Browse:Struck by Lightning (Volume 1, entries 1675–1694)
Struck by Lightning
Volume 1, entries 1675–1694. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → FOLK MEDICINE → Wood. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 1675
Nail a bo'd clear around. See, dat's tuh keep 'em from comin' cross any way atall - a new piece of bo'd all de way round de house. An' dey says dere cain't no ghost cross it - new lumber. [New lumber completely round the house, often a small cabin, would mean either laths or small slabs from small lumber. This belief comes from the second of the two boy-qirls (because they wore men's slacks) I interviewed - see comment on hermaphrodites in Introduction.]
Entry 1676
Any time dat lightnin' strike a tree, why yo' kin take a piece of dat, yo' see, an' use it fo' any kind of pains lak dat. (How would you use it?) Well, yo' boil it yo' see an' yo' wash yoreself, bathe in it.
Entry 1677
Ah don't know if dey use it fo' de same thing, but ah know lak a tree dat been struck by lightnin' dataway, an' yo' go in de side - yo' see, yo' take a tree where de sun rise at it's practic'ly smooth cause it pressed [east side of tree has smooth bark because sun presses it], whereas it goes down dat draws it uP [west side of tree has rough bark because sun drows it]. Well, aftah de tree is struck by lightnin' an' yo' taken dat bark off of it, dey claim dat if a man is subject wit rheumatical pains, see - takin' an' boilin' dat bah'k an' vo' see puttin' dat in his watah when he bathe, he'll be practic'ly himself, yo' see. Where it struck wit lightnin', if it struck on de west side. See, on de east side of de tree she press de bark off de tree pretty smooth. When she goes down she draws. See. Take it from dat bah'k on de west side fo' rheumatical pain - it's de best pain dat it evah wus used fo'.
Entry 1678
Ah heard if de lightnin' strike a tree an' yo' kin go dere where dat lightnin' strike dis tree an' git some of dat bark offa de tree an' boil it good; if yo' got a person dat any person's been sick for a long time or sufferin' wit rheumatism or somepin like dat, or been hurt in whiskey or anything - let 'em drink dat tea offa dat bark an' dey will gain dere strength back.
(If they have been hurt - you mean tricked?)
If dey been tricked in any kinda thing.
Entry 1679
It will cure de asthmee. If it been struck by lightnin', yo' take it an' yo' boil it an' make a tea of it an' drink it an' it will shure cure de asthmee.
(Any kind of a tree that has been struck by lightning?)
Yessuh.
Entry 1680
Dey git de lightnin'-struck tree - a pine or what not, an' it cure de thrush. Jes' take an' boil it an' make tea out of it an' give it to whosomevah have de thrush - dat will cure it.
Entry 1681
It's good fo', understan', fo' a person dat's sick an' it's good fo' luck. Yo' kin use dat. Yo' take about - ah say about fo' or five splinters an' use 'em as a - yo' got'a chip 'em up real fine, see, 'cause dem splinters come from a tree from lightnin'. It's not lak ord'ary splinters when yo' cut it an' shave it from wood. Dere are re'ly kinda bark, understan, an' dey've got rough ends, but yo' got'a smooth these ends down an' use turpentine on 'em fo' a sick person. That's to give 'em bettah health. Understan', if yo' wanta put a person in bad luck [long digression about bad luck follows].... An' den yo' kin use it [lightning-struck wood] wit turpentine if a person is sick. Yo' put it [splinters] underneath his bed under de mattress an' it's good fo' recovery fo' dem.
Entry 1682
Well, dey say fo' n'instance now, if a oak tree wus right out dere an' de lightnin' strike it an' which an' it kill de part it strikes, well dat makes dat wood turn brown. Well, yo' jes' go dere an' take yore axe an' cut yo' a piece of dat oak bark an' bring it home an' chip it up fine jes' like yo' would Irish potatoes an' put it into a pot an' boil it - make a tea off it an' drink it, an' yo' hol' it on dat tooth. It'll shore stop de toothache - ah know dat.
Entry 1683
A tree whut's struck by lightnin', yo' kin git dat an' make toothpicks tuh use fo' yore teeth an' yo'll nevah have the toothache.
Entry 1684
If yo' got de toothache, yo' see, yo' go where de lightnin' struck a tree on de no'th side. If yo' have de toothache or de neuralgia, yo' go where de lightnin' struck dat tree on de no'th side, git a splinter an' pick dat gum - dat leaves yo'.
Entry 1685
Weli, if it wus struck wit de lightnin' - if yo' have toothache yo know, yo' take [a splinter from] the root of it an' picks yore tooth until yore teeth bleed where de teeth 'gin on top [pick the gum], den bo' a hole an' put it [splinter] in de tree. Dey say dat will cure yo' tooth.
(What tree do you put that in? You don't go back to the same tree?)
De tree dat de lightnin' struck, yo' kin put it in dat tree, or yo' kin put it in anothah one, it doesn't make no diff'rence.
Entry 1686
Ah heard whut hit about but hit will do yo' good. Yo' take a splinter from a tree whut struck by lightnin' an' trim it off clean an' pick yore teeth wit it, an' go to a 'simmon tree an' cut it off 'bout dat long an' split de 'simmon tree an' drive it in - drive de splinter in dere where yo' pick yore teeth with it for de toothache. An' drive dat splinter in dere an' tie a string around it an' let it stay dere, an' dat stop yore teeth from achin'. Dat's all ah heered about it.
Entry 1687
It's fine fo' toothaches.
(That wood from a tree struck by lightning?)
Yes.
(What do you do at first, now?)
Yo' git that piece of that timber that's been struck by de lightnin' an' git de blood from round de tooth, somewhere near de tooth dat aches, an' carry that to a tree, a oak tree, de no'th side of it, an' pull de bark down an' put that blood in there an' shove it back up, an' that kills yore toothache.
Entry 1688
Ah said a tree struck by lightnin', if yo' don't want dat person no way 'bout chure home - to stay 'way from dere. Now, yo' kin go tuh dat tree an' yo' kin git chew three chip offa dat tree, an' yo' [take] one an' put it ovah yonder ovah dat do' ovah dere, one put chere, an' one put chere, an' he won't be able tuh come dere. He'll steer an' go on right on 'cross - he won't come disaway, he go right on disaway. Well, dat's all ah heered about a lightnin' tree. (You put the three chips in a row going to your house? The three right in a row?) Dat's right.
Entry 1689
Ah heard that if yo' wanta keep anybody from hurtin' yo' with roots, tuh go to a lightnin'-struck tree an' cut yo' off a piece of it an' don't let it touch de ground until yo' git ready tuh put it in de ground. Be sure yo' hold it whilst yo' cut it an' don't let it hit de ground. An' cut chew off fo' splinter, split chew fo' stakes of it an' carry dem home with yo' an' drive dem fo' stakes to de fo' corners of yore house, an' dere won't be no danger of nobody puttin down any roots or anything roun' yore place to hurt chew.
Entry 1690
Ah've heard dat chew - jes' like if yo' want tuh do somepin other, anything dat chew wanta do, why yo' kin go to a thunder-strucken tree an' git jesta chip off dat tree, an' yo' take it an' go to de fo'ks of a road, where de roads crosses, an' yo' stick it down dere, an' when yo' stick it down dere, jest like if yo' wanted a person dat done somepin to yo', yo' call his name three times an' say, "In de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost, let not dis trouble come upon me." Well, now dat's all ah've heard about dat.
(You can do almost anything you want to by doing that out there?)
Yassuh. (You can tell them to leave or you can tell them to stop bothering - you can tell them almost anything? That the idea?) Yassuh.
The informant reports a chip from a lightning-struck tree placed where roads cross, naming someone three times and a spoken request against trouble. Two interviewer questions broaden the proposed purpose and receive affirmative answers; those prompts and the informant's limited hearsay remain explicit.
Entry 1691
Ah'm gon'a tell yo' - yo' wanta know whut would yo' do to keep 'em from harmin' yo'. Well, yo'll git in a path or road dat come from yore do'. Yo'll dig a hole wit chure tablespoon and when yo' dig that hole, yo'll go an' take a aig - any kind of a hen aig, jes' long as it a aig, and den yo'll take two sticks of a lightnin'-strike tree - yo' know what ah mean, an' yo'll nail them down on each side of that aig - wit dat aig down in de hole. [This is a mock burial - the egg a body and the two sticks the headboard and footboard of a grave.] An' then yo'll take yo' some physic salts, an' yo'll take that physic salts an' sulphur an' bluestone an' make a powders of that, an' yo' kin put it down dere where that aig is, an' yo' set it down an' kiver it up. De parties who dat yo' say, or anybody who yo' think will harm yo', why then when yo' done put dat down, yo'll curse it. An' when yo' curse it yo' jes' kick at 'em, and den go turn yore back - don't nevah look back. Now, that's the story of that as fur as ah know. Well, now if a man walk ovah that and if yo' do lak that, it causes me, if ah aim tuh do yo' some harm - all of that will come back to me.
Entry 1692
Git brimstone an' den git - dere's somethin' grows in de woods dey call Indian turnip or Indian potatuh [jack-in-the-pulpit] - it looks lak a.
(I know - kind of like a potato?)
Yes. Well, dey takes that an' goes in de woods where de lightnin' strike a tree - if it's a dead tree it's all right an' if it's a green one, jes' so de lightnin' strike it an' scatter de splinters, de splinters jes' fly in diff'rent directions. Dem splinters will go in diff'rent directions an' den yo' must take dem splinters after yo' pick up 'em an' den burn 'em till yo' git de ashes, an den compound dat 'tater up wit it an' put dem two together an' sprinkle dat roun' de house. Well, he can't come up there.
(That is if anybody is trying to put anything down for you - harm you.)
Yes - dat'll change his mind, that will kill it, he can't come ovah it.
(That will kill what he puts down?)
Yessuh, he jes' can't come ovah it.
Entry 1693
[Although lightning-struck wood is used for cures and protection, it can also be dangerous:] It's bad luck tuh burn it - de tree struck by lightnin'.
Entry 1694
If yo' use de wood of a lightnin'-striked tree - if yo' use de wood, de lightnin' Would strike yore house.