?)
Magic sand is a thing that is made to go with this lodestone - somepin like - looks like black dust, but it comes with lodestone - you buy lodestone and dey give you dis sand with it.
Entry 2092
(White lodestone? What does that do?)
Dey has a kind dey call de magic sand an' dey take hit an' put it wit de lode- stone. Say dat supposed tuh draw money. Dey put it in a yarn rag, put it in flannel, an' dey wear it in two sacks - put red flannel next to it an' put it in a white little sack, an' keep it wet with Heart Cologne or lucky oil, either one.
(What will that do then?)
Dat will draw de money - dat's fo' gamblin', dat give yo' luck.
Entry 2093
You get live lodestone, Horseshoe Brand.
(Horseshoe what?)
Horseshoe Brand, magic sand.
(Horseshoe Brand, magic sand.)
Magic sand and lodestone powder. Well, you mix them three mixes together, and you puts it in a piece of brand-new red flannel - you have to go buy the red flannel. And you sews it up. And anything that you goes for, well they couldn't turn you down. You may be the last man he'll turn off of the iob.
(What are these things you mix up now?)
Horseshoe Brand magic sand and a piece of live lodestone and lodestone powder.
(And lodestone powder - those three things?)
Yes. [Here lodestone powder is different from magic sand. We could say it is lodestone powdered but this would conflict with the live lodestone here.]
Entry 2094
Uh-huh, dis a gamblin' hand. Well, yo' git magic sand, an' git Adam an' Eve, an' yo' place dat together an' yo' git lodestone, an' put all that to- gether an' combine dat an' mix it. It makes a good lucky gamblin' hand...yo' put that in red flannel.
Entry 2095
I heard when I was a child, my grandmother heard, that if you take a man's shirt and put it under the bed and keep it there, that it would bring luck to the house. So my grandmother tried this and always kept the shirt under the bed.
Entry 2096
Git a root dat chew call master of de woods - dat's a common root, an' yo' kin tote dat an' yo' anoint it with Heartshorn Cologne, an' yo' be successful winning money in games. [See margin-title King of de Woods.]
Entry 2097
[You use] High John the Conker roots, you use Little John the Conker and use Master of the [Something].
(What is the other one?)
Master of the Woods. And you use Solomon Root. And you put it together in some hot water and you put it in a jar and put a little Hearts Perfume and little whiskey in it - rye whiskey. And you sprinkle it on the outside of your house and that will keep 'em [police] away, but chew gotta say what chew want done.
[See margin-title King Solomon Root.]
Entry 2098
(Tell me that again. You do what?)
Take nine matches or three matches when yo'd have a case in co't. Yo' take dese three matches or nine matches an' tie 'em together jest in a bundle like that. When yo' go to de co'thouse an' dey call yore case, an' when de judge sit on dat case dere be nine or three of 'em will hang fo' yo' - in yore favor. An' dey'll have a mistrial every time 'cause dey never do agree an' dere a couple of mistrials on dat case. (What do you do with those nine matches or three matches? What do you do with them after you get them tied up?) Yo' tie 'em up together an' den yo' jest keep dem dressed wit dis Hearts Per- fume. Dis Heart Perfiome is always good in anything dat chew have to dress. (And then after you have them dressed what do you do? Do you keep them or carry them with you? That's what I am trying to find out.) Carry 'em in yore pocket.
Entry 2099
If yo' got a woman an' wanta make love wit her, yo' goes to her house. She don't want chew dere yo' see, but den yo' go to her house - make it specially to go tuh her house to git a few words wit her. Then yo' mess roun' an' if yo' kin git a chance tuh ketch her han's, yo' git de lengt' of dat lef'- han' fingah - dat dog fingah [demonstrates]. (The index finger of the left hand?) The fingah off her lef' han' - de dog fingah. See, yo' git de joint of it, de first joint.
(What do you do? You are not taking it off of any woman are you?)
No, yo' don't take it off, yo' jes' ketch it an' git de measure of it, somepin lak dat. Den go out git chew nine dem broom sweepers - see, git chew nine straws about de same length, every one of 'em, see. Git one of her gloves, see, an' yo' let it go out [straighten it out] an' cut de fingah off right in dere, an' yo' tie it with a string, tie it up in dere.
(What do vou tie up in that?)
Dem nine straws.
(You tie those nine straws in that little finger that you cut off the glove.)
Den yo' put chew nine single pins in dere an' tie it up an' wear it in yore pocket, an' dat girl will love yo' from den on, an' wouldn't make love wit any othah individual either - jes' tie her. [This is called tying a person.] (Here's what you do, get the length of that first joint of the dog finger - the index finger of the left hand. Then you get nine broomstraws that length. Then you get her glove with that same finger and cut the end of that glove finger off and put the nine broomstraws in there.) [To measure a finger joint measures the whole body because part of the spirit equals the whole of the spirit (see p.21). Measuring is like drawing a circle about a person or scratching a circle on the ground for him to walk over - you confine him, control him. By the law of the opposite, treasure hunters put a circle about themselves as a protection against spirits (see the Magic Circle, p.123).]
Entry 2100
I entered a house to clean it and hang some paper. Nobody had lived in it for about six months. The colored man who had lived there had moved out. There were about three daughters in the family. And when I went in the house and started to tear the paper down I found in a crevice in the wall a little ball of red flannel saturated with Hearts of Cologne. There were about 25 needles stuck in it. The fellow that was with me told me that was a mojo - a good-luck piece or to put somebody into a stream of bad luck.
Entry 2101
Yo' kin take High John de Conker an' git black lodestone an' Adam an' Eve root. Put them together with violet incense powders, an' sew them in a red flannel. They call that mojo an' dat fo' yore luck in gamblin' an' co'se yo feed it Jockey Club perfume.
(When you go to the game.)
Entry 2102
They have some lucky mojo. Yo' take an' put it in your house in your room an' that will make - when people come in yer room an' inhale that once, they'll come back again.
(That's for customers?)
Yes, sir.
(Where do you get this lucky mojo?)
You kin buy it from the Sweet Georgia Brown Company, Chicago, Illinois. [This mojo is either a perfume or incense.]
Entry 2103
In the State.
(In this State?)
Yes, sir.
(It isn't Kings?)
[Someone had mentioned Kings.]
Yes.
(Where is Kings?)
It's out here.
(Is it a town?)
No, it isn't a town - it just a little stopping place.
(Oh, village?) [Or crossroad store.]
Yes.
(And she saw this perfume?)
Yes.
(And it's called?)
Moojoo Lueky Star.
(Mojo Lucky Star?)
Yes, sir.
(And how do you use that perfume?)
You don't use it. The one that you want to come back to you, you put it on them.
(I see. That will make them come back?)
Yes. I've tried that.