Subject:Ants
Entries
Entry 545
Now in case a man's child - somebody has caused a man's child to wander about from the house, won't stay home, yo'll see the 'fect of it aroun' de fire- place. Dere'll come a drove of ants, black antses, all on de mantelpiece comin' in droves, some goin' an' some comin', an' will cross each othah this way, cross each othah goin' to an' fro. Well, people have oftentime wondered whut does that mean. Yore child will wander aroun' an' can't stay home. Well, now there's remedy fo' that. The remedy is, if yo' would like to heah it, take some salt - Epsom salts, some quinine an' black peppah an' mix it together three days continuous, an' sprinkle it all on de edge of de mantelpiece all aroun' it an' those antses will leave. Any child mind will become settled.
(Well, why are those ants there? Have you any idea?)
Well, it's a sign your child's mind is not right - it is unsettled. Where dey come from ah don't know, but dey will cease to come.
(Well, what causes that? Somebody has done something to the child?)
Somebody have done something to de child to cause de child not to stay home an' aggravate de parents, keep de parents confused an' dey don't know whut's de matter with de child. He will come home an' his mind become settled fo' a while. Event'lv de chile go clean off an' won't stay at home none at all - dat's a sign of dat.
Entry 3111
Yo' kin take, if a man's goin' wit anothah man's wife an' dis man don' want 'im tuh go wit dis woman, yo' kin take some red antses, dese large one, if yo' kin git a lot of 'em. Jes' go tuh a antses bed an' git all de antses yo' kin git, an' take dese antses an' put 'em in a pan an' take dem home, an' put 'em in a stove an' let 'em parch an' den powdah dem all up. An' when dis Woman goes tuh bed at night an' go tuh sleep, he kin take an' powdah dis stuff across 'er stomic part down dere, her private part. An' when dat man goes tuh have a date wit 'er, why dey git hung up dere jes' lak dogs.
(Do you mix that red ant dust with lard?)
No sir, yo' don' need tuh put any lard in it, jes' put red antses dust by itself.
Entry 3696
[As ants cause (No.33llf.), so they cure impotence.]
Yo' kin git nine red ants an' boil 'em an' dey will give yo' courage, if yo' drink that tea three times a day.
(If a woman has taken your courage away?) Yes, it will give you courage.
Entry 5313
Dey take yore tracks an' dey don't pick it up from yo' - [I mean] dey don't pick it up tuh yo', dey pick it from yo'. Pick it from yo'. An' dey take yore track an' put it intuh a jar. An' den dey says dey take it an' dey takes some antses, red antses, an' put dat in dere an' stop it up. An' aftah dey stop it up, dey takes it an carries it tuh some runnin' watah, an' cast it intuh de runnin' watah an' dat'll start chew tuh goin'. See de idea?
(Now what do you mean they take this track up from you?)
Take it up from yo' lak dis [demonstrates].
(You start at the heel and take it up like that. Both tracks?)
Take it up from yo' - jest one, dat's de right track. Dey put nine big red antses intuh yore track.
Entry 5320
Ah heard dat yo' could take a person's track an' drop it in a bed of red ants an' dose ants would come. An' dey [you] take little bit.of crumbs of dat [track] an' roll dat. Jes' roll dem crumbs an' put 'em intuh dat track an' drop dat track, an' tell dem ants tuh take it an' go away evah which way. Don't care whut dey do wit it, it wouldn't do de person any good, 'cuz dey'd [they would] have tuh go an' dey'd be always goin'.
Entry 5321
Mah husban' an' ah weren't gittin' along so good, an' somebody tol' [me] how tuh git rid of it. Take his lef' track. Don't pull tuhwards yo', pull goin' from yo'. An' git a red ants nest, dese great big ants. Yo' git dis track an' yo po' it in dis ants nest. An' den, if [you] wan im tuh go away, yo' tell tuh go away. Or whut- somevah yo' wan' 'im tuh do, yo' talk tuh it.
Entry 5322
Well, git his track - git nine track comin' tuhwards yo' an' git it an' put it wit some red ants nest - in de red ants nest, an' some salt in it. An' stir it roun' an' talk tuh de red ants an' tell it whut chew want done, work an' all, an' he'll come back. (That is to bring the man back? You get nine tracks as he is coming toward you?) Yes.
(Just one track right after the other, I see.)
Entry 6529
Go tuh a ants' [mound] an' git enough of dose antses an' put 'em in a place an' let 'em dry. Pound 'em up tuh a powdah an' sprinkle 'em on anybody's food or in anything dat dey drink. When dey drink dat, in a length of time de ants will create inside dem de same as dey would [in the ant mound].
Entry 6531
Now dey tell me yo' kin take red ants. Go tuh a red ants' bed, jis' lak if yo' wants tuh run a person crazy. Yo' kin go tuh a red ants' bed an' git dose ants an' kill 'em. An' take 'em out in de sun an' let [put] 'em in de sun an' let 'em dry. Don't dry dem in de shade. Yo' know, put 'em in de sun an' let 'em dry. An' give it tuh de folks den in sech as dey bread, or one sech lak dat, an' dey says it will create live things tuh come up an' down in 'em.
Entry 6532
Goin' tuh a red ants' bed - jis' like yo' wanta put ants intuh some- body. Dat will jis' eat 'em up. Jis' git dem antses an' take 'em outa dere an' put 'em in anything dat dey'll parch up tuh a dust. Put 'em in dere live an' put 'em where dey'll parch up tuh a dust. An' git de Bible an' read de 37th Psalms while it's parchin', an' take it out. An' anything yo' put dat intuh, if dey nuse [use] it, drink it or eat it or anything, why dem ants will come alive in dem - jis' eat 'em up. [Why Psalm 37 should be used, I do not know.]
Entry 6533
Dey put dat in yo'. Jis' lak yo' know, it's not de ants, it's de aigs from de ants. Jis' lak yo' know yo're [you are] sore [angry] wit a person an' dis person drinks. Well, if yo' kin git - yo' know dese ants' aigs intuh dis whiskey, yo' kin give 'em dat. An' it jis' supposed tuh hatch an' run 'em crazy.
Entry 6534
Ah heard dat dey could take a dozen [12] red ants an' cook dem an' put 'em in a package. An' git dat package tuh a person an' saturate dat package in anything dat he might drink. An' dat would cuz 'im tuh swell up an' give him a' interternal [= internal] disease.
(In other words you would use this in the liquor.)
Entry 6535
If anybody poisons yo', yo' git dem red ants - de red ants. Ah don' know nuthin 'bout nuthin but de red ants. An' yo' git dem red antses an' yo' put it in a li'le bit of whiskey, an' yo' put some gunpowdahs wit it. An' when yo' put it in dat whiskey an' de gunpowdah, yo' make it out a liquid yo' see, of a mub. An' den yo' put it down dere an' yo' git de white of a aig, an' yo' mix dat up as a rub stuff. An' rub yoreself wit it, an' if dere an' insect in yo', why dat'll cuz dem tuh leave. As fur as ah heard of dat.
Entry 6991
Well, yo' git chew nine of dose large antses. Dat's whut chew speakin' about. Call dem bull antses.
(What color are they?)
Red. Yassuh, git nine of 'em an' yo' call yore husban' or yore cousin or who- somevah. Yo' call dere name evahtime yo' drop one a [one of] dem antses in dere [a bottle of whiskey]. Yo' call dere name an' stop dat up. An den yo' git dat - jis' po' it [whiskey] off aftah yo' let 'em [ants] in dere, an' de whiskey will kill 'em all, see. Well, yo' strain 'em off yo' know, an' jis' give 'em [victim] a drink of dat. Dey won't drink no mo' whiskey, cuz it goin' make 'em sick. Make 'em sick as a dog.
(You put these ants in the whiskey and strain it off and give it to them.)
Yes.
Entry 8730
Take a sewin' thimble an' git chew three sewin' thimbles of ants' nest, an' ants an' all, an' yo' go tuh work an' yo' put it into a envelope an' write de person name an' put de envelope an' seal dat up den. An' yo' go tuh work den, de really fac' 'bout it, an' yo' take a spoon dat chew use anywheres on yore table gen'ly [generally]. Yo' lay dat envelope down an' yo' don't squench [= crush, see comment at end of rite] it no way atall, no way. Yo' dig de width of dat envelope - it 'sposed tuh be three inches in de ground. Yo' lay dat envelope in dere but chew don't - yo' know, yo' don't have it where yo' squench it nowhere an' yo' have dis full length, an' yo' bury it an' yo' cover it ovah. An' yo' take a ten-penny nail an' stick down In de ground to de haid. [The buried envelope is a grave symbol, the nail the tombstone.] An' dat Will - DE REALLY FAC' 'BOUT IT, SUH, IT WILL UPSET DE DEVIL, MUCH LESS ANYTHING ELSE.
(You put that before somebody's house?)
See, yo' put dat anywheres where dere's any path or - anywheres dat person travel or walk ovah. It don' make no diff'rence whether it's anywheres close tuh his home. Anywheres where he travel ovah.
(What will that do to the person, then?)
WHY ABSOLUTELY, DERE'S NO WAY DAT HE KIN REALLY STAY AT HOME IN ANY PEACE. Can't stay home wit no peace: Him an' his folks can't git along. It will pizen [poison] de minds of 'em. [The preceding word squench is a dialectal form of quench, this latter meaning: to quench a thirst, or to put out a fire, or to cool suddenly by plunging hot steel into water to temper it. A former meaning of quench was to crush, a meaning that was rare back in 1939 when I collected the word.1
Entry 9893
Now, if yo' got a girl an' yo' wan' 'er tuh love yo', yo' kin go tuh one dem red ants baid. Ketch yo' one dem toadfrogs, dem ole rough toadfrogs an' kill 'im. Put dat toadfrog in dat ants baid an' let 'im stay in dat ants baid until dem antses eat 'im up, till he gits tuh where he ain't nuthin but a shell [skeleton]. Den yo' take dat frog den an' yo' git dat straight bone dat runs down 'is back. An' yo' kin take dat bone den an' any woman dat chew want or any man dat chew want, whilst me an' yo' talkin' or me an' 'er talkin', ah stick dat bone in dat garment dat she had on or dat he has on. If ah'm a woman ah stick it in a man [garment] or if ah'm a man ah stick it in a woman [garment]. Yo' see, stick dat bone in dere, jes' a small piece of dat bone, an' leave it in dere. Den yo'll come tuh be mah sweetheart if ah wan' chew, or yo'll come tuh be 'er sweetheart if she wan' chew.
Entry 9896
If yo' wuz a young man an' wan'in' [wanting] a girl an' love der [loved her] an' she wuz not yore class [she was above you] but still yo' wanted 'er, yo' take yo' a toadfrog an' git chew a nice li'l cigah box. Take yo a icepick an' put chew maybe two dozen holes, some in de side an' some on de top, so he git air yo' know. Shet 'im up in dere an' make some airholes in de box. Well, he'll 'vently [eventually] perish tuh death, an' de ants will eat de flesh off 'is bones. De ants will eat all de flesh, dere jes' be de carcass dere. He's got a hook in 'im jes' 'zactly [exactly] lak a fishhook. De ants eat all de flesh off 'im - dere be no skin dere, no nuthin but jes' 'is carcass - in about fo' months. It take about fo' months in de summah. In de fall of de yeah yo' kin git de carcass. Well, he's got a bone right in 'is hip back dere jes" 'zackly lak a fishhook. It shaped jes' lak a fishhook. Well, whut dey wanted de ants tuh do is tuh show 'em de bone, de fishhook. Dey take dis li'l bone an' put it anywhere in yore clothes. If it's 'er, when yo' go tuh see 'er, she'll hang it in yore clothes; or yo'll hang it in 'er clothes. Well, den she's got yo' tied. Dat's whut dey use de toadfrog fo'.
Entry 9898
Tuh make dem have a tendency tuh love anyone - yo' know, gain de in- fluence of anyone yo' wanta love - yo' gits a grown live frog. Let 'im be well- grown, healthy. An' gits yo' a pastebo'd box an' a darnin' needle an' thread. An' take yo' a pair of scissors an' cut a deep hole in dis box, an' yo' put dis live frog in dis box, but let it be at de twilight of de night. An' take yore scissahs an' cut holes in dis box. An' den take dis needle an' thing an' sew up dis box. An' take it an' don' say nuthin tuh nobody. Yo' take it an' go tuh a ants nest an' den yo' put it right in de ants nest. An' den aftah seven days yo' go back tuh de frog an' den de frog will be a skeleton. An' den it's two pieces about de skeleton yo' want. One look lak a fish scale an' one look lak a fishhook. An' yo' git dem two pieces an' yo' keep de fish scale. An' den yo' take de fishhook an' jes' lak if yo' wanta - intend tuh love anyone, yo' pin it anywhere on 'em fo' about thirty seconds, an' yo' tote it den. An' 'long as yo' keep dat fish scale yo'll have dem undah con- trol an' do anything yo' want 'em tuh do.
(What do you do with that fishhook?)
Yo' take that fishhook an' put it on his shirt or anybody dress or anything. Yo' know, hook it roun' dere. Yo' leave it dere fo' thirty seconds.
(Then what do you do with it?)
If yo' wanta yo' kin take it off.
Entry 9899
About de frog. Now, if ah had a girl, seed [saw] a woman dat ah wanted an' ah co'dn't [could not] git 'er no othahwise, ah'd take me a frog an' put 'im in a box. Cut some holes in de box an' care [carry] it tuh a red ant baid, one dese big raid ant baids. Put 'im dere an' let dose antses sting 'im tuh death. Stay away a couple, or three or fo' days until ah find he's done rotten an' quit stinkin'. Ah goes back in dere an' ah pulls dat hide off 'im an' dere's two bone in dere. One bone look lak a hook an' one is made lak a spade. Well, ah comes on back where dis woman is an' ah take dis hook an' pass by an' happen tuh scratch 'er ahm wit it. Hook it in 'er clothes an' ah go on. She'll follah me. She be mah woman from den on, until ah gits mad wit 'er or wanta git rid of 'er. Den ah could use de spade. De spade will bring hatred, make her hate chew. Lak yo' made her love, dat spade will make her hate chew. She'll hate tuh even see yo' comin'.
(What do you do with that spade to make her hate you?)
Ah keeps de spade all de time. Den ah take de spadebone an' do de same way wit it, yo' know, strike her, scratch 'er anywhere wit de spadebone, see. Den throw it away.
Entry 9900
Yo' git a frog, a toadfrog, an' yo' put 'im in a can. Yo' put some holes in de can an' yo' put 'im ovah a red ants nest, an' let de ants eat de frog. An' when de ants through wit it, yo' go dere an' gits de skeleton of de frog, an' yo'll find a bone in dere, in dis skeleton dat looks lak a fish- bone - a wishbone. [There is no bone in a frog or toad looking like the wishbone in a chicken.] An' yo' takes dis bone an' go out talk- in' wit de girl dat chure tryin' tuh git. If yo' kin hang it in 'er clothes jes' fo' two seconds, why she'll be crazy about chew. An' de only way tuh git unsundah [asunder] from 'er is take dat same bone from anothah frog, an' make a tea an' put some of de watah in sompin lak a bottle of soda watah [a sweet carbonated water of various flavors] or sompin lak dat - nine drop of dis. Den she'll git chew off 'er mind. Othah den dat, she'll stay wit chew.
(That is all she can do to get rid of that.)
Dat's all yo' kin do tuh git rid of dat girl.
(Oh! if you want to get rid of her.)
Yes, if yo' wanta keep 'er, why don't make de tea. (If you want to get rid of her, you get another frog and take it out to the ants bed.) Dat's it.
Entry 9901
Yo' kin take a frog an' put 'im in a pot an' boil 'im. Git chew nine red ants an' put in dere. Aftah yo' boil 'im, yo' take de frog out an' strip 'is laigs. Jes' lak yo' ketch de frog in dis han' [demonstrates] yo' ketch 'im by his laigs an' strip 'is laigs. Pull 'is laigs through de soup - de watah dat boilin'. [I describe informant's demon- stration.] (You hold him up by the legs and pull his feet down tovard the body.) Take dat, aftah yo' git de meat off - take his haid off - strip 'im enough tuh git de meat off wit'out teahin' 'im too bad. Take him an' git chew some cologne an' some linseed oil. Yo' 'noint 'im good wit dat linseed oil an' cologne. Take an' tie him in a bag. Put dat bag undah yore mattress. If yo' wan'a keep it from fallin' out, [put] 'tween de spring an' mattress. Gits a cloth an' put it up 'tween de mattress an' he [man] lie on dat.
(What will that do?)
Dat will keep 'im wit 'er.
(Do you take this meat off all the bones or what?)
Jes' offa one, his lef' hin' laig.
(And you put the whole frog under there?)
De whole frog undah de baid. An' take de meat dat chew got off 'is lef' hin' laig an' one dose bones, an' tie hit an' weah hit between dere in a bag. Weah it roun' 'er waist in a bag, let it hang down in front of 'er.
(This is to keep the man.)
Reep de man, yeah, at 'er place.
Entry 9902
In gamblin' if yo' wanta be lucky aroun' a skin game, yo' take yo' a frog an' kill it an' go tuh ant's bed, dem ole big red ant, an' put 'im in dere, an' leave him fer nine days. An' he goin' be hard [a skeleton], dem ants goin' eat 'im all up. Jes' take dat frog an' tote 'im in yore lef' pocket. Dat's one of devilest hands yo' evah see.
(You are going to be lucky.)
Yes, sir, yo' goin' ruin dem gamblahs. [Jacksonville, Fla., (549(, 687:7.]
Entry 9903
There was one trick they had. They used to ketch a frog and take this old frog, kill an ole land frog, an ole toad. And put him in a little box and make holes in it supin like yo'd a pepperbox. Little ants would crawl in there and them ants would go in there and destroy the body of this ole frog. And after he was dead, eat him up. You put that box into run- ulag water, whare there's a place of water running right steady down, until it washed all that ole filth, that ole eat-up flesh, away from that frog, yo' know, and leave nuthin but de bone there. And there was a certain bone there, I don't know what it was, but I've heared them tell it. There was a certain bone in that frog that they'd take that out and go around de girl's house. And if she was walkin' around, cookin' an' doin' anything, she had no knowledge of what was goin' on, why you could hang that in her dress.
(Hang it on the clothesline?)
No, her dress on her. She'd have a dress on. But, if you's to take that ole bone and stick it in her clothes somewhares, she passin' around de house an' you's settin' there talkin' with her, and she couldn't git clear of you.
Entry 9906
Yo' kin take a toadfrog. Now, I had dat - dat wus done tuh me. A man wus co'tin' [courting] me an' he wus co'tin' anothah lady. An' we co'ted fo' a good long while an' ah tole 'im, ah says, "Why don't chew let's git ma'ed?" He say, "Well, ah'm engaged tuh anothah lady tuh git ma'ed." Ah ast 'im, ah say, "Why yo' co'tin' me so long when yo' know yo' wus engaged tuh anothah lady?" He says, "Well, ah guess ah lak yuh." Ah say, "Well, dat ain't busi- ness." Say, "Ah thought chew wus co'tin' me fo' a wife. If ah hadda thought chew wusn't doin' dat, we'd abeen [we would have been] quit long ago, becuz a husband [was] whut ah wus lookin' fo'." He says, "Well, ah'm already [TORTOISE IN GEORGIA] engaged tuh git ma'ed." Ah say, "Well, when yo' goin' git ma'ed?" "Well, we's tuh git ma'ed in June." Ah tole 'im, ah says, "Well, when June come if ah live, yo' won' git ma'ed." He say, "Well, if ah live, ah will git ma'ed." Ah say, "Well, if yo' live yo' won' git ma'ed." So when June come - de lady wus down south - she came. He come ovah an' he tole me, he say, "Well, de lady ah tole yuh about ah wus tuh ma'y, she have come."
[Cylinder change causes the following repetition.]
Ah say, "Well, when yo' goin' git ma'ed? He say, "We's tuh git ma'ed in June." Ah say, "Well, ah tole yuh, yo' wouldn't ma'y her." He say, "Well, Ah don't see how yo' [can say] ah'm not gonna ma'y 'er. If ah live ah'm gonna ma'y huh." Ah say, "Well, if ah live yo' won' ma'y huh." So ah goes tuh a fortunetellah an' dis fortunetellah tole me tuh ketch a toad- frog an' git me a coffee can, a tin coffee can, an' drive holes in de bottom of dat can an up aroun' in dat can tuh 'bout halfway. An' ketch dat frog an' put 'in in dat can an' name him dat puhson's name three times. An' take it tuh a black antses baid an' stir it up, an' set dat can in dere; an' evah two or three days fo' me tuh watch dat can. Go an' look in it evah two or three days. An' when dem antses eat all de meat offa dat frog, tuh bring 'im dat frame [skeleton] in dat can. An' when dat wus done, ah ca'ed it tuh 'im. An' he tole me dere wus some bones in dat frog dat he wus gonna fix in a li'l package fo' me tuh weah shere it'll keep warm nex' tuh me, an' he would nevah ma'y dat wumman. An' he fised de package an' ah went tuh weahin' it. So when de time come fo' him tuh ma'y dis wumman, he come ovah an' he tole me, he sayed, 'Miss Cartah, '' he sayed, "De lady didn't ma'y me." Ah said, "Well, why she didn't ma'y yo'?" He said, "Ah dunno." Ah said, "Well, did yo' buy de papahs?" He say, "Yes, ' say, "Ah bought mah license an' dey cost fo' dollahs an' fifty aents, an' ah went ovah tuh ma'y her an' she tole me she 'clined [declined] de idea of gittin' ma'ed." Ah said, "Well, when did she say she would ma'y yuh?" "She didn't say." Ah said, "Well, yo' oughta make huh tell yuh when she gonna ma'y yuh. She 'clined de idea right now, maybe a li'l latah she might ma'y." He say, "She don' mean tuh ma'y' Ah say, "Yo' reckon she don't?" He say, "No." Ah say, "Why?" "Cuz she given me mah money back. Ah paid fo' dollahs an' fifty cents fo' de license an' she give it back tuh me." Ah say, "Oh well, she don't mean tuh ma'y yo' den." An' den he commence tuh worryin' me tuh ma'y 'im an' ah wouldn't ma'y him den, 'cuz de fortunetellah dat ah'd gone tuh tole me it would happen dat way. An' he tole me, "When he ast chew 'bout ma'in' don' chew ma'y him." Said, "Becuz he wouldn't live long. He would soon stricken an' die an' yo' would soon be a widow ag'in." An' jis' lak he tole me 'bout it, he would ast me 'bout ma'in' 'im, he did. But ah kep' 'im shooed off, an' re'lly, latah he did taken sick an' died. [Here I changed the cylinder. Informant begins by returning to an episode she had omitted, what she had done to make her rival refuse the man.] So dis fortunetellah tole me dat dis woman dat he wus supposed tuh ma'y, she wouldn't ma'y him. He tole me tuh git some li'l boy tuh go on in de swamp or somewhah an' fin' me a gophah - wit fo' laigs, a gophah, yo' know. So ah come back an' got de boys tuh hunt de gophah up an' dey wouldn't fin' one. [The preceding word gopher may confuse the reader. Here in Georgia where I was interviewing, people called the gopher a salamander. What informant means by gopher is a burrowing land tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), the animal and eggs edible.] So ah went back an' tole 'im about it. Ah said, "Well, don' seem lak ah kin git a gophah." Ah say, "It'll have tuh be some othah 'rangements made." Ah said, "Dis man sweahs dat he gonna ma'y dis wumman." He said, "Yo' needn't worry about dat; he ain't goin' ma'y huh." He say, "Well." He got some dirt, some red-lookin' dirt, an' he showed it tuh me. He said, "If ah give yuh some of dis dirt an' tell yuh whut tuh do wit it, would jew be scared tuh do it?" Ah said, "No, ah won't be scared. Ah'll try tuh do it." An' he fixed so much of de dirt in a papah an' give it tuh me. An' he said, "Aftah dahk [dark] - yo' know wheah dis wumman live?" Say, "Yessuh." "Aftah dahk yo' go tuh huh house wheah she live. Don' let no one see yo', if yo' kin he'p it, an' yo' throw dis dirt tuhwards 'er front do', as much as yo' kin, tuh spattah it on de do' an' de porch aroun'. An' she won't nevah ma'y." So ah did dat. So dey didn't ma'y. (You said this was another case where a woman was going to marry the man. This is the same story?) Yes sir, dat's de woman's part of de graveyard dirt. [The reader may recall that my informant told us her rival de lady was down south. Here we were in southern Georgia not too far from Florida! I found this down south all along the Atlantic coast from Maryland southward. The south was always somewhere farther south!]
Entry 9907
Dey say yo' kin take a red ants bed an' cut a frog up an' let de red ants eat up dat frog - eat all of 'em [pieces]. An' den yo' could take cer- tain bones from 'im, lak a laig bone, lak dat an' carry it fo' luck. Dey say dat's very successful fo' a luck charm.
(Luck in anything?)
Yes sir, luck in anything.
Entry 9908
Yo' kin ketch a toadfrog an' yo' bur' 'im [bury him]. Dere's two or three ways about a frog. Yo' ketch a toadfrog an' yo' bur' 'im, an' put 'im in a ants baid an' de ants done pick 'im bad. An' den aftah dat, why yo' takes 'is bones. Don' want no flesh on 'is bones. An' weah it in yore pocket. An' den if it's a woman dat chew wanted tuh be wit, why yo' jes' tetch 'er wit dat frog [bones].
Entry 10639
An' den ag'in yo' see where dem little antses come in yore house - yo' see dem antses comin' in yore house, strollin' in lak a little trail. Pret- ty soon yo' goin' move from dere. Dey [law] come an' move yo' out. Yo' goin' leave, too. (When you see the ants com- ing in that way.) In dat house - dey make a trail in dere, de little antses, one right after de othah, some comin' an' some goin'. Dey goin' move yo' out an' yo' goin' go, too.
Entry 10646
Take dose antses, see, ketch 'em, an' dat [ant] bed dey done made - some of dat [ant] bed yo' see, an' yo' git it [some of that ant bed] in a box an' yo' bring it back. An' dey tell me yo' jes' keep dat sittin' ahin' yore bed all de time. See. Well, dey say dat's jes' tuh run yo' crazy - yore mind bad, see.
(You do that at some other person's bed?)
Yeah, doin' othah people harm.
Entry 10648
[Well, if somebody livin' next do' an' yo' wanta make 'em move, yo' go out in de woods an' yo' come to a ole tree wit aplenty of dem big red piss-antses in it, an' ketch as many of 'em as yo' kin. Put 'em in a snuffbox an' carry it an' put it under dere steps. Dey ain't goin' be dere long. Dey gotta go.
(That will run them away.)
Yessuh, shore will leave dere.
Entry 10649
Ah heard if yo' take a ant, if yo' wus tuh take, if yo' could a - jes' lak a ants' nest. Jes' lak yo' go to a ants' den dey have made. Jes' lak if yore husban' or sompin lak dat would wash his feet an' yo' would scrape his feet, well yo' take dis dead skin offa yore husban's feet an' take an' put it in dis ants' nest. Den dat et [eaten] by de ants an' den dat would cause him to walk jes' lak a ants, if yo' wanta do somepin to him or somepin lak dat. Dat would cause de husban' to walk jes' lak de ants.
(What do you mean, run him away or something like that?)
Yeah, jes' gives him de wanderin' an' sturbin' an' all lak dat. Jes' lak he'd love somebody an' yo' thought yo' could break him - yo' know, stop him from lov- in' 'em. Yo' jes' wanta do somepin ill to 'im. See, yo' takes an' wash his feet an' git some of dis heah, yo' know, dead skin off his feet, an' yo' puts it in dis ants' den, an' say den when he starts tuh walkin', he jes' wouldn't be sat- isfied novhere he goes, jes' lak de ants.
Entry 10656
Yo' take dat an' pound it up an' put it in his ratchet [rations]. Take dat big ants, ketch three of 'em, an' pound it up an' give him [hunting dog] a little bit every three time a day to each meal, an' he'll hunt an' search every place jes' lak dat ants will do. Go in every little hole an' corner. He don't stay long at one place.
(What kind of ants do they use? Did you say?)
Dey call 'em de horse ants, great big ole horse ants. Dey's red an' black. [A large red ant or a large black ant is called a horse ant.]
Entry 10657
Ah tell yo' 'bout a red ant's bed. If yo' got a dog in yore yard an' want him tuh be bad, yo' kin put nine red ants' in some bread an' give 'im. Yo' couldn't even come in dat yard where he wus. Dat dog would tear yo' up.
Entry 10658
Go to a big ants bed an git nine antses an' put 'em in some likker, an' let 'em 'solve [dissolve] in dat likker, an' give it to a man an' he'll stay vid chew an' give yo' all his money.
Entry 10659
Yo' ketch one dese big ones - big red ones - an' yo' take three of 'em an' put it [them] in a bottle, dese red antses. Yo' put 'em in a bottle, three, an' buries it tuh de steps. Dat's tuh broke up de house an' family an' make dem move out.
Entry 10660
Jes' lak ah wants tuh rent dis home, yo' see, an' yo' wants tuh rent it. Well, yo' got de most money. Well, ah haven't got very much money. Well, yo' go tuh a ant bed an' git about nine of dose ants, an yo' slip it in dis empty buildin', see, unbeknowst tuh me. An' den yo'll rent it an' ah won't.
(You mean you'll get the house and I won't get it? Or what?)
[My question shows he has the cart before the horse!]
Dat's right. Ah'll rent de house an' yo' won't. But chew got chure money, but ah haven't got it [my money]. [My informant puts ants into the house, I see them and do not rent the building, unless I consider ants in the house lucky. I keep my money, he spends his on rent.]