Browse:Magic Circle (Volume 1, entries 413–417)
Magic Circle
Volume 1, entries 413–417. Source context: SPIRITS → SPIRITS GUARD BURIED TREASURE. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 413
Or some people say yo' put de money in de ground an' yo' bury a chicken or bury a cat or somepin - whatever dey bury, ah don't know what. Why, dis thing will come back wit chure money. Or bury dis Negro - why dis Negro will be so strong, somepin to make yo' 'fraid an' keep yo' 'way. (Is there any way that a fellow can go there at all and prevent that and get the money?) Well, dey say if yo' git chew a Bible an' go to dis place readin' yo' Bible, when dis stuff start - yo' got chure gang an' yore shovel wit chew - go ahead an' dig de money up. Don't pay any 'tention, jes' go ahead an' yo' see de stuff fall, jes' walk right on lak yo' don't see it; reads yo' Bible - readin' God's word, yo' see. An' dey said, when yo' git to dis place, why yo' got an idea how much room it might take, yo' know, to dig dis money up - yo' know, yo' all stand round in a ring round dere an' keep on reading de Bible. Say, den one man will walk around dere dragging his foot chew know, an' mark de place out, while dey be reading de Bible. Why den when dey git through reading dis Bible, take dis Bible an' lay it down on de line, puts it de way dey came - come dis way an' lay it right down on dere where he came in; on dat land marked round dere, lay de Bible, an' dey say yo' git right down dere an' dig. As long as dey didn't talk - don't talk an' don't, yo' know, make a fuss. Git right down dere an' dig. Say all kind of animals - all kinds of mess will come right up dere live, but pay no 'tenshun to 'em. Yo' dig right dere, jes' don't make no fuss, yo'll git chure money. Git dat money an' sit right on de - all kind of animals will come right to dat line, but co'se dey wouldn't come in 'cause dat's de Bible - see, wouldn't come ovah dat Bible.
Entry 414
Ah have went out wit some fellahs tryin' tuh dig money. A gang of us decided tuh go out an' dig money. We went out one night. Ah taken mah old car an' driven out one night an' stopped it up at de edge of de woods an' we went all down - took our picks an' shovels an' went on down an' started tuh diggin' de money. Well, we supposed to have de money once right where it was. Well, yo' make a white mark. Git chew a bottle of sweet milk an' make two or three marks all de way round with this milk - all de way round dis place, jes' lak dis table, yo' makes yo' a round one [circle of milk round the treasure]. An' dey all gits inside of that place. Well, we started tuh diggin' money an' we dug there, an' dug an' dug an' dug, till we got close to it. An' as we got close to the money an' we listened out an' we heered somepin comin' 'long dat be's a-hollerin' an it wus a big cow come right up to de - right up close to dat line an' jes' stood up dere an' hollered. Well, he left away an' heah come a great big bulldog an he gone up dere. He went away an' aftah while he left an' nobody stopped. Well, on dis side heah come anothah - heah come lion up. He come up an' dere didn't no one say anything, dey stood a-diggin' right on. Snakes an' ever'thing crawled all de way round an' dey nevah did stop diggin'. We looked up an' dere come a big ball of fiah right down an' jes' look lak it's goin' drop right down. It come down so fur an' stop an' a man spoke an' said, "If yo' don' move, ah'm gon'a drop it. Ah'm gon'a drop it on yo'." An' one de fellahs got scared an' dropped out de line an' it musta been a great big blue smoke an' a big ball, an' de money went an' we nevah did see de money no mo' - it jes' bo'ed a hole in de ground an' went on out lak dat. We didn't see no money atall - it wus gone.
Entry 415
I really had experience of that my ownself. Another fellow and I went out one night to try and locate a hidden treasure. And after getting to the place, he drew a circle around it and made a gate to it. And after leaving the gate he sprinkled sulphur, milk and so forth all around, and then he began to sound with his apperrattox [apparatus] and he struck what he thought was money. That was a iron rod about six feet long: And we began to dig. And while we were digging - I had never been upon that occasion [adventure] before in my life - you can't talk - whatever you want you must make signs - and I was digging and I held up my head to ask him for something to work with, and I looked and he was gone and I was all there alone. The ring which he made was surrounded by lots of people, but who they were I know them not. And all I had to do then was to come out of the hole and make my getaway - and I beat it, too. [Old Point, Comfort, Va., (27), Ed.; Norfolk Co., Va.,1896.]
Entry 416
You have to use them too, for treasures.
(Hunting treasures?)
Hunting treasure. Take a piece - not take the whole [tomb]stone, but take a piece of it. Supposing we were going to dig money here. We come down and locate the treasure right here. All right. Now, you are the party got a headstone. We knew he died - when he died and passed out. He did good things all of his days. Well, we take that along with us and we dig a hole in the ground so the people passing wouldn't see that light, and we'd light that light there - a pure white candle at that headstone. We'd light that light there, then we'd go ahead and we'd make a circle round there after we locate the treasure - to keep the spirit from entering the ring, and we'd go to work and we'd sprinkle all around there mustard seeds, mustard seeds all around there. Then we'd go ahead down in and we found - we done found the treasure - we got the sounding rod right on top of the treasure. Now, after we'd go through that process, why, then we'd go ahead right on down and dig. That have a tendency to keep the spirit away and the treasure won't move.
Entry 417
Go to the graveyard at midnight. But chew have to go by yourself and you take a penny. You got'a give 'em, take something with you 'cause then - when you go walk round the grave two or three times see, around the head and you walk round the foot two or three times. And then you go back - well, about nine times all together, and then you kneel down. But yo' have to put yore hand - dig down, put chure hand in and git the dirt from this, right off the coffin. See. But then, when you do that, you have to leave a penny or some vinegar or something.
(Why vinegar?)
Well, that's to keep the spirit from hurting you. You kin even have whiskey on you, see, to keep the spirits from harming you; you see, so they don't be disturbed [see Spirits and alcohol, in Index]. Course ah never did this but ah -
(I know, you are just telling me what you heard.)
And then when you go out, if you don [leave a gift] when you git to that gate, they will rassle [wrestle] with your soul. Even if you call spirits in here now, you make a circle and call spirits; you'd have to fortify that circle, because if you don't - course you do that around twelve 'clock at night. You fortify that circle. You kin call the spirits and when you - they scare yuh to death, but if you fortify it and sit inside that they can't harm you.
(How would you fortify that circle, then?)
Well, you have to make crosses you see - make a circle for yourself to sit in. And then you make a gate like and you put - make a cross there and then you have to use holy oil and holy water and candles, and then you set inside of it and then you can call de spirits and sit there quiet and pray and they'll come. But you has to have a dozen candles. [Washington, D. C. (627), 804:2.]