Browse:Seven Sisters (Volume 1, entries 2737–2740)
Seven Sisters
Volume 1, entries 2737–2740. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → SHRINES: ALTARS - CANDLES - SAINTS; NEW ORLEANS AREA → (1) ALTARS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 2737
(What have you heard about them, the Seven Sisters?) Well, ah heard dey wus awful brainful, but ah don't think so much of 'em mahself.
(Are they still alive?)
One of them.
(They seem to live a long time - those Seven Sisters?)
Yessuh. (Well, what do they say about them? Just give me a little account of the Seven Sisters. What have you heard about them?) Well, dey tells me dat de Seven Sisters kin read yore mind; dey kin do any kind of hoodooism dat kin be did. An' co'se, de Seven Sisters works most by prayers an' in terms of de Bible. There are things dat chew kin take yore Bible an' where dat de Seven Sisters couldn't give yo' a substantial answer about, even so myself. [Extract from later subsection, interview with Havana Man, New Orleans, La., No. 1564.]
Entry 2738
[Everything within quotations is from my original penciled notes made while listening to some material my transcriber failed to transcribe. Underlined words are the exact words of informant. "Long story but not worth transcribing in full - tie string on [something's - black hen's?] legs and told her to go out until find him...bring son to mother - the Seven Sisters out of [from or at] bridge in New Orleans [Algiers] - the one called Mary, the informant use to go out there when in New Orleans - use lots of cards - read your palm - tell for- tunes - they don't do much - they don't use so much - lots of time they tell you jis' go home and whatever you want will happen - put choo in a dark room an' let you stay in there." Memphis, Tenn., (966), 1561:11.]
Entry 2739
De Seven Sisters.
(Where are they?)
Some parts of So'th Ca'lina - ah don't know exactly. (She went there in this scrape she got into and the Judge couldn't convict her?) Couldn't convict her - an' dey had her in jail an' ever'thing.
Entry 2740
Well, now, dere's lota other things whut ah hear people talk about gamblin' han's. Ah hear a fellah say a time ago dat he went to de Seven Sisters in Virginia, but he said he went dere fo' a gamblin' han'. Well, he wus give a gamblin' han fo' - by, not de people he went tuh see. He went to see dem [Seven Sisters] but dey wasn't in at present, but he found some man dey call Mr. G. H. Smith. He called tuh be a confidence man, which an' evah he is. G. H. Smith & Company ~ de books Company'S name on dat. Spells his name lak dat - G. H. Smith & Company. Dis man gived him a piece of lodestone an' he gave him a piece of somepin dey call de five-fingers [grass]; but dis was to be found in de woods, dis five- fingers. It's like a flower grows - it grow in de shape of five fingers, jest lak dose five fingers [demonstrates]. Dey gave him a piece of dat, after gitting dis lodestone, an' den he told him dat he would give him some othah kind of mix- ture. Dat wus wrapped up in a cloth an' it looked lak dat wus graveyard dirt. An' he told him to put dis all in dis little bottle an' every mornin' he tole him tuh feed dis heah wit Hearts Cologne. Now, dis stuff - ah looked at de thing an' it eat up de stuff, dat Hearts Cologne jest lak yo' take water an' drink it. Now, yo' could po' some of dis bottle like dis morning an' fill dat bottle half full, an' twelve a'clock every bit of dat stuff be gone. Dat stuff - whut dey had in dat bottle wit dat five- finger - would suck it up. Now, dis man could go into a gambling hall - no one knows de truth if I would tell it - he could go into de gambling hall an' money - jest walk in an' hold de cards - pick up any cards - doesn't matter whut cards he pick up - he could pick up any card an' that card would get him through. Now he could sit there an' jes' beat de skin game.