Browse:Turpentine (Volume 1, entries 1585–1590)
Turpentine
Volume 1, entries 1585–1590. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → FOLK MEDICINE → CURE AND PROTECTION. Entries listed under this heading in the source volume.
Entries
Entry 1585
Ah tell yo' 'bout dat now, Doc [see in Index, Doctor, author called]. If somepin wus placed tuh de foot of de step an' yo' stepped down - step ovah it, yo' kin be harmded. But still, after yo' live an' yo' say yo' feel lak yo' haunted, yo' won't need but one thing. Know whut dat is? (No, what is it?) Yo' ought'a know. Well, yo' jes' git chew a ten-cent bottle of turpentine an noint chure feet an' rub it down, an' say, "Well, ah don't need yo' no mo'." Throw it ovah yore left shoulder an' go on 'bout chure business.
(And as they walk away - that will take the pain away?)
De pain's gone - jes' de same as snake oil.
Entry 1586
Dey say if someone bury somepin roun' yore house lak dat an' yo' got a idea who bury it roun' dere - yo' lookin' fo' someone tuh bury somepin lak dat roun' yore house - always keep yore bottle of turpentine an' keep yore shoes dampened inside with turpentine an' it'll nevah hurt chew. Yo' kin walk ovah it all yo' want an' it won't hurt chew.
Entry 1587
If you thought someone was tryin' to harm you, well I tell you about as good a thing you could do, if you thought somebody was trying to harm you. You just go to the drug store and get some turpentine, put nine drops in each shoe for nine mornings, and then get some aloes and work your stomach out good - cause nothing like that can't stand aloes.
Entry 1588
Well, you kin take ordinary spirits of turpentine an' wet cher finger in it like that, an' mahk on the bottom of yer feet, right from the toe right on back; an' then wet it again, shake it up an' wet your finger in there again, mahk it cross like that [across the hollow of the foot - in other words a cross is made on the sole]. An' then do the othern [the other foot] the same way. An' put shoo about five drops in yer shoe [shoes] where your lifeline, an' you kin go anywhere you wan'a go. You jis' do it about once a month.
Entry 1589
Well, fo' chills yo' take a raw cotton string an' wet it in turpentine, an' jes' lak yo' had two chills or three chills yo' - jes' as many chills as yo' have had - yo' tie that many knots in de string an' wear it round yore waist an' de chills will be gone.
Entry 1590
If anybody harm yo' or try to hurt chew in some way, yo' take a cotton string. Take dat cotton string an' yo' kin tie it in nine knots, see. An' yo' bind it around yore waist an' keep it thoroughly moist wit turpentine. Dat wus good.