Subject:Alum
Entries
Entry 1096
Take alum, a piece about big as a dime an' pound it up an' put it in a little sack, an' write de name of dose parties dat chew think dat's interfering an' put dat name in de sack wit dat an' wear it in yore pocket. Dey said dat would eliminate dat trouble.... (They couldn't harm you - couldn't hurt you in any way?) Couldn't hurt chew. [Alum - like other chemical, metallic and organic substances listed later, occurs in many curative or protective combinations of ingredients.]
Entry 3244
Dere is de roots of de 'simmon tree. Yo' go out dere an' yo' git de roots offa dat. [A rooster began to: crow. I must have put up my hand asking for silence, be- cause informant inquires:] Suh?
(That rooster is crowing in the daytime. Means change in weather doesn't it?)
[I did not ask him what it meant because I was not collecting folklore uncon- nected with spirits or magic rites.] Yes.
[We continue.]
(Get that root of the persimmon tree?)
Yessuh.
(Any place?)
From dis side [demonstrates]. Always gits it from dis side, from de sundown side. An' in de mawnin' yo' git it from sunrise, see. An' yo' take dat off dere den an' yo' carry it back home an' yo' boils it - yo' make a tea out of it. When yo' make de tea out of it, den yo' kin put dat, chew know, into a bathe fo' a woman tuh bathe. Put jes' some in de watah in case she wants - she goin' wit chew [her husband] sompin. An' jes' a little teaspoonful of alum an' dat will make her close up - see, jes' draw up. An' he swears she won' have no- body but 'im. He swears nobody go dere but 'im. (You say if she takes a douche with this bath water, with this persimmon root boiled in it, it makes her close up?) Close up, an' a little piece of alum.
(And who would do this? The woman does that to herself?)
To herself, whut she do it fo'. An' when he go dere he swear she ain't messin' wit nobody but 'im. He ain't nuthin but a fool about it. She jes' ain't goin worry 'im 'bout it. An' she kin mess wit, have a hunderd diff'ren mens; but she nevah git it - close right down. An' he go right behin' dem an' swear she ain't nevah have no one.
(She is having those men. It would be too open if her husband [unexpectedly]
came around. She uses that and she closed it back up again. And he won't think anybody has been there.) Dat's right. [THE THEORY OF MAGIC HERE IS: A ROOT FROM THE SUNRISE SIDE OF THE TREE OPENS; FROM THE SUNSET SIDE, CLOSES.]
Entry 3721
He kin bathe in sweet milk fuh nine mawnin's - see, jis' de milk whut yo' milk out of a cow's bag whilst it's warm. An' bathe his privates down fuh nine mawnin's. An' take dat an' saltpetah, see an' alum fuh nine mawnin's, an' dat'll bring 'is nature back to him. (Do you take this milk bath separately or do you put this saltpeter and alum in it?) No, yo' see, yo' bathe in de raw milk by it- self warm, jis' as it come outa de cow's bag. An' aftah yo' do dat fuh nine mawnin's wit de milk, den yo' see when yo' take a bath, jis' a or'nary bath, yo' bath fuh nine days in dat saltpetah an' alum. An' dat'll restore yore nature back.
Entry 4185
See, yo' kin take a man's chamber lye, yo' undahstan' me, an' yo' kin put it in a bottle, an' yo' kin git 'if lef'-foot track, an' yo' kin git jes' a little tiny bit of powdah'd alum an' put dat in dere, an' yo' kin git a table- spoonfulla yores. (Of your what?) Of yore - yo' undahstan' me, yeah, of yuh chamber lye. An' yo' could step in one room an' let 'im be in anothah, an' yo' could call 'im. An' when he an- swah yo', jes' stop it up tight. An' bury it tuh de back steps or de front steps, an' dat will always keep 'im wit chew. Ah know dat mahsel' [myself].
Entry 4399
Take some borax, alum, salt an' do yuh fingahs disaway, put it [the three things] right dere [demonstrates]. (You put that [mixture] right on the index finger and then you lock your fingers.) An' yuh unloose 'em, yuh take it an' put it heah; an' do dat wit chure little fingah [auto horn sounds outside]. Dey tell me dese locks an' [demonstrates]. (The forefingers [in- dex fingers] inter- locked lock the bowels and the little fingers interlock them.) Yes sir. (I see. And to lock them put that substance under your index finger and to unlock them you put it under your little finger.) Dat's right. Lock an' lunlock.
Entry 4962
Yuh kin take a woman's stocking an' tie it in nine knots an' put it in a coffee can with live lodestone an' powdered alum an' a lick of dis heah Hearts Own Cologne an' one needle, sewin' nee- dle, an' yuh kin stop dat [coffee can] back up, an' yuh kin tie her dere jis' like she's lef' yuh an' she had come back. She'll stay dere jis' as long as dat, stay dere until dat stockin' molt away in dat can. [A lick of Hearts Own Cologne sounds unusual, even though lick can mean a small quantity. Previously I had never heard of a lick of perfume! Hearts Own here sounds like heartshorn, a pronunciation that confused me when I first started working in the South. I have discussed this elsewhere.]
(What do you do with that can?)
Well, yuh kin place it in yore trunk. Put it in yore trunk or any place like dat, yuh know, safe keepin' where nobody won't harm it.
Entry 5461
[This statement contains 3 separate rites, the last one the burning rite.] Well, now yo' kin use a track fo' love tuh hold a person, or yo' kin use it tuh run a person. Now, tuh hold a person yo' kin take a person's lef' track when dey are leavin' yore house. Yo' kin take it an' pull it backward, jis' a li'le of it back tuh- wards yo'. See, an yo' kin take dat track yo' kin mix it wit a li'le cookin' salt, an' yo' kin bury dat undah yore do'step or right down by yore do'step. Well, dat will hold a person an' make dem love yo', see. Or, yo' kin take dat track an' not use de salt but chew kin take yo' a li'le perfume or a li'le powdah - sweet yo' know, perfume powdah, an' mix it wit dat track. An' yo' kin take dat track an' yo' kin wear dat track. Keep it on yore person an' dat will make a person stick tuh yo'. An' den if yo' take.... If yo' wanta run a person wit dere track, yo' kin git dere track goin' from yore house. Don't put it tuh yore house. Yo' see, yo' wanta git rid of dat per- son. Like ah'm leavin' de house, pull it from yo', see. An' den yo' git yore track - yore own track - an' pull dat back towards yore house. Den yo' takes dose two tracks an' put it tuhgethah, an' yo' git chew nine peppah seeds. Git chew a li'le piece of bluestone an' a li'le piece of alum. An' if yo' kin git de cemetery dirt, yo' git dat. But if yo' can't git de cemetery dirt, den yo' jis' use dose ingredients. An' yo' put dat tuhgethah, mix it up tuhgethah, an' put a li'le salt in dat. SALT IS A WONDERFUL THING IF PEOPLE BUT KNOW HOW TUH USE IT. Take a li'le salt an' mix it in dat an' mix all dat tuhgethah. Den yo' jis' take an' ball it up an' burn dat. Burn it in de fiahplace or in de stove an' dat'll separate dat person from yo'. Dat is if yo' pull it from yo'. Now, pull dere track from yo'.
Entry 5686
They tell me that they can take the dust from under the right foot and mix that with High John de Conkah and bluestone and alum and aloes, and then use the word, "God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, " will bring him back. And take that then and wrap it in a rag and bury it under their doorstep and let it stay there for nine days. And then take it out and put it in a rag and wear it around her body, and he'll be compelled to come back.
Entry 6103
Yore hair proposition - dey git chure hair right out de mole of yore haid, right out de mole of yore haid. An' aftah dey git de hair right out de mole of yore head, dey take dat an' wrap it up into some into a rag, some cloth. An' aftah dey wrap it up into some cloth, dey takes it an' puts some red peppah, undahstan'. An' aftah dey put de red peppah in it, dey takes hit, takes de - Put red peppah, bluestone, alum, an' mix it all togethah, an' sulphur, an' put hit in dere an' ties it up. An' dey ties dat up an' dey carries it. Dey'll eithah bury it right at chure do'step - bury it at chure do'step an' yo' walks ovah all dat. Den dat begin pains about chure haid, right about chure haid. Den when it begin painin' about chure haid, put chew in bad sickness.
Entry 6808
(Suppose I have come to you about taking a spell off?)
Well, ah nuse [use] dis salt, peppah, sage an' stuff - salt, sugah, sage, alum an' saltpetah. Ah got dat ovah in a box, see. An' ah take some new string, nuthin have been worn, an' ah tie dem, an' whatsomevah ah Want chew tuh do [demon- strates]. (Just tie a knot.) Yeah, tie a knot, an' den ah take dat, dis stuff an' sprin- kle it ovah dere, see. An' den if dis spell [is] on me [you], see. An' whosomevah put it on yo', if yo' know dere names, yo' jis' call dere name an' tell 'em yo' want 'em to take dis spell offa yo'. Well, if dey don't, yo' wish bad luck onto dem, see. An' yo' burn dis stuff. An' den YO' STRIP BUCK NECKED [NAKED] AN' DEN TAKE DIS BLANKET AN' PUT IT: OVAH YORE HAID. AN' DIS SMOKE, YO' CAIN'T HAR'LY [HARDLY] STAND IT. If dere's anything in yo' in any way, shape, form or fashion, it'll come out, see. [The preceding term suck necked [[naked]] may be its only use in Hoodoo.] An' den yo' take a li'le whiskey glass an' yo' boil dis heah gourd tea - yo know gourds - an' yo' boil dis gourd tea an' yo' take three glasses of dis gourd tea evah day. An' dat'll take de spell off yo'.
(Especially if they have something inside of you.)
Entry 6894
Ah have know of sompin about trees fo' makin' medicine, red oak an' beechnut an' sycamore. Mix dem three barks tuhgethah an' put it in a 'luminum pot an' boil it until it come tuh a certain amount, jis' as much 'mount as yo' want. Jis' lak if yo' wanta make a half gallon, why yo' put chew a gal- lon of watah in on dose barks an' let 'em boil down tuh a half gallon, an' den take it out an' git chew some dis heah brown sugah an' put it in dere, an' den strain dat dere bark out dere. Den put dat sugah on dere an' make a syrup. An' put chew jis' a li'le pinch of alum in dere. Well, dat's good fo' coughs.
Entry 6902
(What's the name of it?)
It's called de red shank.
(The red shank root?)
Yes, sir. It's called de red shank an' ah'll tell yo'. If ah came tuh yo' an' if ah've got a bad disease, see. Well, yo' take dat red shank, yu' undah- stan', if it's put out, why yo' take de top of it; an' if it's not put out, yo' take a grubbing hoe an' dig the root up an' wash de root. See. Put it intuh two quarts of watah, an' bile [boil] it down tuh one quart [the magic of diminishing amount]. Unnahstan'?
(I understand.)
Bile it down tuh one quart. Den yo' take - when yo' bile it down tuh one quart, yo' take it an' yo' set it off [the stove]. Unnahstan' dat?
(Yes.)
An' den when yo' set dat off, yo' git a li'le piece of bluestone, lak a speck- led pea, an' beat it up right fine an' stuff it in dere. Git chew a li'le piece alum about dat long. Put it in dere, but let de watah be good an' cool. See, don' put it in dere hot. An' den yo' takes it den, an' yo' give it tuh 'im an' tell 'im tuh take three swallows three times a day. Now de way a boy, or man eithah - whutevah he is don't yo' take it jis' lak yo' drinkin' watah, becuz if yo' drink it lak yo' drinkin' watah, well it don't do yo' any good, becuz it will git down in yore stomic an' it will be dere so much till it will sour. It will be de same as milk, when yo' drinks it. Dat buttahmilk when a man is in bad shape, it's jis' a dose of poison tuh 'im. It keeps sour on 'is stomic. Jis' take no more dan three teaspoonsful a day. Take it as [medicine] yo' know. If yo' take too much of it, why it don't do you any good. It'll do yo' harm.
(Three swallows. One swallow before each meal?)
Dat's right.
(I see, each day. All right.)
An' den don't eat so much grease.
(What did you say?)
I say, let de buttahmilk alone.
(I see.)
Entry 6972
Ah've hear'd dat if yo's [you is] tricked [in] any way, yo' could take yuh chamber lye an' put it in yuh - take some table salt an' some alum an' [urine and] mix it up tuh- gethah, an' sprinkle it all at each fo' cornahs of de house, an' dat'll kill it.
(If somebody has planted something for you?)
Yes sir.
conditional target of an alleged planted trick and reported countermeasure. Ah've hear'd and if retain both hearsay and conditionality; being tricked is not established as an actual diagnosis. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 8831
And they knows yore handwritin' - get holt of it, dey can.
(What will they do?)
Well, dey will take dat han'writin' an' dey kin cross-write yore han'writin', yo' see, so ah'm told. Cross-write yore han'writin', jes' like yo' write a lettah straight; well, now, dey'll go 'cross it.
(I'll write it straight?)
Straight, an' dey'll turn it [the paper upside down] an' go across it. (I see, just cross it - just turn the paper around and cross it.) Cross it, see. Dey turn de Papah aroun' an' cross it. Well, when dey cross it, den dey'll fold dat papah differently, yo' see. An' dey'll puts it in a draw, draw it with heat or watah, see. An' aftah drawin' it with heat or watah; de sweat from dat papah is what dey uses, yo' see. Well, if dey use dat sweat, dey got yore han' jes' de same, yo' see. An' dey put it in a bottle an' use it, cause yore han' tuh swell up. Dey put salt, peppah an' alum in it an' dey'll lay it in a place undah de step, an' it will cause yore hand to swell.
Entry 9156
Dat's if yo' git in a lawsuit an' yo' wanta win de case, yo' undah- stan', befo' yo' go. Befo' yo' go dere, why yo' jes' git chew some sulphuh, bluestone, alum an' borax. Beat it up right nice an' fine, an' yo' walk in dat room where de jedge an' de iury an' all of 'em. an' dey'll ask yo' tuh talk firs'. An' yo' git up an' talk an' let de prosecutor come on. Yo'll come out. [The preceding mixture is definitely carried into court and beaten up right nice shows that it was sprinkled.]
Entry 10633
Git a piece of alum an' a piece of saltpeter an' sew it up in a little Nammen rag together, an' dey tell me dat'll make yo' lucky - lucky in gambling. Tote it in yore pocket. [After machine turned off informant adds with Hearts Cologne.] Yes sir.
Entry 10634
"To keep the law away...takes nathin "To keep the law away...takes nuthin but the man's name and a piece of alun, and puts in a bag and tacks it up over his bed... mo keep law away."
Entry 10635
If yo' have a house to rent an' can't have no luck in keeping people i it, probably somecne had tricked yo' with de house, ah could tell yo' bog to Straighten it [out, the problem of renting house]. All right, yo' coald go to de drug store an' buy yo'self a cake of alum, buy yo'self a cake of cpbor gu O dat cake of camphor gum in fo' parts. Put one of those parts under yo' front do'step. Put one of dose parts in de right-hand corner of de house as yo' walk in, an' one of dose parts in de left-hand corner, den put one in dis last corner up heah - dat still is in de left-hand corner [the back-of-the-house left cor- ner as you walk in]. All right, after yo' do dat, yo' take dat alum an' pound it up, with a tablespoonful of alum to each one of dose [parts]. An' if dere any kinda junk [conjure] in dat house dat gives yo' hard luck, dat alum an' stull [camphor gum] will eat it up. [The more usual form of this rite is the four-corners-of-the-house one, it representing the four corners of the world (Revelation of St. John the Divine, 7:1). In the present rite the front doorstep appears as a substitute for the fourth corner. To balance this change the two left-corners are used and the symbolism of the 3 corners (the Three Holy Names) usurps the 4 angels, 4 corners and 4 winds of St. John. The four-corner rite often becomes a quincunx by adding a fifth point in the center.]
Entry 12747
Yo' kin take rattlesnake marster, spice an' yo' kin take Hearts Own Cologne an' alum an' yo' put dat in a little bag an' yo' kin carry it 'long wit chew in yore pocket, but chew wanta have yo' some Hearts Own Cologne aloag, yo' know, to 'noint it wit, yo' know, an' keep dat liven up. [Dressing or feeding a hand as here gives it life, power.] An' yo kin go an' yo' kin git a job most anywhere. An' when yo' git it chew be de last one to be cut off practically, if de [dey or dere] be any cutting off being done.
(You would be the last one fired.)
Entry 13000
Take bluestone an' alum an' make a - an' take nine silver dimes an' sew it up together, an' anywhere yo' go, any kind of game yo' play, yo'll win all de money dey have. (What do you sew that in?) Red flannel.
Entry 1124
My father was sick and we had the doctor come attend him and the doctor tended him and he couldn't diagnose his case. So we changed doctors and the [second] doctor waited on him about two weeks or more. He didn't seem to do any good and we changed to another [third] doctor. And we got him and he said, "Well, I don't see I kin do any good for him, becuz I think he's poisoned." [Would a Doctor of Medicine say this? See my comments in Introduction.] So a ole lady told me to go an' see a ole man by the name of Simmons. And I went and got a ole man by the name of Simmons and he came there and he talked to my father and he told me, he said, "Come on boy and go in the woods with me." And he got some whut they call blackroot - that's a weed that grows in the woods, a round root, right black, something like a little potato - and red oak bark. [For oak, see No. 1060, p.402, also margin-title OAK later, and Index. Black- root is a name for a number of plants, the present one probably being Chaenolobus undulatus, indigenous to Southern U. S. A., and having black tuberlike rootstocks.] And he sent me to the drug store while he's boilin' them to get him five cents Worth of bluestone and alum mixed. And he boil that and he made a tea out of that and he strained it, let it cook and he told him to take two swallahs of it three times a day. And the first swallahs - the first two swallahs - that my father taken of it he vomit somepin jis' as green as grass [a usual expression for vomit caused by inside cunjuration]. Then he got kin'a relief on the nex dose he taken. He didn't vomit. But on the third one he vomit again. Then [this third time] he vomit up somepin there - it look somepin like jelly. Then he commence to gettin' a little better and finally he kept on takin' it until he did get so he could get out.
Entry 1841
You know what they make that out of?
(No.)
Well, I'll tell you what they make that out of - that's made out of snake- hides. That's what they make that out of - they make that out of snakehides. What's sewed inside of it is ordinary sawdust - sawdust and brown sugar. And you can keep that under a person's bed and a man' 11 never have no nature for his wife. [While machine is off we talk about another hand.]
(Well, what shape would they fix it up?)
Fix it up just the shape of a person - two arms and two legs with the body made to it. And if you put that under a woman's bed, she ain't going to be much service to her husband - her and her husband be fussful all the time. (What did you say they make that out of?) [I am trying to pick up what was lost while machine silent.l Sawdust - take sawdust and alum. Take you a piece of alum, powdered alum. Take you a little piece of bluestone and powder it. Take a piece of garlic and tie the garlic around it. Understand? And put it under a woman's bed.
(Well, what do you use for the outside cover?)
Outside cover on it? Just tie it around with a string, you don't have to wrap it in anything - just put in, open her mattress and put it in a mattress.
(What did you say about a snakehide a moment ago?)
A snakehide? You could take a snakehide and use that - just clip a person's, a piece of a person's hair and burn it. You understand?
(In fixing this doll baby - how was that made, did you say?)
You takes ordinary sawdust - just take ordinary sawdust. If you want to make a woman disagreeable - things disagreeable in a home for a woman and her husband, take ordinary sawdust, a piece of garlic, a piece of alum and a piece of blue- stone, and powder that. And mix it in that sawdust and sew it up in that form of a person - see, like - just like a little small doll baby - a small piece of it.
(What kind of material would you use for that form?)
For Wrapping that in?
(Yes.)
Bed ticking.
(Any kind?)
No, not any kind, bed ticking - something that a mattress or pillow is made out of, not any kind of material.
(Oh, I see. Well, why is that?)
Because you wants to lay the stripes according to the rise and fall of the sun. That's why we do that. You want to make the stripes so that on the shape of that thing like a person it lays with the rise and fall of the sun. You lays it like you take a dead person is buried with their head to the east - I mean to the west and their feet to the east. You lay that thing with the head to the east and the feet to the west. That's against the life of any person it's under.
(Now, where do you put this little doll?)
You put it in - you put it under or in a mattress. But the best way you do, if you can open the mattress and put it in there, sew it in the mattress. Just know how you got it - lay it in the position and lay it right in that mattress where they lay on that. And that woman'll have trouble in her house with her husband as long as she sleeps on it.
Entry 2409
If a woman is a hustlin'woman an' goin' tuh a new place, well, befo' she start to dis new place, when she know she goin' - quite natural, see - well she'll go tuh work an' she'll take a real new clean bath an' she'll take it some- thin' lak in de mawnin' befo' de sunrise. An' aftah she takes that watah - while in dat watah she says her prayers nine times, while she's takin' her bath. Take dat watah an' go to de cornah of de house - de east cornah of de room an' throw it east an' make a wish. Go 'head an' ketch de train an' go 'bout her business. Well, when she enter dis city - she go into dat city she takes her anothah bath. An' aftah she takes dat bath an' de 'gredients dat she have - bluestone, salt- peter, sugah an' alum. Well, dat gives her her luck right dere. She have washed away all de bad luck an' put on good.
Entry 2414
In gamblin' tuh give mahself luck ah have taken burnt sugah. Burn it perfectly brown an' kinda let it run down tuh candy, an' git me some bluestone an' mix that together, an' git me some saltpeter an' put that together, an' git me some alum an' put that together, an' make me whut chew may call a bath, a bath 'lution [solution], an' po' it into mah bathwatah an' take me a bath with it. Well, dat supposed tuh be lucky which it always has been tuh me when ah wus gamblin'.
Entry 2707
You use saltpeter, blood root, chamber lye, salt, pepper and alum. You mix it all altogether and you boil dis. You boil it in your own water MondayS, Wednesdays and Fridays and after you have boiled it down, you take the bottom of it - let it boil dry - de bottom will be a powder and you jest put it to de front door. Throw it out and rub it on yore door, and dey [officers of the law] won't come. Dey'll pass by and go to next house.
Entry 10168
Well, you can git those mounds, the blue and brown ones, and git the holy incense. Now she'll go to work and git sugar and a little alum, and start at the back of the house and scrub all the way through to the front. And be sure that you take a sufficient amount to come all the way through; and have enough to pour all the way round her steps. And then, when she do that, then she take some clear water with sugar and put some holy water in that, and wrench [rinse] it off with that light [lightly]. Then when she gets that finished, why she'll light a taper, a holy taper. Take a chance and set it jes' direct in the middle of the window; if she possibly can get it and let it burn for one hour every night. And if he is anywhere close, he will come back to her. Now, if she's havin' a little trouble an' she can't depend on that to hold him; you see, if he's been gone before - now when he comes back now, she must get some Jockey Club perfume, and leave the candies [used on a cake] in the room. Get those candies and you put them into that. She take, put about a half ounce of the Jockey Club and a half ounce of Love Boquet, and put about no more than 15 of the little candies [used on a cake] and be sure every one is a different color[!]. An' when he comes, be very careful, and she'll rub him along - rub it all down him; just love him up and rub it all over. He may want to go but every time he start out, he will turn around and go back again. [The preceding word taper sometimes means candle. The scrub water in this rite is one of the many many different "scrubs" of New Orleans given in HOODOO. The colors of the 15 candies are mixed varieties, not 15 separate colors.]
Entry 2020
[I have already given some hands called Jack, divining hands (pp.190- 193 and Index), but in the following example Jack does not divine, he does some- thing else:] Ah have heard in times past dat a fellah gamblin' - co'se he would take his money an' he would take it an' put it wit sulphur an' red peppah an' alum, table salt an' wear it next to him, see, fo' so many days 'fore he start tuh gamblin', nine days. An' den when he goes in an' gambles, why he would be lucky. An' den, if he would happen tuh have a little bad luck, he would take an' put a little Heart's Own Cologne on it. An' co'se he would name it Jack. He would name that hand, Jack - that would be a hand. He would name it Jack. An' if he would begin to fall [to lose] he would take it off an' say, "Jack, Jack, three times, an'he would go back agin an' he start agin. But he supposed to keep it loaded wit dis heah cologne. [Calling Jack three times is a part of recharging the hand.] (He would put this money in a little piece of cloth or something of that sort. He doesn't gamble with that? He would just keep it all the time on his person? On his body?) On his body.
Entry 2444
Go out in de woods some place out of town where yo' kin kill you a buzzard, an' git de buzzard feathers an' bring 'em back an' burn 'em. An' take dem buzzard feathers an' sulphur, saltpeter, alum an' cologne, jest any kind of cologne, common perfume yo' know, an' burn dat in yore fireplace jest lak dat wood done burning dere. [Informant refers to fire in fireplace - for cold damp weather at Waycross, See in Introduction my comments to Telediphone at the time of collecting.] An' yo' take dat, after it's burned - dem feathers in de ashes an' yo' jest throw it all round yore house, front an' back, an' yo' git jest as many customers as yo' wanta git or more.
Entry 2500
Say jes' git graveyard dirt, red peppah, cayenne peppah, sulphur an' alum, an' beat it together an' sprinkle it all around yore place an' they say that will keep it away - say that will keep de law away. (What is the difference between red pepper and cayenne pepper? Is there any difference?) Well, dere's one ground, an' yo' know dere's one whole grain.
Entry 2688
Dirt dauber nest is awful lucky tuh women (see p.432). Women kin take dirt dauber nest an' dey kin take it an' Hearts Cologne an' alum, an' dey kin use dat in de mornin' at dey front. Dey use chamber lye wit it too. An' use dat at dey front an' back do' an' dat place - women [do] dat, spo'tin' women dat way - plenty men will come round dere an' give it to 'em, have plenty friends.
Entry 3141
If she have connection wit a man, she kin jes' take a piece of raw cotton an' wipe huhself wit it, an' she take dat an' stop it up in a bottle, an' put some alum an' salt in it. Put dat in dere an' makes huh wishes, an' screws de top on real tight. An' if she don't want tuh do dat, she kin take a neW cloth an' Wipe it on dat an' throw It in DE EAST CORNAH OF HUH HOUSE [the sun-rising side] when he go out [leaves the house]. Jes' tie it up an' jes' when he go on out of do', jes' throw it in de east cornah of de house. Den yo [he] kin go but nuthin yo' [he] kin do - he can't do nuthin.
Entry 3695
He kin go an' git 'im a pound of alum an' git 'im a cloth an' mess wit 'er all he kin an' wash dat cloth in dat alum an' wear it round him.
(Wear it around him?)
ALUM Yes sir, it'll bring 'er to 'im - it'll take dat up. Dat'll kill dat othah [impotence] dead, dat's whut dey say.
Entry 5184
If she's away from me and I want to bring her back, I'll get nine old shoes, burn one each night at midnight with [nine] ingredients: egg shell, sul- phur, ashes, salt, pepper, alum, saltpeter, cloves, ginger, and walk around this fire and say, Send me my wife, sister or friend or whatever it is, back. And the ninth morning take this ashes, all from the whole nine mornings, and throw the ashes toward the direction the person is. You must have the wind blowing that direction. [The wind blowing the right direction on the 9th morning could make this a difficult rite.]
Entry 11128
Yo' takes a cow horn, burn it, an' then, when it parches up it'll burn jest like gutta percha, somepin othah. Yo' know, parch it up, an' yo' kin git chew some prepared alum, already powdered alum. Dat's simple but it's a fact. Ah ain't nevah lost a job yet. An' mix dat cow horn tuhget- her wit dat an' Hearts Colo- gne an' rub it in yore hand. If yo' kin git tuh git his [boss] glove or anything, jest let de scent of dat git on it - de scent from your hand git on his glove. An' have yo' a piece of union 'erb. It grows in de woods. It's a little root about dat long an' it's got a top on it jest like a - yo' seen a carrot top. It grows sorta like a carrot top. An' have yo' a piece of ABC root [a root that has the letters of the alphabet!], dat grows like a fern, an' jest cut it. Cut until yol cut de first letter of yore name, an' yo' take dat an' put it in yore left hip pocket. Yo' take dat union herb an' put it in yore mouth an' chew it whilst yo' talkin' to him [boss] or makin' yo'self acquainted wit him, while de wind of yore breath is goin' in his face, an' de scent of dat cow horn an' alum is on his hand. He'll give yo' a job. Jest whatsomevah yo' require him tuh pay a day, he'll pay it.
(Do you use all these things together?)
Put de ABC root in yore left pocket, yo' have dis heah burnt cow horn an' alum on de hands. Rub it on yore hands an' have [it there].
Entry 12284
Yo' kin git saltpetah, sage, alum, sugah an' salt - yo' know - stuff, yo' know, whut he nuse [use]. Yo' know, salt an' sugah an' stuff lak dat whut chew wanta know in dose strings. Yo' say, "In de Name of de Fathah, an' de Son, ah'm bringin' yo' back tuh me." Call his name, see, an' say, "Long as yo' eat sage, as long as yo' eat sugah, drink sugah in yore coffee" - sompin lak dat. An' call dose names, an' tie dose strings, an' tell him yo' want him tuh come back tuh yo'. Well, he'll come den. An' aftah yo' tie dose strings, put dose strings in a pile an' sprinkle dis saltpetah an' stuff ovah it, an' red peppah, an' yo' take kerosene. An' den yo' say, "In de Name of de Fathah an' de Son, ' an' burn it. An' put it out in de yard an' let it smoke.
Entry 12843
As a protection against evil, wear 3 ingredients in your shoes: pep- per, fish salt, and burnt alum. [Fredericksburg, by Ediphone.]
Entry 12948
Into right shoe put salt, red pepper, bluestone and alum, and bury shoe heel out and toe to house. This makes wearer of shoe stay home. [Mobile 906:1.]
Entry 1425
A woman lived aroun' heah on - been about ten yeahs ago [1927] - lived aroun' heah on McCreary Street, on de cornah of McCreary an' Campbell Street. De nex'-doah neighbah an' huh fell out. An' she comence hangin' de clothes on de line, on de clothesline, an' de woman tole 'uh not tuh hang on theah. But she said it wus much hern as it wus hern becus she had put 'em up dere. Well, dis woman when she hung 'uh clothes out dis veek, she [other woman] didn't do nuthin to 'uh, but de nex' veek befo' she hung de clothes out dere, she [other woman], had dressed de line. An' when she hanged de wash up, done huh washin' an' hung 'uh clothes out - an' de nex' veek huh han's commence swellin' an' huh han's swelled clear up troo 'uh ahms - so [until they was] outa shape. An' all dis troo heah wus jis' as sore as it could be. An' you know, dat han' it turned black an' it look like scales of a fish [see No. 1000, p.384] - scale all on huh ahms an' 'long heah. An' den dere come a sore on 'uh laig - come den. An' she didn't know whut to do. She went to a doctah. She spent ovah $40 on it tryin to git some salve or somepin or othah to cure it. She couldn't git it. An' den she git on de train an' vent down tuh Florence. Looked lak dat de haidquartahs [for root doctahs]. She vent tuh Florence, South Ca'lina. De ole man tole 'uh whut tuh do. He said, "Lookee heah, you don't know how tuh git rid of dat complaint choo got. It's somepin someone have put it on yuh. Yuh eat de same thing ev'ry day, ev'ry day yuh eat de stuff dat yuh have tuh git tuh cure dat han' an' dat laig. He said, "Yuh go git choo a big I'sh potato an' yuh cut off each side of it an' make it kinda flat. Den yuh take a knife an' cut all aroun' in it, leave a hole so da' choo tie a string troo dat hole. An' tie de string tuh de ten-penny nail an' let it hang dere till it jis' git dry up. An' den yuh git choo a potato an' scrape it - git choo anothah potato - an' make it a salve an' den bind it on a new piece of cloth, an' put it round dat sore on your laig an' dat'll cure dat. Den you go git yuh some alum an' burn it till it quit blubblin' an' den burn yuh some bluestone until it would turn kinda whitish, so you kin mash it all up into powdah. An' den you git some gourds an' some vaseline an' make a salve out it, an' den you rub dat on wit dat salve vaseline. An' let dat potatoes stay up dere till it gits dry an' yuh take dat potato down an' mash it all up an' make it a powdah, an' yuh take dat powders an' anoint dat laig where yuh had de plaster on it. Yuh take dis salve - you take de [second] potato off den, yuh put de [first] potato on dis new piece of cloth an' bind it aroun' dat sore on de laig, an' den you let it stay on theah nine veeks. Den yuh take it off an' put de salve - jis' wash wit dat salve an' dat'll cure it."
The selected instruction is quoted as another speaker’s words inside the informant’s narrative.
Entry 2718
Ah heard that if a person sellin' whiskey an' yo' didn't want de law tuh come dere, say jes' fo' yo' jes' tuh keep alum an' vinegar. Yo' take dis alum an' vinegar - see, dey both sour together, an' yo' takes an' melts dis alum an' burns it first an' melt it, and den puts it in vinegar an' keep it spread down cross yore do'. Said 'long as yo' keep dat dere, said de law wouldn't bother yo'.