Subject:Antisepsis
Entries
Entry 894
A girl named Clara B., she was goin' with a boy named Johnnie, and de girl dat Johnnie used to go with got mad with Johnnie and she got some kind of a dust like, it seemed like it was some sawdust like, and she took it and put it in Johnnie's clothes. And when Johnnie put on his clothes, his moudt turnt from here all away roun' to there, turnt way roun' here, Just as if somebody would take your moudt and turn it around just like dat [demonstrates]. And Clara took him in Kinston [North Carolina], and de man told him to take some sulphur and jist dust hisself all over in de sulphur, and take his clothes and burn 'em up. He'd have to burn all his clothes what he wore up since de time he started goin' with Clara, and he'd have to wear new clothes. And he told him to take some of this same sulphur of what he dusted himself wid and put it roun' her door and roun' her gate, and put nina grains of corn dere. And it turnt right back on de girl [and her mouth became awry]. [Wilmington, N. Car., (267), 263:1; in Wilmington,1932; for more antisepis, see whisk broom, p.10.]
Entry 7194
[Caffrey's interview will be found on Pp.1459-1470. There in an intro- ductory comment I give the reader a favorable opinion about him. The following rite was removed from his material years ago be- cause it concerned a man's vitality, dirty words back in those days, smelling of evil thoughts or deeds. Usually cases of so-called social diseases were left for a sex special- ist, but more reputable doctors like Caffrey Would accept vitality deficiency or impotence trouble. An early advertisement of "Father" Caffrey, when only 29 years old, appears among the ILLUSTRATIONS at end of Hoodoo, vol.2.] All right. I'll look that condition over. I'll look that condition over an I'll say, "What instances did you see that you tied up? You say, "Well, I' tied up." say, "I believe that I'm tied up in some way or other." Say, "I can't make connection with no other woman but my old lady." You see? Well, all right. I'll look that condition over an' then I would go to work an' I would fix up, I would get me a bottle of - let me, now. I get me a bottle of well water. See, vell water.
(Well water?)
Well water. Mix that with ammonia. You understand me? Then I will go to pork an' I put some antiseptic in that an' I will have you to take some baths. You get the idea about that? An' have you to take baths three times a week. An' I'll get you Boston Compeller an' make an ingredient of that.
(What did you get?)
Boston Compeller.
(Boston what?)
Boston Compeller.
(What's that?)
That's to give you vitality. That's Boston Compeller, you see.
(What does it look like?)
Well, that's somepin like a oil that you get from the drug store.
(I see. All right, go ahead.)
Boston Compeller. Then you get about a - a small bottle of turpentine an' yo' get a small bottle of antiseptic. You get the idea about that? An' I fix that up and then I go to work an' I go out into the country somewhere an' I'll try to get in contact with some milkman or another at a milk dairy that got a cow that give rich milk. You see? Then I put about two tablespoonful of sugar in that. Get the idea about that? And in putting two tablespoons of sugar in that, I'll try to get [something]. [He is acting out everything.] [He claps his hands, uhispering "All right several times.] And then [get] an ingredient of some kind of creosote and shake that well, you see. And you'll take that three time a day. And in taking that three times a day I'll come to you and then you'll get you a bar of soap; you see, that Octagon soap, you see, and you wash yourself three times a day with that: at six in mawn- in', nine in the mawnin, and six in the evening, an' that will reduce that con- dition in you and you can go anywhere you want to go.
(I see. What was the name of that soap?)
Octagon soap.
(I see.)
Now, what ingredient I left out, but I'll bring it right back. You put about, sasewhere round about three tablespoons of whiskey or gin into that. See, that bring that vitality back.
(That restores a man to his vitality?)
His vitality.
(The woman can't keep him tied up. I see.)
Entry 1593
A fellow once, named Brown, a root doctor - me and my wife was on de outs. Course I caught her wrong and I went away from her. So he [Brown] was working in the shipyards. He say, "I found a shoe." So I say, "All right, I'll take it." He said it was a right shoe - brand new shoe - just had a little - and he had got that snake's blood and put all on de inside of it. And I put dat shoe on. In nine days time my ankle give away and commence to hurt me and so I says, "Mother, since I been wearing dat shoe Mr. Brown give me," I said, "I been having trouble with my ankle. I think I'll go to de doctor." So she looked at de shoe. So then I went to Dr. Willis and took dat shoe and cut de top off it - the entire top and give it to him and he took it and put it in something and sterilized it and found out it was snake blood. That's Dr. Willis dere - chemistry.
(Dr. Woodard?)
Willis - in the drug store.
(I see - from the drug store and he found it was snake blood?)
Yeah - what he told me.
(What did he put that in to sterilize it, I wonder.)
I don't know. He used a lot of chemistry - you know how dey have chemistry, and it all up-separated off the leather, come off the sweat and ev'rything else. And he said, "That's snake's blood, boy." I said, "It look peculiar cause ev'ry time it rained it would freshen up just like fresh paint, red paint, but when the sun was shining it was dry and looked kind of scaley, you know, kind of brownish looking.
(How did you get rid of that then - from that snake blood?)
Well, I tell you, I got rid of it. My mother took 'bacco. She turned around and took a chicken and she put a chicken poultice on there first. And then she took tobacco and my water and boil it hot and let me put my feet right down in de hot water.
(Did she boil that tobacco and your water together?)
Yes, and put my feet in there. I put it in there ever' night and put salt brine in there and it came all right.