Browse:SPIRITS (Volume 1, entries 16–544)/Part 4
SPIRITS
Volume 1, entries 16–544. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 256
If yo' wants tuh make a man love yo' or yo' wants tuh keep a man - jes' lak yo' got a runabout man wants to keep yo' an' yo' wants to git somepin to make yo' [him] do whut yo' wanta do. An' jes' lak he wants tuh go off an' have a date fo' supper-feed or anything lak dat an' have a good time an' nuthin' be behin', jes' yuh carry a bone 'long wit chew. Now, yo' kin take a black cat, real black cat, an' kill him an' carry him in de woods about twelve a'clock at night where nobody but jes' yoreself. An' yo' kin boil dat cat bone - boil de cat an' whenevah yo' boil it, all kinda diff'rent insex an' devils, rattlesnakes an' all diff'rent things will come to yo' whilst its boilin'. An' de first bone dat come tuh de top out de black cat - dat's de lucky bone. Well, yo' take that lucky bone an' carry it off. Have it fixed [dressed] in dis heah powder whut chew call love powder an' tote it in yore pocket all de time. Dat'll make everything 'bout whut yo' wanta do come yore way.
Entry 257
" The old people always say you ketch a black cat about midnight and run him around the house three times, cut his tail off and put it under the doorstep. The next night run the black cat around the house three times, kill the cat and take him to the swamp and bury him. Let him stay three nights. Go back and take the cat and put him in boiling water and the lucky bone of the cat will come to the top at midnight. You have to be dere sharp at midnight to get this bone. That's called the good luck bone of a black cat. I hear that about twelve miles from here [in Spotsylvania Co., Va.] from the old people.
Entry 258
Dey claim dat a person yo' know could take a black cat, see, without havin' any spots on him atall - let him be a solid black cat, yo' see. An' put chew on a pot of water yo' see, an' dump dat cat in dere alive yo' see, an' scald 'im dat way. An' dey tell me dere's a certain bone yo' know is in dat cat. Yo' see, yo' take all dem bones yo' know, an' yo' go to a runnin' stream yo' know, where it's good an' clear - yo' know, where yo' kin see yo' know, de surface of de bottom. An' throw all dem bones in dere an' watch 'em, an' dey tell me de swiftest one yo' know, dat moves about, say if yo' kin git aholt of dat, dey tell me yo' kin do all kind of witch- craft dat way, yo' know. Yo' take dat bone yo' know an' git outa sight of people yo' see, an' go in any kind of places dat chew wanta go in.[ Waycross, Ga.,
(1069), 1730:1.]
Entry 259
Yo' take a black cat - a real black cat, ain't got nary a spot on him nowhere. Yo' take him outside of [beside] a stream of runnin' water, an' yo' git a iron pot an' put this cat in that iron pot, an' fill it up wit water an' boil de cat - boil him till all de meat come off his bones, till every bone come apart. An' take dis pot an' jest throw de whole pot of bones all ovah in de watah. An' de bone dat goes up de stream - dat's de bone. An' it will make yo' invisible. Yo' use dat bone. Ah've heard of people havin' black cat bones an they could walk in banks - jest like walkin' in dis house heah an' yo' couldn't see'em.
Entry 260
A fellah he was born way back in slavery times. Well, yo' know, he's sittin' down talkin' to me an' so he tole me, say, once when he sold hisself to de devil. Say he went out an' got him a real black cat an' after he got dis real black cat, den he'd taken 'im an' he'd boiled 'im till he come tuh boil all tuh pieces. He'd taken him down to a branch where it was runnin' water an' throwed that ovah in dat water an' say an' den a bone, if hit went up de stream - said an' de one dat went up de stream he got dat an' kept it in his pocket an' then he come tuh be whut chew call a half-a-devil - yo' know, a witchcraft. An' says then he went out an' went tuh doin' things yo' know an' says stuff lak dat, so finally one day he tole a fellah, says, "Yo' bettah not leave home." says, "if yo' leave home today yo' gon'a git killed." He says, "Well, why yo' know it?" He says, "Ah jes' seen dat yo' gon'a git killed." An' so - he say dis fellah didn't pay him no 'tention. So he went on an' left home an' said he went out to a picnic. An' when he went out to this picnic, well then - see, him an' a gurl went out to have some intercourse with her an' so he layed down an' so a rattlesnake bit dis couple. An' when de rattlesnake bit him, said, den it killed him. Says den all de people told her dat he's de one dat told him dat he's gon'a git killed if he'd a-went out to dis picnic. So den dey locked him up in jail an' when dey locked him up in jail, why den says dems wanta know why he knowed it. He tole 'em, says, "Well," it jest come to him "jest in a dream dat he's gon'a git killed." "[They] say, "Well, if yo' go home tonight an' if yo' dream anything heah in dis town gon'a happen tomorrow,"' says, "well, we'll let chew loose." So he went on home dat night an' says, when he went back he tole 'em, he says, "Well, de high sheriff in dis town is gon'a git killed tomorrow." An' says - well, dey locked him up 'bout dat an' so when dey locked him up about dat, well, den - said de high sheriff went out to make arrest an' when he went out to make arrest on one brother, said the other brother shot him, says. An' it happened so dey loosed him. So dat's all ah know 'bout dat.
Entry 261
You take a black cat on a dark stormy night an' go in a swamp an' take this cat, an' let the water be boilin', an' drops this cat in there. Then you gits all his bones togethah an' take 'em - after you finish boilin' - take the bones an' go down to a stream of watah an' drops these bones in the watah. An' when you do that, they say the devil will raise up from the other side of de rivah an' shake your hand. An' they say you then have sold yourself to de devil an' you cannot be harmed by no human person.
Entry 262
Yo' take de black cat - ya' ketch him alive an' takes a crocus bag an' yo' puts him in it.
(What kind of bag?) Crocus sack - dey call it crocus bag in de North - sacks. (What do you put in that sack?)
Put de black cat in it after yo' ketch it. An' den yo' puts chure water on, see, an' yo' has yore water boilin' an' yo' put dis perfume - dere's a perfume dat chew git fer it - it's all in de book [hoodoo manual or catalogue]. Yo' drops seven drops in dere with that water jes' lak if yo' making anything an' put that in there to color it. An' yo' drop that cat in there an' all de meat will boil off dem bones until it gits to dat bone. When it gits to dat bone, dat bone gon'a whine, an' when dat bone whines, dat's de bone to git.
(That bone will what?)
Whine lak a cat.
Entry 263
You go in front of a fireplace and take all your clothes off and take a black cat and put him in a pot of boiling hot water, alive, and turn around three times in front of the fireplace, then take the cat and the hot water and carry him down to a stream and pour him in this running stream water. Then you've sold yourself tc the devil.
Entry 264
Ketch yo' a black cat an' yo' boil 'im. Put 'im in a pot, he be alive, an' while dat cat cookin' until he dies, why yo' has to be cursin' him, saying ever'thing till he die. Well, after he die, why a lot'a things - well, a certain time yo' has tuh cook, when it's at night. Do it at twelve a'clock at night an' cook it. After yo' git him cooked, why yo' take it an' strip all de meat offa his bones. Take him down to de branch or any running stream where de water's running - if de water's goin' south [correction later], an' yo' po' all dem bones, yo' has 'em in a pan, an' po' all dem in dere. An' de bone dat goes up de stream, why dat's de bone tuh git - git dat bone. Yo' git a piece of lodestone an' keep near yo' a bottle of hearts cologne. Wear dat bone undah yore left arm all de time. An' yo' kin have any kind - all kinda luck. [This bone, here a hand, is periodically anointed with the hearts cologne; this anointing being called feeding - see Feeding in Index.]
(This stream in which you throw that bone, must the water be running south?)
No sir, de water be running north - de water supposed to be running north, an' if de water goin' north, de bone will go south.
(Any particular stream or any kind of stream?)
Any kind of stream if de water goin' north.
(If the water is going north the bone will go south.)
De bone will go south.
(If the water was going east or west you couldn't throw the bones in there.)
Yo' could throw 'em in dere but it wouldn't work. (You said you came from up around Beaufort. What do they call doing this sort of thing?) Why they call it hoodoo - witchcraft.
Entry 265
Ah heard about if anybody wanta Work roots or somepin othah lak dat. Take a black cat an' carry him in de woods an' boil him an' don' let nobody be out dere late in de night but jes' him by hisself. An' say yo' boil dat cat till dat bone come up on top of de watah, an' dey say de first bone dat come up on top of de watah, say yo' take dat bone an' chunk it in de runnin' watah an' let it go on down de stream an' den cuss. An' dey say when yo' cuss all kinda animals an' things - lion an' all kinda diff'rent things will come roun' - see, an' yo' can't git scared. An' dey say if yo' don' git scared den yo' kin do any kinda hoodoo work yo' wanta do. (Well, when you put that bone in the water and it runs on down the stream, how are you going to get it back again?) Yo' don't git it back, yo' see, after hit done boil. Yo' see, after de cat done boil, dat bone come up on top of de boilin' watah. Well, yo' take that out an' throw it down de stream an' make a cuss. An' den yo' see, when yo' cuss, all dem things will come to yo'. When dem things come to yo', if yo' don' git scared of 'em, den yo' kin do any kind of work yo' wanta do.
(You don't get any bone at all then - you don't use the bone?)
No, no.
(You let it go on down the stream?)
Yes.
Entry 266
Mah uncle he's one of those type of people - type of fellahs. He takes dat bone - boil 'em into a pot and takes 'em an' throws 'em into running Water - running stream of water. An' de bone dat goes up de stream is de bone, but chew has to turn yo'self to de bone and speak, yo' know, a curse three times - den turn yore back to de bone and pick it up. Pick de bone dat goes up de stream - de good luck bone goes up de stream and all de bad bones goes down stream.
Entry 267
One time mah father did dis an' made him real lucky. Ah don't know how he done it, but he went tuh work and he took a black cat. Ah didn't believe in it. He went an' boiled it; put him in de pot live - if you don't do dat yo' ain't going be successful. Yo' put a top over it. Dash him in dere and put a top over it. Hol' him in dere and let him boil down. Den yo' take dem bones whut's in dere and carry 'em down to a running stream, not no great big stream - jes' a running stream of water passing through a little road like, yo' know, a little ditch or something. Well, yo' put all dem bones in dere, an' when yo' put dem bones in dere, dat stream, all dem bones whut ain't goin' do - yo' know, do de way you want 'em - dey goin' down de stream an' de lucky bone coming up, see hit comes up. Well, yo' git dat bone, and den when yo' git dat bone, yo' turn round three times and cuss, an' when yo' cuss, well yo' got de luck. When yo make dat oath, yo' already fixed dat. Den yo' take dat bone an' covered it wit yo' know, sew it up in a bag and put it in yore left pocket an' den yo's lucky. Den yo' done sold yo'self to de devil fo' luck. An' den yo' lucky in any kind of business, any kind of gambling game - any kind of game in de world yo' want, anything.
Entry 268
If ah wus goin' tuh have a black cat bone an' had to use it fo' mahself, ah would take an' git me a black cat with not a white spot on him an' ah [would] take an' cook him real done. Ah would take that cat to the runnin' watah an' throw him in dere an' all de rest of de bones dat sink dey ain't no good. De one dat stays on de top is perfect. Ah take dat bone in mah han's an' carry it cross mah face an' cuss God an' say, "Ah don' believe it's a God."
(Show me how you do that.)
Supposed to carry it cross lak dat, backwards an' forwards an' cuss God, "Ah don' wanta be saved. Ah don' believest in God. Ah wants dis tuh command me. Ah've sold mahself to de devil."
(Then what do you do with that bone?)
Well, take dat bone an' do anything wit it.
Entry 269
Ah used to gamble - co'se ah got to be a ole man now - ah don't gamble - ah 'way up in age - de eighties. But now, if a man wants to be a lucky gambler - ah did dis mahself. Yo' kin ketch a black cat an' stroke his tail seven times - ketch his tail an' pull it seven times [see No. 2771, counting it each time dat chew pull it, an' yo' kiss dat cat once in de mouth, no matter how he rears. Grab his four foots an' hold it an' yo' kiss it an' den chunk dat black cat as fer as yo' kin send him an' blaspheme at 'im. Jest lak dis, say, "Go, God damn yo' an' whirl yore back on him. An' yo' be successful in all yore evil doin's. Ah did dat an' ah was lucky.
(In gambling?)
In gambling.
Entry 270
I heard a fellow say once, you go to the cemetery at twelve o'clock at night, you take the black cat; you're supposed to put him in the pot alive, you boil him in the cemetery. When the meat comes off, you pour the bones down in a pot of milk. When they come up to the top, you grab the bone that comes to the top. When you go to grab it, you see like a lot of hands and everything coming up at you. If you're lucky enough you'll get the bone. But you have to be quick. And don't get scared. You get that black cat bone and anything you want you get it. If you see somebody with eatens and you want it, you say, "Bring that tray to me," and that man will bring that tray right to you.
Entry 271
They tell me you take a black cat alive an' put 'im in a boilin' pot of water till he boil all to pieces - jis' like you were cookin' meal or somepin - an' the bone that come to the top, that stand on top of the water, dat's the bone fer you to use. Dat's de witchcraft bone. After you git dat bone, you suppose to go to the graveyard fer nine nights. Said the first night you just zern a little imp come an' dance up to you. [Each succeeding night additional imps appear] - then the ninth, the whole devil family, his wife an' the son, a whole bunch of 'em. If you kin stand fer whut you see, you'll be able to witch- craft in anything you want to.
Entry 272
Git the hair of a black cat up here between the years - cut the hair between the years. Then they git it between the two shoulders, right out to the middle of the back. Take them and put them together. They got'a take that to the cemetery nine nights. They wrap that up into a piece of new red flannel that never used. And you take that to the cemetery nine nights and at one o'clock and you go to that particular grave and call that person's name and tell 'em what chew want dem to do fer you. He have to use his eyes, you know. The last night, the ninth night, you carry seven pennies and you open the - here [demonstrates].
(The breast.)
Dig down to wherever it is, deposit those pennies and tell them just exactly hoW you want that done and when, and that tends - you know, make you disappear as you wishes. You kin go out and if a certain party appears, you disappear until they pass.
[He kept-it in his pocket.]
(Which pocket do you keep this in for your hand?)
In your right hand pocket, and you will disappear every time you touch that.
Entry 273
A little humpbacked man, he spent ever' cent he got for to win girls. I didn't see him do it but seen the finger. It was told me he went to 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. He went to the graveyard, so I was told, but he says so hisself. He went to the graveyard and carried a black cat and cut this black cat's head off. He's to go back to the graveyard nine days and he meet the devil there. He'd have to go back [each time] after dark and carry de black cat's head with him. And the ninth time the devil met him. Well, I know one thing. He was drawed up, the ugliest thing - his back had been broke. He couldn't take amongst girls, I was satisfied of that, but he could do some peculiar things. [Deal Island, Md., (108), 22:1; at Deal Island,1896.]
Entry 274
Whenevah he be goin' tuh gamble, he jes' go an' ketch him a black cat - anybody's an' throw him in de fiah 'live an' burn him up. Jes' keep him right in de heat ever'where dey is an' burn him up. An' den dey takes dis bone dat isn't burn all de way up, jes' kinda yo' know ashes, an' take an' go tuh de mirror an' if he kin stand tuh carry it cross his mouth lak dat yo' know, if he's got dat much nerve, after dat den at night, or wait until night an' go in de graveyard. Keep de bone with him an' if he's got nerve, stay in dere all de remain of de night, an' if any animals or any spirits, an' he's ain't scared, why dat bone will work fo' him, but if he gits scared an' come out why it ain't no good to him.
Entry 275
They go out to the graveyard at midnight and they ketch a black cat and boil him good in a kettle of water. They suck the tail of the cat until they git to the last bone [joint at rectum]. Then they say the Lord's Prayer backwards. Then they're supposed to have a hand to do anything they want to do.
Entry 276
Well, yo' git chure cat an' yo' stew him up an' git the bones.
(What bone do you get?)
Ah wouldn't know, but it towards heah somewhere up heah in de front part of his body. But anyway, tuh git that bone you have tuh try them all.
(How do you do that?)
Jis' brush 'em [like a toothbrush] in yore mouth an' yo' contin'lly lookin' in the glass, until yo' disappeah. An' when yo' git to that bone yo'll disappeah an' yo' take it to the fo'ks of the road an' turn roun' three times. Yo' do that fo' nine evenin's or mawnin's. An' then yo' take it to a cemetery an' yo' make a crossmark on someone's grave.
(What do you make the crossmark with?)
With that bone. An' then yo' take yore bone back an' yo' wrap it up with some silver money an' lodestone, an' yo' put chew a flannen rag aroun' it an' wear it in yore pocket. That's fo' luck an' that's tuh keep anybody from bothering roun yuh, an' yo' kin do most anything that yo' want tuh do.
Entry 277
You kin take a black cat an' carry him to de fo'ks of de road an' strip his tail down seven times [see No. 269], an' yo' throw 'em - jest turn [whirl] him round three times ovah yore haid an' throw him - let him go through de woods - don't cook hit, yo' see - an' let him go through de woods an' yo' go on back home. Don't look back. An' anything in de world dat yo' wanta do yo' kin do it. [Informant not knowing stroke uses strip - from stripping a cow at milktime; pulling, compressing down- ward on the tits.]
Entry 278
Well, dey goes out to de fo'k of de road, but yo' gotta go at twelve a'clock in de night - a dark night at twelve a'clock. Yo' goes out dere to dat fo'k an' yo' stan' up - yo' be's talkin' to de devil - de devil have tuh come up dere an' jes' whut chew want, yo'd ask de devil fo' it. Tell de devil whut chew wanted an' whut chew wanta do wit it - tell de devil yo' want him tuh go wit chew tuh do these things. An' den yo'll make a cross mark there an' yo' git some of dat dirt from dose fo'ks. Yo' take dat dirt den an' yo' carry it on back home wit chew. Then yo' git chew - yo' have tuh git chew a black cat, an' yo' put dat black cat in a pot of watah, hot boilin' watah an' let all de meat boil off him. Den yo' take it all an' yo' carry it to a stream of watah runnin' an' yo' empty all dem down dat stream. De one dat stay dere, dat de one yo' git, but de one whut float away you let dat go. Den yo' carry it right on back home an' put it in yore pocket an' tote it. Keep dat wit chew an' dat's lucky to yo'.
(What do you do with that dirt you bring back from the forks of the road?)
Yo' puts dat wit dat - wit de bone - tote dat wit chew. Put it in a little sack an' tote wit chew. That'll he'p yo' - yo' kin do most anything.
Entry 279
I heerd mah mother tell this here. I remember I was right good size. The ole fellah claimed he wanted to be a root worker. You hear 'em talk of root workers. So a fellah told him - he paid a fellah five dollar to learn him. The fellah told him, he said, "Now, I'll tell you whut choo kin do." He says, "You git choo a black cat, take him to the house, put him on, boil him, boil him till he come all to pieces, all de meat come off his bones. After all the meat come off his bones," he says, "you git" - I think t'was the left hip bone - "you git his left hip bone, the back, an' take it down to the crossroad." He says, "You make nine wushes [wishes]," he said, "an' break dat bone half in two." He said, "You go to a crossroad where's one goin' dat-a-way an' one goin' so." So he went on down there. He got down there an' he looked an' he looked, an' he stood there an' looked. Didn't see nobody. He broke de bone in half in two. An' he said, "Well, I'm goin' back dis-a-way." He come dat-a-way, but he said, "I'm goin' dis-a-way." So he took the bone, jis' broke it choo know an' threw it away.
[Informant demonstrates.]
(Facing the direction he intends to take, he throws one-half bone to the right and the other half to the left, at right angles to the intended road. In other words, the bones are thrown down the two forks that form the bisecting line of the crossroad.) "After you git sich a distant [distance] from there," he said, "don't choo look back," he said, "you keep a-goin'. After you git sich a distant down the road an' you don't see nobody, well, you stop an' pick up you nine pinches of dirt," he said, "an' ev'ry pinch of dirt you pick up" - he told him whut to say [informant could not remember the words] - "put it in a red han'kerchef an' tie it up" - he told how many knots to tie, I think it was nine knots - "an' tie it up an' care [carry] it to the runnin' water an' throw it overboard in the river an' let it go on down the river," he said, "an' you kin do anything you want."
The informant recounts a mother's story of a learner paying another person, a black-cat bone broken and thrown at a crossroads, then roadside dirt tied in a handkerchief and cast into running water. Direct instructions are nested reported speech; the informant cannot remember the required words and only thinks there were nine knots. Hyatt separately interprets the demonstrated directions.
Entry 280
Dey tell me yo' kin take a black cat an' put him in a pot 'live, see, an' boil him. Now, when all de flesh boil offa him, yo' takes him to a branch. See, take dose bones to a branch. De lucky bone hit comes to de top; it doesn't leave - it circle right round. Yo' gits that yo' see an' after that then yo' comes back to de fork of the road fo' fo' nights, an' those fo' nights yo' sees one of fo' diff'rent men - fo' [for] each night yo' come, a man tuh each night. See. An' he will give yo' somepin, speak to yo' plainly an' tell yo' whut that are, to keep yore enemies away from yo' - to keep anybody from doin' yo' any harm or whatevah.
(Four different men - what do you do with that black cat bone then?)
Well, on dat black cat bone yo' kin git money, go to stores an' things - nobody can't see yo' when yo' goin'. Ah've seen dat.
Entry 281
Ah heard dat chew could ketch a black cat an' take him an' boil him - dat's black all ovah - take him an' boil him in water. An' dere's a crossbone dat come out of him, but chew got'a take him to a stream somewhere an' let it wash off, an' den dere's a crossbone come out of him. Ah heard that chew could take an' go to a forks of de road fo' nine mawnin's an' den de ninth mawnin' whenevah yo' go there, why den yore luck'll change. Yo' jes' keep dat same bone if yo' go to de forks of de road nine mawnin's an' then whenevah yo' come back, why take that bone in de place yo' want de luck in. An' yo' wrap it up an' jes' put it in yore pocket an' tote it an' that will bring yo' luck an' success for many years. (You go to this crossroads after you get that black cat bone? Do you carry the bone with you there?) Yes - yo' carry de bone wit yo' fo' nine mawnin's after yo' done cook him to pieces and git dat bone. Dat brings yo' luck.
Entry 282
Yo' kin take a black cat - yo' boil him alive an' go to a stream of watah an' de first bone dat wash down de stream, dat's de bone fo' yo' tuh git. An' take an' go to de fo'ks of de road nine mawnin's an' chew dat bone, an' de last mawnin' yo' go dere, everything will turn dark an' different things will come to yo'. Then yo' kin do anything - yo' be's sold yo'self to the devil. Yo' kin be de ruler of anything an' git out of it.
The informant describes a black-cat bone taken to road forks on nine mornings and chewed, with a final darkening and encounters, followed by claims of broad powers and selling oneself to the devil. These are historical source reports; the neighboring accounts' different bone-selection methods and visit counts are not imported.
Entry 283
The way I heard it was this - that he takes a black cat that's black all over and throw him in boiling water and let all de meat boil off the bones. And suck one of them bones each morning for nine mornings and go to the forks of the road and make a wish for whatever you wanted. And at the ninth morning, the council of the devil would meet him there and make him ruler over black arts - the way I heard that, make him a ruler over black arts. He could go into a place and couldn't be seen and take what he wanted and go out and do anything of that kind.
The informant explicitly reports hearsay about a black-cat bone, nine mornings at road forks and wishes, followed by a claimed meeting with the devil's council, powers and invisibility. The neighboring accounts' different selection methods remain separate.
Entry 284
They claim you go to the fork of the road fo' nine mornin' straight. You walk backward. You curse the day you were born. You curse the sun, the moon. You curse God. Then they'll sell theirself to the devil. The ninth mornin' they'll take a black cat to de fork of that road an' they'll git a tea- kettle of water boilin'. They'll take dat cat an' they'll t'row him down in dat water an' let him cook to pieces. An' then they'll take a - somepin, an' they'll fin' one of them bones. an' they'll call that the black qat bone. An' they sell theirself to the devil an' they be able to do all kin' of matter.
The informant reports nine mornings at a road fork, walking backwards and cursing, with a black cat brought on the ninth morning and a bone sought. Selling oneself to the devil and gaining powers remain attributed claims; this sequence is not combined with different neighboring cat-bone accounts.
Entry 285
Dey says yo'll go an' yo'll ketch a black cat an' yo' take him an' yo' put him in a pot of water, live. Git one dese pots whut's got a neck to it, yol know, where yo' kin put his nose right in de neck where he won't die - where he won't drown.
(Sort of - like a teakettle? His nose is sticking in that spout?)
That's right - right whare his nose will stick in dere where he won't drown. An' then, say yo'll start - put him in cold water an' build yo' a fire after yo' put him in dere. Build yore fire an' den, dey say - den yo' boil him an' yo' boil him to pieces. Boil him till all his bones, hair, everything jes' turns loose - jes' be's a liquor - jes' be's afloatin' in dat liquor. An' dey say, den yo' take that then an' go to a runnin' stream of water an' yo' stand wit chure back to it - de left shoulder to it, an' yo' po' dis ovah yore left shoulder but don't look back at it. An' dey say whilst yore [you're] standin' dere right by it - wit chure left shoulder to it an' throw it over yore left shoulder an' po' it out - de bone dat goes - comes up de stream - whut yo' see comin' up, yo' git that bone but nevah look back. An' dey say yo' take that bone an' den yo' go den an' yo' go to a road dat's got fo' forks. Go to a crossroads dats got fo' forks to it. Yo' go dere in de mornin' - yo' go dere fo' nine mornin's. Dey say, yo' go dere an' yo' come to all de forks, go jes' right where them forks at - right in dat block [square], an' den yo' go backwards up one of 'em. Says, yo' got'a cuss God, den all yo' kin think of - jes' anything yo' kin say agin Him. Dat's fo'de firs' mornin'.
(You go into any one of those forks?)
Either one of those forks - go backwards. (When you cuss God do you stand right in the center, right where all these roads are?) Dat's where yo' starts at, yes sir. Den yo' goes backwards. Dat's de fust mornin'. Well, when yo' cusses Him de firs' mornin' dey says on de second mornin' de devil meet chew dere. He meet choo an' he'll talk wit choo, an' then he'll tell yo' - he'll show yo' then de glitter of de world - jis' whu' de world [is] an' what's in de world, an' jis' how yo' kin come to git to it - richness - jis' git rich. But still, yo' ain't not through den until yo' go to all fo' of de forks ev'ry mornin' - go up each one. De one yo' went up dis morning don't go up it de nex' mornin'. An' de second morning yo' come down dis road yo' cusses Him agin - yo' cusses Him fo' all yo' knows dat morning, an' de devil'll meet chew dere dat morning an' he promise yo' dat morning - he tells yo' tuh cuss Him an' whatever yo' promise - yo' got'a tuh make the devil a faithful promise dat chure soul is his'n when yo' cursin' God. Well, yo' go there for all nine mornin's, but de last morning - when yo' git to the ninth morning, yo' go back there, but don't run out on de fork of the road, yo' go back to the first fork where yo' started - yo' go back down that fork an' yo' curses Him agin. Well, devil dere an' yo' promise him dat chure soul is his'n. Well, dey says tha' chew take that bone an' yo' put it on a string an' tie it around yore neck an' let hang down in yore bosom heah an' yo' goes ahead on. Dey tell me yo' kin go to a lock an' jis' (puff) [demonstrates by blowing] - blow dat lock an' it'll come open. Yo' kin take dat bone then an' after yo' git everything whut chew want in dat building an' got out, yo' kin jes' take dat bone an' stick it in yore mouth an' walk out, cain't nobody see yo'. (Now while you are going down to this crossroad those nine mornings, where is this bone all that time?) Yo've got dis bone - yes sir, yo' got this bone then but dis bone won't begin to work until yo' curse God.
Entry 286
Ah could tell yo' dat story but not knownin' whether all of it's 'zactly true or not - about de cat. Ah hear dem say dey kin - dat chew boil a black cat an' yo' put de black cat in runnin' watah after yo' boil it an' yo' git de bones dat come towards yo'. An' den fo' nine mawnin's yo' go to five points - fo'ks of de road, an' when yo' go there, dey say yo' hear de wind, stormy like, an' on de ninth mawnin' if yo' kin stand an' hear an' see whut chew see, why den - after yo' done boiled dis cat an' go through this process, why yo've sold yore soul to de devil an' yo' kin do most anything.
(You take those bones to that road?)
Yes - yo' carry them with you. In de first place yo' carry dem to the runnin' watah, an' then yo' take 'em out. See, there'll be so many come to yo' an' so many go from yo', but de ones fo' yo' is de ones dat come towards yo'. An' then yo' go to those fo'ks of de road nine mawnin's.
(You just carry those bones with you when you go to the fork of the road?)
Yes - but then those three bones dat come towards yo', you supposed to keep dem bones with you always. That's fo' yo'. De othahs is fo' de othah fellah - providin' if it's a person sellin' dat kind of work.
The informant explicitly doubts whether the black-cat story is wholly true, describing bones moving toward the collector and nine mornings at 'five points' or road forks. The follow-up specifies three bones to retain, with others for another person if the work is sold. Claimed encounters and powers stay qualified by that uncertainty.
Entry 287
Well, de way ah've heard yo' have to do dat, yo' have tuh git a black cat an' put him in - git some real hot watah an' git chure watah tuh boilin' an' don't kill de cat. From whut ah heard about it, yo' don't kill de cat. Yo' takes de cat alive wit'out any white spots atall on him - no place atall, an' throw him in dat hot boilin' watah an' let him boil until all de meat boil off his bones. Aftah de meat boil offa his bones, den yo' take de bones - takes all his bones, all de laig bones - take all his bones an' carry him to a stream of runnin' watah. Yo' take dem bones an' throw 'em in runnin' watah an' den dere's one of de bones goin' go upstream. Well, yo' take dis bone dat goes upstream - one of 'em will run up de stream. Yo' take de bone dat runs up de stream an' yo' take it an' put it in yore left-han' pocket an' yo' goes back. When yo' go back, yo' start goin' to de fo'ks of de road every mawnin' - every Sunday mawnin' an' be dere at nine 'clock. An' yo' go dere fo' nine mawnin's, an' wear dat bone in yore pocket every mawnin' an' de last mawnin' yo' go dere, dey tells me, say, practi'ly ev'rything - all kinda animals an' ev'rything dat yo' kin think of will mostly come to yo', jes' come natchral right up befo' yo' face, an' if yo' don't git scared, if yo' kin stay dere an' make it out until de las' thing come, dey tell me dat de last thing come is de devil. But if he come an' yo' kin 'ford tuh see all dat, den yo' take dis bone an' dere prob'ly some marrow in dat bone an' yo' have tuh suck it out - yo' don' have tuh swallow it, spit it out. An' then yo' kin prob'ly do anything yo' wanta do - disappeah an' all dat stuff.
The informant reports a black-cat bone selected by upstream movement, carried in the left pocket to road forks for nine Sunday mornings at nine o'clock, and a succession of beings ending with the devil. Staying without fear and sucking then spitting marrow are described conditionally; powers and invisibility remain hearsay.
Entry 288
Well, dey take an' dey boil a black cat. An' dey takes de black cat bone from between his laigs dere - let it be a bull cat, a boy cat.
(Which bone between his legs - what do you mean by the bone between his legs?)
Well - dat little this heah when it runs out.
(His tool? That bone in there?)
Yassuh - git that bone an' yo' go tuh de fo'k of de road.
(What do you do out there at the forks of the road?)
Yo' turn yore back tuh the fo'ks of de road an' throw it ovah yore right shoulder an go on whare yo' goin an' nevah look back.
(What will that do?)
Well, that will keep yore enemies from ovahtakin' yo' - dat cat bone will take care of yo'.
(You don't keep that bone at all?)
No sir.
Entry 289
Well, tuh git a black cat lucky bone is to take a cat an' - don't put him in de watah no sooner den yo' kill him an' don't throw him in dere alive. Yo' take a cat an' walk by him three times 'fore yo' kill him, an' say, "Ah kill dis cat in de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost," an' on de last word kill him - mash his haid an' then throw him in de pot an' let him boil thoroughly. Den aftah dis cat is boiled, yo' see de first bone dat sticks up, yo' reach in dat pot of hot watah an' snatch it up an' spit on it an' rub it in yore hands - rub it all ovah yuh.
(Rub it in your hand and rub it all over you?)
All ovah yo' - jes' rub it in yore han' an' rub it all ovah yo'. An' let de cat boil dere fo' a few minutes. An' den take dat cat an' go to a rivah or a creek, anything [where water runs] an' chunk him in dere an' yo' jes' stand in de one place right where yo' are - jes' stand dere. One of those bones will settle right back to the bank of the watah. Ah don' care how fast de watah is runnin', dat bone's comin' back to de bank. Well, den, co'se yo' jes' reach right in de watah an' pick it up. Yo' take dat - dem two bones yo' got from dat black cat. That will give yo' all de luck in de worl' - all de luck yo' want - it runs contin'lly - dat will give yo' all de luck in de world. Yo'll git in trouble but chew'll git out.
(That's the lucky bone?)
Dat's right.
Entry 290
They tell me the most lucky thing a person can get to guide him for one's life or luck or love is to take the bones from the carcass of a black cat. Now, the way to find this bone is simply to get a solid black cat, a cat that hasn't a particle of white about it, not even a strand of white hair. Take a boiling pot of water and put the cat in alive until all the flesh is boiled off the bones. Then take the bones and carry them in front of a mirror and look in that mirror, and put a bone in your mouth until it comes that you are invisible in the mirror, then you put that bone aside. Then you put all the bones back and start to putting them in your mouth again until you can see yourself again reflected in the mirror. Then take those two bones and carry them to a stream of running Water, and throw them over your left shoulder and run down the stream and catch them. Just where you catch them you take them and mark them, and carry them to a clear pool of deep water. And when you see yourself reflected in the Water, you put the bone in your mouth until you can't see yourself. Put that bone in one pocket - either pocket. And put the other bone in your mouth, and when you come back visible again, you have the two lucky bones. And you can do anything you want with them. You can walk right into a bank and they can't see you and you can take the money out. I know a boy that tried that at home and they put him in jail. I don't think he waited long enough until he found the bones.
Entry 291
Ah heah talk of 'em sellin' deyself to de devil. Well, dey take a black cat an' dey carries him - dey builds a fiah to de pot an' dey boils de cat 'live. Dey boils him till all de meat comes off his bones: Den dey take all dem bones out an' carry dem tuh runnin' watah. See, de two bones dat go up de stream, dey gits dem two an' dey worries 'em in dey mouth, an' dey go tuh de lookin' glass an' stan' befo' de glass an' try demselves, an' whenevah dey go out of sight dey knows dey's workin' den. An' dey goes on de ninth mawnin' aftah dey do dat an' dey meets de devil - to de fo'k of de road jes' at sunrise, an' dey meet de devil an' he tell 'em whatso- mevah art dey wanta take, he tells 'em whut tuh do.
Entry 292
Git de black cat an' boil dis black cat and git five of dem little bones an' yo' crosses dem lak Joseph's ladder [surely Jacob's]. [He demonstrates.] (You take two parallel bones and two more parallel and you cross them like that?) [This sound like a ticktacktoe (or noughts-and-crosses) diagram.] Yes. (That's Joseph's ladder?) Yes. An' yo' cross 'em lak that an' yo' make yore wish - lak yo' want luck or make money or somepin, wish it on Joseph's ladder fo' nine times. [He holds up an imaginary ladder.] Dat called Joseph's ladder, say, "In God we trust - luck - luck - luck" - fo' nine times, with that black cat bones.
(What do you do with the fifth bone?)
Well, yo' takes hit an' yo' wears hit - yo' wears hit down in yore bosom, dat fifth bone. (When you are making these wishes, what do you do - you hold the bones up like that?) Yo' hold de bones up in de east an' yo' call Joseph's name - Joseph's ladder name nine times, den yo' wish fo' luck.
(How do those bones stay together that way?)
Well, dey takes a little fine wire - wire 'em togethah. Den yo' make a mattress, kinda lak dat, of 'em [demonstrates] - kinda take a little sawin' knife, so yo' kin file [something like this #].
(Make it like a [rustic] picture frame?)
Yes, kinda lak a little picture frame an' hold it up to de east an' make nine wishes.
(What part of the cat do you get these from?)
Yo' git 'em outa the hin' laigs. (Either hind leg?) [This sort of question is usually conversational - not investigative - and meaningless, see Introduction.] Yessuh, in de hin' laig - that part of the thigh, de small bone - git dem bones, de thigh bones.
[Two cylinders later the black cat bone reappears.]
(I have to go down before the judge - now, what do I do?)
"Fore yo' go yo' have dis heah wishbone - dis heah black cat wishbone.
(Where do you get that?)
Dat's de one ah wus tellin' yo' 'bout when yo' boil de cat an' git dat othah bone - yo' know, dere's five of 'em. Well, yo' only use but fo' of 'em, an' yo' keeps one an' yo' has it on a black cord around yore neck. Well, yo' takes it out an' when dey brings de - yo' settin' dere waitin' an' yo' make a wish nine times in de east - lookin' in de east an' make a wish. Den yo' take de lode- stone an' rub hit on dere an' make yore wish an' put it back in yore pocket. An' when yo' go out, go out with this heah lodestone in yore han', an' de judge will make yore fine light an' he liable tuh dismiss de case.
(What did you say about passing something over my teeth or lips?)
Ah said, nine times, take dat wishbone ovah yore face nine times lak dat - while yo' makin' yore wishes.
(You said you had to look a certain way when you do it?)
In de east, an' make yore wish.
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.
Entry 301
Dey takes a black cat an' gits his bone out dere tuh de fo'ks of de road. Dat make yo' become wise to anything. (Do you know what they do to get that bone?) Yessuh, dey draw each bone 'cross dere mouth till dey become blind, an' de right bone will natchly run yo' blind. An' yo' be wise tuh doin' anything; jis' lak ah wanta take dis suit- case, yo' nevah will discover ah'm takin' until ah'd be gone - see, out de way wit it. [This may be the only recorded reference to my specially-made suitcase for carrying fifty cylinders - see Introduction.
Entry 302
Well, dat's if yo' wanta sell yo'self to de devil an' do anything in de world. Well, yo' kin take a black cat an' tie his fo' futs [foots] togethah lak yo' would a hog [the verb for this act is hogtie]. Have yo' on a boilin' pot of watah an' throw him into de watah until all de meat boils off his bones. Then aftah de meat boils off his bones, let it git cold. Yo' take each one those bones an' draw 'em 'cross yore mouth that way [demonstrates], until when yo' git to the right one yo' will know it - yo'll come blind as a bat an' somepin will tetch yo' an' says, "Meet me at de fo'ks of de road an' ah will talk wit joo." But when yo' go tuh de fo'ks of de road - yo' jes' go tuh any fo'ks of de road at twelve o'clock at night an' de devil will be dere wit chew. An' anything dat chew start he'll back yo' up in it.
(You can't go to the forks of the road until you get that bone?)
No suh, yo' cain't go there until yo' git that black cat bone. Then yo' kin do anything dat chure big enough tuh do.
Entry 303
Jes' lak yo' spot a cat, yo' know, a black cat in yore neighborhood. Perhaps, at twelve a'clock in de night, yo' go git dat cat. Yo'd have yore watah boilin' an' yo'd set down aftah it boil an' den git him 'mersed down. Yo'd first repeat de Lord's Prayer. Close yore eyes an' repeat the Lord's Prayers ovah that hot kittle of watah. Den yo' would take it off an' let it cool. Put it in some watah, yo' know, an' git it cool. Then yo'd set down an' right near dat pan. Yo' might say yo'd have a - yo'd set there aftah yo' repeat de Lord's Prayer an' yo' take bone by bone an' draw it across yore mouth an' yo' lay it down, bone by bone. Well, when yo' git to de right bone, yo'd lose sight on [of] 'em, an' den dat'd be de right bone. Yo' would take that bone then an' put it in yore han' or pocket, an' go in any othah place an' the people that are in there, they would lose sight on yo' as yo' are sighted.
Entry 304
Why yo' kin take a cat an' kill him yo' know an' cook him whole an' take all de bones out. (You said the bones of that black cat will do what? After you boil him you do what with them?) You put everyone dem little piece of bone in yore mouth until yo' find one fit yore mouth, yes.
(Like what - you said like what?)
Jes' like a false teeth - yo' understand, jes' somepin fit round dere like dat. An' dat's de bone fo' yo' tuh keep tuh puts across whatsomevah yo' wanta go ovah.
Entry 305
Ah heerd mah people talk about a black cat. Dey said if yo' wanta be lucky, yo' go ahead an' yo' cook dis cat, see. An' yo' would take ev'ry bone an' pull it through yore mouth until yo' git to de right one an' when yo' git to de right one, dat right one would drop out chure mouth - dis black cat bone. Yo' would have to pull ev'ry one through dere till yo' git to de right - den de right one, when yo' git to de right one, dat right one would fall out chure mouth.
(Well, you would be holding it - how could it drop if you are holding it?)
Well, yo' draw it through see - one will go one way and de other ones will go de other, an' dat main bone would fall out. Dat s de way yo' finds de luckiest. [This is the magic rite of alternation - draw a bone right to left across your mouth, then the next bone left to right, and keep repeating this alternate process.]
Entry 306
I heard of a man telling another man that, "If you can get me a black cat - he must not have a white spot on him - and get him alive and bring him to me, I will get a certain bone out of that cat that will enable you to do anything you wish to do." So the man said, "Well, how will I manage to get the cat?" "When you are walking at night" - you walk in a certain direction - "when you meet this cat you won't see anything but its eyes. But when you see his eyes, open your eyes and stare into his eyes, and don't blink until you have caught hold of him. He will not move as long as you do not bat your eyes." When the man went out he met the eyes that the man told him he would meet. When he met them he did accordingly the way he was instructed. When he gazed into the eyes of this black cat he crept stealthily up to him without batting his eyes and grab him around the neck. Then he had him. He went on to the man with him which is supposed to be a cunjure. He took him to him. The man took him and wrapped him up carefully, smothering him to death with- out hitting him a lick. Then he was placed into a box and let remain there until his flesh rotted away. Then this man, which was the cunjure, was able to get all of the skelton of this cat without any strength being taken out by heat or by suffering - he was only smothered to death. It is said that a cat, especially a black cat, has nine lives. And it is stealthy. And in order to concentrate all of these qualities, that is why he was not hit, he was not cut. No violence was done to his body. He was only caught back of his neck, wrapped up carefully and smothered to death, so that all of his qualities were left in and went to the bones when the flesh decomposed. Then the man, it was said, got the bone that he wanted right between the two front shoulders and right down where the ribs of the cat joined from the back of his neck down his vertebrae. Those are the places that they say the vital bone are gotten that will enable you to keep with you to do anything you wish. Take this bone and wish whatever you want to and it will come to you.
Entry 307
There's a man that could - you see, I guess he's sleight a' hand - did sleight-a'-hand work. An' he did a whole lots of things. So he said - mah brothers would get after him to tell them how he came to know how to do these things. He could do anything - jis' go an' take money or anything. An' when the officers went behind him an' taken an' locked him up in the jailhouse, he'd come on out an' say, "Well, come on, Captun, let's go togethah," and walk on away - now, that's the truth - an' walk on out, an' he would jis' turn into a grey horse an' jis' go on off. So mah brothers wanted to know whut did he do to get this way. So he told them he had to take a black cat an' go in de woods so many miles before day, an' put a pot out there a-boilin', an' put this cat in there an' boil all the flesh off the bones an' the bones all over jis' like you drvin' 'em. Then he had to go where's there's a newborn baby, take this baby, an' put this. baby right in there an' burnt de baby all up jis' like he did the cat. An' he would take the cat, the cat thigh - the first bone from the hip on the back. He'd take this bone from the hip an' take the baby's breastbone - an' throw ever'thing else away except these bones - an' take those two bones an' put 'em into fresh water, an' boil them until they boiled down like a lickrish [liquid a thick pot liquor]. Put it in a bottle an' rub yourself with it, grease your- self with it for nine mornings [at a crossroad], an' go right back to the cross- road the ninth morning, an' when you git there an' rub yourself, an' dance there, an' a black cat would cross it [the crossroad], you take that cat an' kill that cat, an' take this blood an' put in this bath an' take a bath. You grease your- self nine mornings into that blood an' stuff [cat-and baby salve] an' you could do anything you wanted to. [See also 375. Neither colored person nor white takes seriously rites like these two. Whether they start from a hoodoo manual or a tall tale, I do not know.]
Entry 308
Jes' take a black cat in de house an' jes' have a hot pot of water on de stove an' jes' stick him in dere. An' dey say when he boil up, say yo' jes' take it out an' go to de water an' throw de bones in - in runnin' water. De one float up de stream, dey say yo' git dat out an' dey say have it dressed an' dey say - yo' know, was luck. (How do they dress it?) Say, well, yo' take it to a root man an' have him to dress dis bone fo' yo'.
Entry 309
Get that bone right from back here.
(Right from in back by the rectum?)
Yes. Right there. It's a kind of crooked bone - and that's the black cat bone - anybody that can carry that in their pocket - it's worth something to 'um 'cause anything they do or get in, it sucks them out. When this is gone - when some person is fixed, you know. They [doctors] done fixed this bone and give it to you - not just picked it ordinary out of the cat.
(Well, how do they fix it, I wonder?)
Oh, well, you take this bone. You get a saucer. You got to pray over it. You got to roll this in that steel dust, roll it in this powder they call the come back powder. All the drug stores down here got all this I'm telling- sells all that down on Rampart Street.
(Would they sell to me?)
Correct. Everything you want. (You mean that I couldn't just go out and get this black cat bone? I would have to get it from somebody that had them fixed up - prepared?) Yes.
(I see. Well, where would I get that?)
Here. [So far as I knew, informant was not a professional worker, hence my note after the interview - "guessing at how it is prepared." Had informant been a doctor, the bone could have been dressed in this way or any Way.]
Entry 310
Sho' yo' git at the drug sto'.
(You get the black cat lucky bone at the drug store?)
Pantages Drug Sto', yessuh, right heah in Pantages, yo' kin buy the black cat lucky bone.
Entry 311
Well, mah aunt had a little black cat. Ah don't know if yo's heard of 'im - dere wus a man used tuh be heah in dis town, dey called Sweep, de Monkey. Dey claim he had one. Dey say he cookeded de cat - a black cat without 'ary [nary] a white spot on him, anything [white] - he couldn't have one white hair in his mustache, no white furs on him at all. Me an' mah brothah, we tooken de [aunt's] cat - take him down tuh de swamp an' he'd put on a can of watah - a large can an' we started de watah tuh boilin' - down side a stream of runnin' watah. We put de cat in - tie his feets togethah an' put him in dere alive an' shet de lid down on him. An' whensomevah we put: de lid on de can an' shet de cat up in dere an' it start - yo' know, jes' when it start tuh cookin' him, yo' understand, like he wus meat [beginning to cook], dere come up a big ole thundercloud [lightning and thunder]. Ah wanted tuh go an' mah brother he wanted tuh stay. He keep coaxin' me until ah stayed with him until all de meat boiled offa de bone. An' he takes de can an' turn it into de stream of runnin' watah - a place dey call Jeffer's Creek, a creek dey got right down dere to de Coastline [Railroad] pumphouse. An' he always hear dat de bone dat dey po'd in de runnin' watah - all de rest of de bones an' de meat would go down de stream, but de lucky bone would come back up de stream. An' dat's de one dat he got. Ah didn't git it, but he git de bone. An' he taked it to a lady dey called Doctor Campbell in dis town an' she dressed it fo' him. She wrapped it up in some red flannel an' he used de bone until he leave heah in 1921. He got into a murder scrape heah an' he leaved heah an' dey nevah did look fo' him nowhere tuh put him in jail. Dey couldn't keep him in dere, dey nevah would. Then Columbia would git him. [If they could have caught him, he Would have been sent to Columbja.] He's be gone ever since 1921. Dat's all fo' dat black cat bone. Ah suppose dat's whut dis man Sweepin' Monkey [did to get his bone] - he used his'n fo' gamblin' - an' dey nevah could shoot him an' hit him or nuthin'. Course mah brothah didn't git in dat roundup [raid] an' shootin' cause he run away - he slip through, nobody seen him. Fo' me usin' it pusson'lly mahself - ah didn't, but ah have done de cookin' proposition.
Entry 312
Ah heared dat yo' kill nine black cats an' yo' put 'em in a pot an' yo' boil 'em an' till dey drop off de bone. Den yo' take dese bones an' throw 'em in runnin' watah an' de lucky bone will come to de top. An' yo' take that an' tote it in yore right hip pocket - yo' carry it an' have it dressed - tote it in yore right hip pocket. An' then yo' kin do anything yo' want to.
(How would you dress that bone?)
Well, ah don' know.
(You get nine cats?)
Yessuh - nine cats.
Entry 313
Yo' take a live black cat an' throw 'im in a hot oven - yo' know he'll soon be daid. Let him cook down. It's a certain bone, ah disremember now - ah have heard all about that. It's a certain bone dey pickin' out dere an' dey git red flannen an' dey wrop dat bone. When dey wrop dat bone, they wrop it to 'em this way - coming to them [demonstrates].
(Coming to them.)
Now, they had that fo' luck way back in those days, if they had hard luck.
(Did they use the black cat bone back in slavery times?)
Yes sir.
(Did you hear about it as a young boy?)
Yes sir - dat's why ah knows.
(I see, you were born in '58 [1858].)
Entry 314
Well, ah heard dey ketch de black cat an' dey'll kill him an' dey take it outa his rib, de bone. An' dey'll smoke dat black cat bone an' dey'll wear it den. Dey'll smoke it an' wash it. Aftah dey washin' it dey gits some devil's [vinaigre?] out de drug sto'. Dey soak it in dat agin. Den dey'll take it an' dey'll wear it an' dey'll make lak a bag an' put it in dere an' wear it.
(What is that supposed to do?)
Dey would do anything dat dey wanta do. Dey'll come in heah an' yo' won't know it an' dey'll go out chere an' yo' won't know it. Dey'll do anything dey feel lak doin'.
(They just take this cat and they take one of his ribs out.)
Yeah, one his bones out.
Entry 315
In de gambling line dat yo' cud [could] git chew a black cat but yo' have to ketch dat cat when he 'live, an' put him in a pot of water an' boil him an' boil dat cat till all de meat boil off his bones, an' go to a runnin' stream of water an' throw him in dat water. An' all dat bone will gone down de stream but de lucky bone will come back up to yo'. Den yo' git dat bone an' git chew a little sack an' take a little bottle of heart's coZogne an' put dat bone in dat sack an' yo' keep dat bone jes' wet [feed it] wit dat cologne, yo' know, 'bout once or twice a week. [This is a hand or mojo or toby.] A boy tell me dat - said he did it an' when he went to a skin game. He broke up every skin game he'd git into.
Entry 316
Fo' luck, if it's a woman or man - a man, he kin take de bone from a black cat. It's a bone made lak de breast of a chicken bone an' it lie somewhere between his - think it's somewhere through his side, ah think it is. It's a forked bone jes' lak dat [like a chicken wishbone - no such bone in a cat]. Dey git dat cat an' kill dat cat an' boil him; jes' let him boil all to pieces an' take dat cat jes' as he is an' put it into a pail of watah, an' in dat watah, let it be high enough fo' it tuh come tuh pieces. Yo' know, jes' git all de meat offa dem bones. Put 'em into a tub an' dat lucky bone of dat cat, it will come up to de top an' de rest of dem bones will stay in de bottom. Well, he gits dat bone an' he gits him a bottle of Jockey Club perfume. Take dat bone an' keep it in his pocket an' when he goin' anywhere he goin' to gamble, why he takes dat bone an' he rubs it thoroughly while it got dat perfume - dat perfume will be all in his han's. An' quite natural, it goin' bring his luck to him until he let somebody else know he got it in his pocket. Well, if he go tell somebody else about it, it ain't goin' do him no good.
Entry 317
Take a black cat an' take a pot of hot boilin' watah an' take dis cat alive. Yo' mus'n't kill 'im - yo' take him alive an' put him in dat hot boilin' watah live an' let him boil all to pieces. An' take dem bones an' hold dem 'fore de mirror an' de one dat shake in de mirror dat's, yo' know, dat's de right bone. Or yo' either take it to runnin' water an' de bone dat go down de stream dat's not de right bone, but de bone dat go up de stream an' de water running dat's de right bone. Take it an' put it in a black bag - sew it up in a real black bag an' jes' when yo' wanta do a trick or anything, put on a real black shirt an' yo' kin go in a store or anywhere an' git anything yo' want - nobody will nevah see yo', yo' disappear. (Now when you hold that bone in front of the mirror - what happens to that bone when you hold it in front of the mirror?) It will shake in front of de mirror.
(Oh, the bone will shake.)
De right bone will jes' shake in front of de mirror. (You do either one - you either hold it before the mirror or you go to running water.) Yo' do either one of those an' yo' git de right bone.
Entry 318
Yo' kin take a black cat - ketch a black cat an' kill dis black cat an' git her right foot bone, de front foot. Git this bone an' put dis bone in a sack an' wear it roun' yore neck. Yo'll be lucky in jobs, lucky in anything yo' go fer. Jes' wear dat black cat foot bone - de right foot bone, de front bone.
Entry 319
Ah don' know how dey git dat separate, but dey say dey take de left leg an' yo' boil it, an' den yo' always - yo' boil it an' tie a red string on it an' tote it in yore left pocket. Dey say that will give yo' a lucky hand.
Entry 320
Then yo' kin take him [black cat] an' cut his feet off alive - jes' cut [off] his left feet 'live an' turn him loose. An' if dat feet heals up - yo' see dat's jes' de chance yo' take - if dat feet heals up an' if he live de length of a year or something lak dat, yo' kin go in any bank, any place, anywhere, git anything yo' wanta git, 'long as dat cat still stirring. But when dat cat dies, dat kills de foot. (The foot is no good then when the cat dies. You cut off the left foot, you say?) The left hind feet.
This historical account involves animal harm; its asserted effects depend on the cat's survival and remain unverified.
Entry 321
Well, dere ain't but one thing ah know about this black cat bone - dis superstitious way yo' git all of these black cat bones. Yo' keep this black cat bone undah yore haid an' yo' keep it there nine nights. Yo' sleep with it undah yore haid nine nights. An' after that then yo' take this black cat bone an' yo wear it on yo'. In case yo' go to make a deal or somepin lak dat, why yo' put in yore han' an' yo' squeeze it an' yo' make yore wishes. Den yore wishes come true.~
Entry 322
You kill a black cat, you get the rectum bones, dry them, put them in a towel, mash them up into a powder, put them in soup, anything with vegetables a woman wants to eat. Then in the spring of the year when the sap begins to rise and the she cat meows for the tom cat, the woman will do the same thing - they [a cat] goes in heat twice a year - and want you.
Entry 323
This is a peculiar thing, I must say humorous thing, what chew may call witchcraft. Of course I don't have - I don't know anything about it, but I've heard about it. And so they said that if you take a cat, a black cat, and boil him down to get a black cat bone and just apply that bone to a certain part to your body or the affected part of your body, why that'll cure you. I've heard that.
(What do you mean by apply?)
Well, apply meant - I guess it means to massage the place where you're hurt, affected, your arm swollen I guess or your leg is swollen, why you just take this black cat bone and that'll have the power to drive those witches out, to drive -that condition out of your body. That's what I was told years ago by some of the old relatives.
Entry 324
Ah heard dat yo' could take a black cat at fo' a'clock on a Sunday mawnin' an' carry him at de fo'k of a road - carry a pot 'long wit chew or have yore pot dere. An' dey tells me now - ah don' know - dat yo' take dat cat an' put him in dat pot alive an' kiver him up airtight - boil him. An' after he's done, take dat pot an' go set down by a stream of runnin' watah an' yo' commence pullin' out bones from dat cat an' yo' pull dem till yo' git to de ninth bone. Yo' take dat ninth bone an' take keer of it.
(That ninth bone?)
Yes. Now, yo' got take ca' of it. Yo' take dat bone an' yo' carry it an' git good whiskey an' put it in a bottle an' drop dat bone down in dere, an' dat bone or dat whiskey offa dat bone, if a person is sick or poisoned, a teaspoonful of dat whiskey - sometimes, if he gwine git cured dey comes near tuh killin' him - give a teaspoonful of dat if he's poisoned.
Entry 325
A lady that lived in mah part de country, she was a wicked ole woman - she was as wicked as all out of door. An' dat [woman got] the cat in the family, they got a black cat in the house, an' there anyone in that family she don't like him - and you kin [take] that black cat - git the cat - sit you a hot boilin' pot of water on de fire - have it boiling - git that cat - throw him in that pot an' put de lid on him. Boil him until he boils all to pieces, until you kin git his flank-bone. An' the road that person travel - say fer in'ance [instance] there's one in the house name Mary, one name Jane, an' one name Tom - this goin' make me a parable [example] - an' dat [is] de road they travel - you take those bone an' bury 'em in that path an' the one that in de house tha' choo wanted to hurt - jes' says while you buryin' the bone that, "This is Tom" or "This is Mary" [or] "This is Jane" - an' soon as they walk over dere, why dey say it's too bad.
Entry 326
Now dere's a whole lot 'bout dis dat a person kin do, 'cause ah sold liquor once an' mah house nevah was searched two years in dis town. But chew git - ah got holt of a kind of a powder dey calls de black cat powder, understand. Den dey take dat powder ev'ry mornin' fo' seven mornin's, go to de window where yo' got de sunrise an' say de Lord's Prayer, an' sprinkle dat dust - dat powder round yore house. Yore enemy can't nevah come over it. Ah sold it two years heah an' mah house nevah was searched. See, usin' dat powder, yo' understand. [This could be the Black Cat brand of talcum powder, thought by informant to come from a black cat - see Doctor Frank Hall's origin of dragon's blood.]
Entry 327
[Doctor Hall, who I sought and found in the country near Berkley, Norfolk County, Virginia - see Introduction - "described the usual method for obtaining a black cat bone but said you hold a lodestone near the bones and it will draw out the lucky bone"' (a note made at the time of the interview).]
The source identifies this as a contemporaneous interview note reporting an account; verbatim participant wording is not established.
Entry 328
Well, ah've heard of de black cat. Yo' take dat black cat - ah've heard of dis. Yo' take him whilst he's 'live, take him an' boil him. Ketch him an' put him in hot watah an' boil him. An' yo' take dat watah an' let it cook down an' yo' take an' mix it wit sugah an' oil of bergamot an' oil of cinnamon. Aftah yo' git dat lucky bone - ah'll tell yo' dis first. Yo' take that an' have yo' a pan of watah, aftah yo boil him all tuh pieces. Den yo' take an' put it all in dat watah an' dat lucky bone will stay on top an' de others will go to de bottom. Yo' take dat bone out an' den yo' kin go by polices or anybody else. Yo' take that black cat bone an put it ovah yore do', up ovah yore do', or either undah yore step: De polices ain't comin' no further den dat. Dat's de way yo' got'a git dat bone.
(After you boiled that black cat, what do you do?)
Take an' mop yo' flo' with it [demonstrates while I comment]. (After you put that black cat bone over your door, then you use this black cat water and this oil of bergamot, that's to mop with.) With the sugah an' the concentrated lye. Put a teaspoonful dat concentrated lye in dat watah an' yo' mop yore po'ch early in de mawnin' befo' sunup. Dat keeps de police away an' draws de luck to yore house. [This is one of many ways to bring in customers - see Scrubbing and Mopping in Index.]
Entry 329
I knows of several gamblers aroun' here who carries one of those bones. They say [that] whut it is an' that's why they so lucky. They said take a hot pot of boilin' water an' sit it up there on the range, an' put it to boilin'. Grab a black cat right off de floah, you might say, an' dash him right in there an' have somepin to hold 'im in there. An' he gits in there an' let him boil all to pieces while he's alive. Then take the cat an' carry him down to a runnin' stream of water, after this water is boil down to a quart. An' you got to drink this quart of water. An' take the cat an' carry him down to a runnin' stream of water an' pick those bone. That stream be runnin' from you to the left. An' try to git as near sunrise as you know an' as you pick those bones you repeat the 'Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.' An' after you fin' tha' choo got this right bone - an' fer you to know tha' choo got it, it's the third bone tha' choo pick an' throw in that stream - will go from you an' you got the right one. An' when you git the right one it'll turn aroun' an' Come back to you. Then you will - you repeats another verse tha' says, "Three dead men looked out of a windah - one was deaf an' the other was blin' and the third one could not see. In the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen." Then your luck's on you right then. [Three dead men is used in a variety of rites.]
Entry 330
This lady had lived on the suburbs of the town over there at Berlin, Maryland, between Ocean City and Berlin, and she had jus' lost her husband. She has a little four-room house, very poorly constructed, it didn't cost much, and she has one boy. The boy's around fourteen years old. And directly after she lost her husband, there was a colored man came there and insisted that she take him in as a lodger. Well, she told him no, that she had never did it, jis' lost her husband - she rather not to do it. But he insisted staying there and she jis' couldn't get away - see, he jis' forced hisself to stay in her house. And after he had been there a couple of days, she come in home one afternoon from her work, and there she discovered this man had company. And on the second afternoon that this fellah had been at her house she come in from her work, and her son and her both heard this laughin' and talkin'upstairs. Knowin' there wasn't anyone but de one man there they began to investigate. And de boy goin' up de steps come back to his mother and says, "This man is up there and he has another heavy-set right black man settin' there with him, ' and he says, "they are a jis' havin' a big time."
(How did the boy see him?)
Through the crack of the door. And well, she begin - she was alarmed anyhow by him being there, and dat re'lly alarmed her more. And the next afternoon when she came in, her boy with her, they heard him a-laughin' and a-playin' upstairs. And when de boy went to see who was up there again and he had a great big black- snake on de bed playin' with it. Well, she asked him to leave again. But he laughed at her. So directly afterwards before she went back to her work, he came on out and went out, and she fastened ev'ry winder, locked ev'ry door in order that he couldn't git back in there. Well, when she came on back that night from her work he was right back in the house upstairs in his room. So then she began to think there was somepin funny about it. And he wanted to stay to his room. He didn't want to be seen around in de public. In fact he told her dat he didn't want to be seen in de public too much. And on the fifth day then he decided to leave and he went to her and he ast her what did he owe her. "Well, '' she say, "I don't make you any charge; anything you wanta give me is all right." She was only too glad to git clear of him, she told me. "Well," he say, "but I wan' choo to tell me." She says, "No, I won't." Well, he says then - he up and says to her, he says, "Now, you have recently lost your husband." She says, "Yes, that's right." And he say, "You owe the under- taker two-hundred dollars for this burial and everything. Is that right?" She says, "Yes." 'And you promised to pay him so much ever' month?" She said, "I did." "Well," he says, "I'm gon'a give you enough money to pay that bill off. But I want choo to do this. I want choo to pay them. You take this money and put away home here and keep it. And you go up and you jis' pay the twenty-five dollars a month like you have been doing, and don't pay any more than that, don't make any display with this money, becuz they know that choo can't make it. You haven't made it so quickly, and they'll want to question you where you got it from. And you act as I have instructed you." And she says he out and counted her out two-hundred dollars and gave her. And he packed up and disappeared, and told her that, "choo'll never see me again." And she believed that he was a man that had sold hisself to the devil. And when a person do that, if there's anything dat they want to accomplish, they can do it.
Entry 331
Ah had a man tuh tell me jes' exactly how yo' do dat. In mah time of gamblin' why ah studied all dat fo' luck, you know. If yo' wants tuh sell yore- self to de devil, yo' has to swear by man an' by lan' da' chew don't want nuthin' but jes' whut chew has in dis world, an' nuthin' aftah death an' nuthin' tuh do with God. In all yore works, "Ah'm goin' work for de devil an', ah don't nevah wants tuh pray." Den, yo' have to take a oath on dat. Yo' understand? An' when yo' take dat oath dat chew don't want nuthin' but of de world, an' yo' go serve de devil all yore life, an' then won't pray none, 'cause yo' ain't gon'a serve God none, why den de devil takes yo' a sinner. Den yo' kin do any kinda devilment dat chew want - yo' kin come outa jail at twelve a'clock at night; yo' kin shake de jail an' de do' will come open.
Entry 332
Heard a ole man speak about dat - say ev'ry Sunday mornin' you go to de fork of de road an' you curse God an' you dance an' den you prays. You jes' prays to de devil and you curse God. An' you go out dere ev'ry. Sunday mornin' an' dance an' jes' pray to de devil an' curse de Lord, an' de devil will put ev'rything into your way that you can get an' make it easier for you. You jes' tell the Lord that you take your soul out of His hands an' you put it into de devil's hands, an' you know, de Lord will quit answering your prayers then an' you see He'll jes' turn your soul right over to de devil.
Entry 333
You go to the fork of the road on Sunday morning before day, go there for nine times in succession before the sun rise and make a special wish, a special desire, and whatever you want to do, if it's to be a cunjure or to be a bad person, then the devil comes there. First comes a red rooster and then after that the devil sends something else in the shape of a bear. And after that he comes himself and takes hold upon your hands and tells you to go on in the world and do anything that chew want to do.
Entry 334
Well, dat's a small matter. You go to de fork of de road and jest like you is a rich man and I want a job from you or something like dat - wanta git you mah way so I could manage you, see, I'd go to de fork of de road about four o'clock in de morning. I'd git on mah knee and turn my face to de sunrise, you see, and I would say mah prayers and I would axe de Lawd to do what I want to be done, see; and I would turn around to de sundown, you understand, and den I'll axe satan. See, I'll beg de devil - beg 'em both, see; but I'll serve de Lord first and then I'll turn around to de sundown and beg de devil. Well, I'll axe 'em fer just what I want. Well, after I done dat I'll turn mah face across de World - see, perhaps I might turn my face to the east - might be to the west, see - might be to the north and to the south, see - but I'll turn my face and I'll axe de Lord twice and I'll axe de devil twice, see. Well, after you done axe de devil, you done sign up with 'im see, fer a certain length of time - and you sign it wit de devil fer a certain length of time well, you'll have good luck for dat length of time, see - and everything will work your way for that same length of time you beg for.
(Well, what happens when that time is up?)
Naw, you jest fall in bad luck - dat's all I kin tell you. Everything will be just laid on you, that's all - can't git nothing going or coming.
Entry 335
Well, I've never tried that fer this reason. I have the understandin' that whenever you go to a crossroad to learn anything fer any purpose, you have then put God behind you an' the devil in front of you. You will have made abso- lately, you know, a conversion with him - you've sold your soul outright to him for seven years. An' then I have the understandin' that you could go there at one o'clock in the night, right in the crossroads an' you turn your face to the West, your back to the east, your right to the north an' your left to the south, an' you shall call this man who pretend to do anything that you desires. This devil will come or send someone directly to you. The reason I tell you that, I know that's positive. The reason I tell you that is because I tried it one time when I wanted to learn to play music on de guitar, an' pretty soon I found out that it was true - why, I throwed de guitar right down an' I walked off an' left 'im. So that break the tie [the compact between him and devil].