Browse:Thunderbolt (Volume 1, entries 635)
Thunderbolt
Volume 1, entries 635. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → DIAGNOSIS. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 635
If a tree gits struck wit lightnin' yo' know - well de lightnin' strike it yo' know an' it run down - well, it goes down 'ward de ground. As it stroke, de lightnin' shoots, yo' know, down in de ground - it'll hit yo' know. Dat whut cuts it, yo' know, it's a bow lak. An' whenevah de lightnin' got a sort of heavy dash yo' know, an' when it jes' strike de tree it jes' peel de bark off it, yo' know. Lak ah comes an' goes roun' an' roun' [the lightning-struck tree] yo' know, an' yo'll [I'll] find that thing jes' about dat long: It's a bow or sword or something othah de call it. Ah fo'git de name of it whut de call it, but anyhow, it's a long thing jes' about dat long an' it got a round ring around it lak that. It's a piece of steel lak tin-steel [metal roofing?] an' it's tough as steel. Yo' nevah bend it or bruise it no way. Dere's a piece right at home now, jes' about dat long. [This is the thunderbolt or lightningbolt I have described elsewhere (see Index), but this particular object with a roun' ring around it is definitely a small arrowhead or spearhead of metal sold by some mail-order firm.]
(What do they do with that?)
Whut dey do with it? Well, yo' kin take dat air an' yo' kin go tuh de jail- house wit dat in yore pocket an' if de law nevah git it an' dey try yo', dey can't do nuthin' wid chew. It's luck tuh keep it roun' yore house, yo' know, it changes colors sometime, de tip end of it. Well, de tip end right 'bout dat long an' it slim as a needle point on de end. Jes' long as out on dat end it stays white, everything's okay; but yo' bettah watch yo'self if it all change color.
(Where did you hear that - where did you hear about that?)
Mah granddaddy.
(Where did you come from?)
South Ca'lina.