Browse:Mirror (Volume 1, entries 293–300)
Mirror
Volume 1, entries 293–300. Source context: SPIRITS → BLACK CAT BONE. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 293
Ah heard where yo' kin disappear - yo' disappear. Yo' git a black cat wit not a white speck on him nowhere, an' yo' make a fire in yore fireplace - wherevah yo' might make yore fire at, chew know. An' when that water git hot, yo' put dat cat in dere an' yo' put some bricks on top or any weight tuh hold it down, an' boil him alive. An' when dat cat git done, de meat will slip off de bone. An' git chew a mirror-glass, an' don't look in de pot - reach down like dis - don't tetch yore mouth - jes' came across [demonstrates] - "No, that ain't the one." Keep a-doin' till yo' git de right bone, an' yore face will disappear out de glass. An' then yo' jes' keep dat bone - yo' go anywhere yo' want. If yo' wanta disappear, yo' can't be caught by a officer or nuthin' - yo' kin disappear.
Entry 294
[My informant thinks my asking about the black cat bone means that I am going to try the rite.] But chew ain't goin' do dat - yo' ain't goin' even do that. Yo' got'a git a black cat an' put him in de pot 'live an' boil him, see. An' after yo' boil dat cat an' he git done good, yo' ain't got done - well, yo' got'a tuh eat dat. An' when yo' git to de right bone - an' yo' got'a stan' in front of a mirror, understan', whilst yo' eatin' it. An' when yo' strike dat right bone, den yo' kin see yo'self in a dark room in de glass - see yo'self in de glass. But yo' got'a git a jet black cat.
(You have to be in a dark room when you are doing that?)
Have to be in a dark room - all de shades, an' everything. Let it be as black as it kin be. Yo' got'a eat dat cat - eat it after yo' boil it. Yo' put him in de pot an' shet him up where he can't jump out, an' put him in de pot of watah an' boil him - have him, yo' know, done good.
(What do you do with that bone after you get it, then?)
Yo' keep de bone an' yo' kin do anything yo' wanta do - anything yo' wanta do.
Entry 295
Well, the way you sell yourself to the devil, you get you a black, black cat, you see. And after you get you a black cat, you take that black cat and you boil it - you boil that black cat 'till it get real done. After'the cat boil and you get done, you take that left hind leg, you see, and get that left bone out of it. Get that bone out of it, out of his left leg and you get in front of a glass and you pass this 'cross your teeth three times, you see. And the third time you pass it across your teeth, if you got the right bone it will blind you, you see. And after it blind you, well you got the right bone. You can - you are so you can go anywhere and get anything you want. You can do something and as long as you got that bone in your hand, they won't see you.
Entry 296
Ah had two uncles an' dey wus lak dat. Now, dey had whut chew call a black cat bone an' John de Conker root. Mah uncle Sam said dey had taken a black cat an' tied him an' had a pot of boilin' watah in a dark house, an' dropped de cat in de pot an' let de meat boil off his bones. Den dey git befo' de lookin' glass an' when dey git befo' de glass, dey pull dese bones across dey mouth an' dey know when dey git to de last, dey - when dey git near to de last, it come tuh gittin' dark an' thunderin' an' lightnin' an' snakes an' everything - chains, bells, an' everything. An' den he stood dere until he got dat. Den he taken de John de Conker root an' put dis in dere mouth an' den dey go out an' take dat black cat bone an' put it in yore right han' an' hold it, an' say no one will see yo' disappeah. An' yo' kin unlock any kinda lock dat wus locked.
(They had to cook this cat in a dark room?)
Yes, they had tuh cook him in a dark room - cook him 'live, don' kill him. Dey's lucky - dat's high luck. Dey say dat's de smallest bone in him. An' it will stick to de lips when yo' git to it, stick right to yore lips - yo' cain't git rid of it. An' aftah it stick to it, den it come a-lightnin' up, den yo' see.
Entry 297
Now, fo' gamblin', it's a black cat yo' must git - a jet black cat, de only thing white on him should be his teeth. Yo' ketch dis cat but have him penned up fo' six days. Fo' instance, have a little cage or somepin lak yo' have fo' birds. Keep him penned dat he must git mo' fury - yo' know, tuh git angry, mad, angry fo' human bein's. Git him dat-a-way. Now, de seventh day, dat mawnin' yo' git up at dawn dat seventh day an' put on a boilin' pot of watah - a large, large pot. Keep dat watah boilin'. Let it boil dere till yo' see it bubblin' an' dere's a foam ovah it. Git dis cat. Event'ly [eventually] yo'll have tuh have someone tuh work with yo', 'cause quite natchral yo' couldn't handle a cat in a wild fury - take him outa dere an' put him in dere. Have some- body dere tuh take dat lid off dis pot yo' got. Have dem take it off, unpen an' dump him down in dere in dat pot an' put dat lid on it, but chew must have a lid heavy enough to keep him down, 'cause yo' know if a person - say, if a person is in a fury an' are bein' killed or somepin, dey have super-strength. Yo' know whut ah mean - dey be evah so strong. Now, yo' put de top on dat pot an' let him boil dere fo' three hours. Aftah he's boiled there fo' those three hours, let him cool off. Soon as it da'k, whut we call dusk heah - don' know how yo' call it up dere [in the North] - aftah it's da'k, yo' take an' yo' separate all those bones. Be somewhere where yo' kin reach, but be in a dark room befo' a mirror. An' standin' befo' dis mirror, yo' take bone fo' bone an' hol' yore teeth dat-a-way. [Demonstrates, baring teeth.] Jes' pass it - now, it's one of those bones in there dat's goin' sparkle an' yo'll see it befo' de glass. Now, dat bone is de bone yo' must wear, an' there's no special place tuh wear it, but secure it in a place dat yo' won't misplace it. An' yo'll have all de luck in de world fo' gamblin'. Dat's all it is to dis black cat.
Entry 298
Ah heard chew git a black cat an' yo' take dis cat an' put him in de pot - put dis cat in de pot an' put dis pot on de fiah an' yo' gits a Bible an' in Revelation, dat's where yo' read it, ovah there. An' yo' git the Bible an' yo' read the Bible the whole time that cat is in that pot boilin' an' that cat will - yo' know, yo' will pray in yore mind. An' den when dat cat's got done, yo' take that cat an' git chew - yo' take dat bone when dat cat cook all tuh pieces an' yo' take dat black cat bone - jis' a solid black cat, nuthin', no white about it or nuthin' - and when he gits done yo' bring dat pot dere an' yo' put dat pot an' ever' time you take out a bone - git chew a glass an' yo' sit an' look in dat lookin' glass an' put a bone in yore mouth, an' when yo' git de right bone yo' cain't see yo'self in dat glass. See. An' den yo' kin do any- thing, cain't nobody see. Yo' kin go tuh de bank an' git money out de bank but cain't nobody see yo', 'long as yo' got dat black cat bone in yore mouth. Well, yo' have sold yo'self to de devil, becuz' dat's mo' fo' evil. (Do you know in what part of Revelations they read, or just any part of Revelations?) No, jis' read any part of Revelations, but 'stid readin' it farwards, read it backwards - read it backwards.
Entry 299
After you play de moosic a certain lenck of time [at the fork of the road], all de rest of spirits gon'a leave but dey gon'a leave dis spirit standin' dere. Dis de spirit da' choo want to git chore gif' from. An' den yo' ask 'im an' den he'll tell you, whut to do an' how to do it. It jis' de same as usin' a black cat bone an' ev'rything like dat. Now, de black cat bone is used at de same fork of de road. Gi' choo a black cat roun' about de ahur [hour] of twelve o'clock at night. You go out dere [to the fork of the road] an' you boil 'im out dere. You take a lookin' glass out dere wit cheh. Put it in fron' chore face like dis. Do [though] when you put dat cat in dat boilin' water, you gon'a be worried wit a-many pains, becah' zhoo got'a put 'im in dere live - you can't kill 'im an' put 'im dere, you got'a put 'im in dere live. An' you take dat cat out when de meat all boil off de bones. Now, dis is hoodooism, too. You kin git anything you want any ahur [of the] day, go in any place. You take dat glass, you hold it like dis at twelve o'clock at night, an' if it dark an' rainy would be de best. You go out dere, you pass ev'ry one dem bone crost yore mouf. You see, ain't gon'a be no meat on 'em. De meat is gon'a be boiled off de bone, but it gon'a be a hot bone. Take an' cross 'em out of yore lips. An' de bone tha' choo gon'a git, it gon'a have three forks [prongs] to it - two long forks an' a little small fork [a devil's trident?]. You pass em all aroun' in yer mouf. Well, if you didn't know dis bone, you might have to pass - dat might be de las' one you git to, cah' zhoo don't know which bone it is. But choo jis' gon'a pass till you git to de bone. When yo' git to dat bone, yore pitchure disappear from dis glass. You see, dat wha' choo call de disappearin' bone. You kin walk in a place - when you walk in a place you use dat bone in yore mouf [demonstrates].
(Hold it in your mouth like that.)
Dat make de people can't see you - you disappear. Dey may hear 'em walkin', but dey think it a cat or somepin. You understand, dey can't see you as long as you got dat bone in yore mouf. Well, dat bone don't 'pose to be used - when you gon'a go in a place - in yer pocket; it suppose to be used in your mouf. Jis' [like] you goin' into a bank or somepin to rob it; well, when you git to de doar, jis' befo' you git to de doah, put chore bone in yore mouf. By de time you git in de doar you be done disappear. You be in de bank but nobody kin see you. Well, dat used [the way you did it] at de fork of de road, bu' choo got'a talk to dis spirit when you pass dem bone across yer mouf [at the fork of the road]. Why dey gon'a be spirits all dere, out dere. Some have maybe eye like a ball of fiah; some make fiah come out dey nose. You see, some people can't stand it. It's jis' natchral somepin joo got'a go through wit to git de gif'. An' dis spirit will coumand you to go to do whatso- mever you wanta do. You see, dis is a evil spirit - he died in a evil way. You see, dey got a good spirit but de most of de people dese days dey lookin' fah somepin evil - dey not lookin' fah de good. You got to dress that bone.
(Well, why do you dress that bone?)
To be sure dat it will work. You take it to a hoodooism, an' dey'll take dat bone an' dey'll polish it. You see, dey'll polish it jis' like a lookin' glass. Now, here's a way for when you first git it. But it not 'posed to be finished. You have to take it to a hoodooism to git it finished. Now, dey take it an' dey call dat poZishin' it. Dey'll take an' dey'll have it jis' like a lookin' glass. An' den dey'll dress it. You see, in dressing it, dey'll put it down wit somepin else in it about ten or fifteen day. An' dey'll soak in dis an' dey soak it in somepin else, an' dey'll soak it in somepin else [soak it in three things]. Well dat'll cos' zhoo money to git dat done, but you wouldn't min' payin' money to git somepin done you gon'a live off of. See. An' dey will take dat bone an' dey'll dress dat bone. An' when dey give you dat bone back, dey'll let you try it. You see, dat whut dey [call] test it. If you wouldn't go give it test an' put it in yore mouf - you'd want somepin to guarantee it. Maybe, before you put de bone in yore mouf - well, you say, "How many years you goin' to guarantee it?" Now, in dis room dey gon'a have you in, it gon'a be glass all roun' you, all aroun' you. Dey put choo in a room where dere's nothin' but glass. An' den you put dat bone in yore mouf an' you look - you can't see yoreself. An' whosomever be in dere wit you, dey can't see you. Well, dey tell you to take de bone out chore mouf. You have to take de bone out chore mouf yoreself. You see, still alive in yore natchral use. You kin be in dere usin' yore arms, you see, but de other feller can't see you. Yore [you are] de same as a person dat 'vaporated away: Now, ain't many people use black cat bones becuz dey don't wanta go through - see, you have to sell yoreself to de devil. Any hoodooism is sold to de devil. You got to go dere twelve o'clock at night. A rainy night de best becuz de evil spirits walks more. When it lightnings an' thunders spirits travel more dan dey do any other night. But any ahur of night at twelve o'clock de evil spirits out.
Entry 300
Now, there was a man at my home whose name was Philip Williams.
(Where was your home?)
Mackey's Ferry, North Carolina.
(What county is that in?)
Dat's in North Carolina.
(What county?)
Oh, Pasquotank County. [On Albermarle Sound; county seat, Elizabeth City, a place where I collected.] Now, dis fellow - I was talking to him once about de world's gift - he could take a piece of paper and turn it to a dollar bill [bank note] or a twenty-dollar bill, or anything that he wanted to turn it to. So, well, he told me to get me a black cat and find me a stream of water runnin' off in two brothers' land. Well, I did that. Well, you take this old black cat and you stick -
(A stream of water that runs off in two brothers' land.)
And you boil dis cat till - let it be about eleven-thirty when you put him in there. Well, you put him in there and put a top on him, and while dis cat is cooking and begin to die - a wind will rise, it will begin to rain and it will thunder and lightnin' around there a little bit. And if you kin stand de test when dis cat gets done, so you kin take him up it and shake - the meat will fall off de bones. You wants to get you a looking glass. After you get your looking glass, take dis cat to a stream of water.
(The stream of water that runs on the two brothers' land?)
Yes - that runs off the two brothers' land. Kind of always, when you doing that, you must try to locate two brothers' property that joins so the water be coming offen both of 'em like - where dis bone will work. And you take dem to the stream of water an' drag de bones cross your mouth and - [but first] throw dem in the stream of water, but you want to ketch dese bones. When you come to de right bone, dis right bone will hang up in your mouth and you will disappear in this looking glass - you can't see yourself in dis looking glass. When you do that, you got the right bone. Den, the devil, he gon'a appear in front of you and ask you what you want, and you'll tell him that you wants the world's gift, and if you kin stand to get the world's gift, then you kin do anything that you want to do. You kin disappear before people and talk to 'em and they can't see you. That's what you say when you walk about wit a black cat.
(I see - that is why they say you walk with a black cat.)
That's the onliest thing you kin say.