Subject:Bark
Entries
Entry 3759
[As a piece of magic, what could be more logical magically than the following 5 ingredients: 1 of them prickly, 3 of them red, and the 5th called life everlasting?] But I anticipate. The doctor who is instructing me will explain why he uses each of the 5 ingredients.] Well, now - case now dere's some man or some woman may come tuh yo' an' tell yo' dis [my instruction by the doctor begins]. He say, "Listen, yo' know one thing, "" says, "ah haven't got no nature left at all - I ain't go no nachure left. Ah wants tuh have feelin' fo' mah ole man or mah ole woman, an' ah ain't got no feelin's left." Yo' say, "Well, all right, right. Ah'll tell yo' whut ah'll do." Yo' say, "Yo' come ovah heah an' ah'll give yo' somepin." Well, all right. Yo' walk out dere an' yo' go to a tree, an' git dis prickly ash. Yo' know whut prickly ash is. Git dat inside bark - undahstan' good - see, dat rough side yo' know is got stickahs on it lak pins. Git de inside of dat prickly ash bark. An' go in de woods an' den git chew a [wild] cherry tree an' git dat cherry bark. Git chew some cherry bark an' de inside of a red oak bark, an' it's a kinda brier dat dey call de life evahlastin' [the cudweed (not a kinda brier) - see hayfever cure, FACI, 1st ed., 4498-4499, p.216.] Git dat an' boil dat togethah an' when yo' boil dat togethah, den yo' strain dat. But yo' wanta git rain watah. Don't git dis hydrant watah, git rain watah an' yo' boil all dat togethah. An' yo' put about a half, jes' about dat much, as much cayenne peppah in dere as yo' kin hold in yore two fingahs, see. An' shake dat up togethah an' let 'em take dat, see. An' dat will give dem nature. An' see, dis peppah is fo' tuh give yuh nature, an' dis red-oak bark is fo' tuh cleanse yore blood, an' dis prickly ash is tuh make de man's thing stand. See, DAT'S WHY DEY CALL IT PRICKLY ASH. An' dis life evahlastin' is supposed tuh work yo', tuh work de filth an' stuff offa yo' kidney's an' yo' bladdah. See, evahthin' yo' gotta do wit dat is wrong.
Entry 4039
Dey usely [usually] take yuh chamber lye an' stop it up in a jar, but yuh have tuh use cinnamon bark tuh put wit it, see, in ordah tuh tie up de kidneys tuh stop 'em from makin' watah. (What do you do with that jar?) De jar, yuh bury it. Bury it. Yuh put it where no one kin find it, yo' undahstan', tuh open it.
Entry 4417
His stoolment - his bowel stoolment. An' yuh kin cut a hole in any kinda tree, jis' since yuh cut a hole in it, an' put it in dere, an' den put dat same bark, yuh know, an' shut back ovah dat an' nail it up wit a hammah an' nail. An' dat'll lock 'is bowels an' he nevah will git ovah it.
Entry 4583
Yuh take dis little bow here an' take some devil's-shoestring dey call it. Take dat devil's-shoestring an' dis bow an' some cinnamon bark an' salt [and] black peppah. An' dey takes dis bow an' put it in de sole of yuh shoe. See, like yuh got a shoe, a woman would do dat. Dat's tuh make her - make yuh stay. Yuh goin' tuh stay right wit 'er. An' she'll take dat an' put it in de sole of 'er shoe an' wear it dere. As long as she got dat thing in dere, yuh can't leave her.
Entry 6240
One woman said once dat chew bo' a hole in a tree on de no'th side, a red oak tree, scrape de bark off. An' scrape off de first bark an' den scrape off de second bark, an' den bo' dat hole in de so'th side of a tree. Dat's fo' de hair. An' dey take yore hair an' a bird feathah, sompin wild feather, lak birds are wild things, an' fix wit it an' stop it up in dere. Say dat will run yo' crazy. Dat's whut ah heard.
Entry 6241
An' dey take yore hair of anothah way now. Take yore hair an' run yo' crazy anothah way. Dey kin take it an' put it in a green tree, oak tree, an' make a slice up. A green growin' tree. Put de hir in dere an' see, it close back on de hair. Why yo' soon go crazy an' dere ain't no cure fo' yo'. (Go to a small growing tree and put your hair in there. And when that tree grous together again?) Yeah, de tree grows up, why de hair grows in dere, why yo' go crazy. [For bair growing though separated from body, see No.5804f.]
Entry 6784
Take dogwood tree an' give it fo' neuralgee.
(How do you do that?)
Yo' take de no'th side of a dogwood tree an' boil it. Skin off de top part of de bark, dat will cure neuralgee. (What do you do with that?) Yo' take about dat much [demonstrates] in yore han', 'bout dat much in yore han', an' yo' put it IN A QUART OF WATAH AN' BOIL IT DOWN TO A PINT. [This is the Mgic rite of diminishing amount, which like the magic of increasing amount is fairly common in Hoodoo.] Dey tole me it cures neuralgee. Jis' boil it an' Strain it an' drink de tea.
Entry 6785
Jis' lak yo' git hurt or anythin', somebody done fixed yo', well yo' lin [get] dat [dogwood] an' bathe in it. Yo' put bluestone, yo' take de bark off de dogwood tree, take de bark offa de east side an' de west side an' kinda boil it yo' know down. Yo' drinks dat. Well, dat'll bring dat stuff on back oh yo'.
(If anybody has put any stuff [hoodoo] in you?)
Yeah.
Entry 6831
If yo' gotten any poison - yo' see, anythin' dat wuz poisoned - dey could go tuh a gumwood tree an' git de innahba'k, yo' undahstan', from de sun- rise side, an' boil it in sweet milk. An' give tuh dat person three times a day, a tablespoonful, an' dat would offset some trouble, dat poison.
(You mean if somebody has tricked them?)
[I am asking, is this ordinary or hoodoo poison.]
Yeah, somebody's tricked 'em.
(Cunjured them or something?)
Dat's right. Dere wuz a ole man dat usta [use tol come tuh mah gran'mothah's house an' he would tell 'er a certain person wuz jis' down an' out, chew know, jis' couldn't har'ly [hardly] live, an' dis same remedy dat ah'm tellin' yo' 'bout now, of de sap ba'k from de sun- rise of a gum tree. Boil dat in sweet milk an' give dat person. An' dere's somepin 'bout a blacksnake hide dat yo' git fo' 中商 dat person tuh weah it roun' 'is vaist or anythin'. Give him dat sweet milk an' gum ba'k boiled, yo' undahstan', fo' a medicine. Dat would be de remedy.
Entry 6838
Tea from High John de Conkah, apple tree bark, an' fig tree roots [for pain or swelling].
editorial-only purpose annotation for the short tea item. Role remains editorial, not informant. Preserve pain OR swelling rather than both diseases or a diagnosed condition. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 6886
De woman might be Impregnant, chew know. Somebody might wan' 'em tuh die in dat state, chew know. Dey [some woman] gits jealous, chew know. An' den dey git tuh a, go tuh a oak tree an' measure nine inches from de bottom, an' skin de bä'k up an' boil dat tuhgethah [with] anythin' whut de woman would eat, chew know. Suppose dey could give 'er dat tuh eat, chew know. Dat child nevah come down, yo' see. (The child will never come down. This child will stay right in her. It will kill her then.)
Entry 6893
Yo' know lak dey have neuralgy [neuralgia] in de throat an' mouth an' haid. All right, yo' be swoled all up. Yo' go tuh a red oak bark tree an' git de bark on de sunrise side an' make tea off it, an' jis' steep yo'self wit it lak dat. Jis' have de watah, dat tea, in a pan an' jis' steep off, steep off. Open yuh mouth an' jis' let it, let it go all on. An' yo' kin make poultices if yo' wanta tuh put all roun' yuh neck or wherevah it's hurtin', an' dat'll scattah it.
Entry 6903
Ah heard 'em tell if yo' have a vener'al disease or a bad case of de POps or somepin lak dat, chew kin take red shank root, wild cherry bark an' Queens of Life. [He probably means Queen's - delight = greenroot (StiZlingia sylvatica) of the southern U. S. A., see p.630.] (What is that?) Dat's a weed dat grows out an' it's a root too.] It's in de woods. Wild cherry bark root an' de Queens of Life, an' red shank, an' sasparilla [sarasparilla]. An' take all of dat an' put chew 'bout a gallon of watah an' boil it down tuh a quart [magic of diminishing amount]. Dat's a good Dedicine fo' any case. It'll run it out but it'll kill - run it out chure blood an' cure it up. Den yo' kin cure it up on de outside yo'self.
Entry 6987
Go tuh de no't side of a willah tree an' scrape de bahk [bark] off - yo' know, jis' scrape - jis' cut de top bahk off an' den scrape off some of dat white bahk offen [off] a willah tree. An' it wus good fo' neu- asmee.
[Neuasmee appears to be a combination of neuralgia and asthma.]
(How would they use that?)
Well, yo' take it an' make a tea outa it, an' drink de tea. Good for de neu- asmee.
Entry 8319
Take a person's photograph an' yo' go on de no'th side of a tree. An' yo' take dat tree an' hew dat bark offa dere, an' put dat photograph in dere an' nail it up. An' yo' Walk back from dat tree nine times [steps] an' cuss, an' say whutevah yo' cuss, an' whosevah name yo' call, dat person die.
(You just fasten that on the north side of the tree?)
Yes, cut de bark out an' put de photograph intuh it. (And walk backwards nine steps and cuss and call their name.)
Entry 8320
Take de pichure an' cut a piece out of de tree an' put it in dat place whut chew cut - jis' a piece out de tree an' den nail it back up dere. An' dey say dat will kill 'em.
(Cut a hole in the tree and put this picture in and nail it back up?)
Yessuh.
Entry 8321
She [his grandmother] say, "Put chure pichures up, son, don't let chure pichure hang around, if ah got holt of 'em" - she tell me about dis, say, "people kin take dat pichure an' run yo' crazy." Ah say, "Yeah?'" Ah wants tuh know it, yo' know. She say, "Dey kin take dis pichure an' run yo' crazy, boy. Yore pichure should be put up." [Informant now tells what he heard from his grandmother.] Dey take dis pichure heah an' dey go tuh de toilet, an' git some of dat stuff out of de toilet an' put on dis pichure. An' dey'll go way out in de woods some- where an' cut a little piece of bark off a tree, dat is hangin' down lak dis [demonstrates] yo' know, an' put dat pichure up dere. An' tack it up dere an' put dat bark back up dere. An' since dat tree is constantly growin', yo' know, an' dat pichure being wit dat stuff dere, why see, dat will constantly make dat thing go back ovah dere. Say it will run yo' crazy, dat pichure being in dat tree dere.
Entry 8349
Dat photograph - yo' take dat photograph an' yo' judge by de person's heart, jis' if yo' kin kill 'em. See, yo' take a pin or needle dat's nevah been used an' yo' stick it right zactly where yo' think dat dere [heart] stands at. Find a young saplin' an' yo' skin dat bark an' shove dat pichure behin' dat bark, an' stick dat pin right through it. Graj'ly [gradually] dey will pine away.
(You stick that pin through in order to hold that bark back on the sapling?)
Dat's right, right zactly where de heart is at. An' when dat sap go down an' come up, dey'll die.
Entry 8719
(To get the job?)
Yo' write his name, de boss name, an' yore name, too, if yo' wants. If yo' don' want, yo' don' need tuh write chure name, but long as yo' git de boss name, yo' understan'. (You write his name down once?) Nine times. Yo' git chew cinna- mon [chewing cinnamon] an' yore sugah. An' git some cinnamon tuh chew [stick cinnamon] an' spit nine times goin' tuh 'im an' nine times when yo' git tuh 'im.
(After you have written this name, what do you do with this name?)
Yo' jis' keep dat name folded tuh yo' an' weah it in de bottom of yore shoe. Eithah shoe will do.
Entry 8745
Jes' go to de sunrise side of a tree an' graze dat side.
(Smooth the side off?)
Yes sir, an' take [these grazings from] dat side of de tree. Now if de person livin' dis direction, an' de sunrise dis, yo' take de sunrise side of dat tree - take dat off, see. Dey call his name. Take a horn, a cow horn, an' scrape a little off it an' put it in dat horn, an' den scrape some offa de sunrise side of dat tree; an' call his name an' every time yo' call it, yo' blow dat horn - about eight times. An' aftah de eight time - de eight times - like yo' blows it easy, an' de ninth, blows it loud as yo' wanta. But turn - if yo on dat side [see later explanation], yo' turn it dis side, if yo' want 'em come ack disaway. Yo' blow it, de dust out dat horn. He'll come home. (You blow that dust toward where he is and then he'll come back. If he's over Chere, you blow it this way to bring him back; if he's over in that direction, you slou the dust in the opposite direction to bring him back.) [A cow-horn expert will be needed to explain what happens here, just how the oov horn is held and handled. It has been 60 years since I saw and tried to blow a cow horn!] Jes' like he ovah dis side, yo' turn yore back an' blow de dust tuhward 'im. (You put htat - some scrapings from the cow horn in the horn and some scrap- igs from the tree into the horn, and blow it ou on the ninth time.) Yo' take de scrapings of de tree - go tuh de sunrise side - an' if he on de lgoin'-down [side] yo' work it from de sun-goin'-down, if he out dat way. See. 血 de way he is yo' gotta blow dat dust ovah heah. (But you must get these scrapings from the sunrise side of the tree, always, matter which direction he is?) Dat's right, take it from de sunrise side of de tree if he's... [I have had cmough and interrupt.] (Suppose he's at the sunrise side, then what side would I take it - now wait inute! Suppose he's on the sunrise side. Now what side of the tree would I te those scrapings from?) At de sunrise side. Take it from dis side, de west side, de sun-goin'-down. (Otherwise, in whatever direction he is - no matter what direction he's in - roa take these scrapings from the opposite side of this tree from where he is. Esean, you don't always take it from the sunrise side?) No sir.
(That's what I wanted to find out.)
It's foah [four] ways to dat, dat he kin go. (And you will take it from the opposite side of the tree from which he is - scrapings?) Yes.
Entry 9678
Yo' take de 'simmon bark. Ah heard dat one too, if anyone wants tuh trick yo' in any way. All right, yo' take de 'simmon bark an' yo' goes on an' yo' take nine tablespoon- fuls of table salt an' put it in dere wit dis bark. Yo' boils it. Den yo' take dis stuff an' go tuh dey house at night, chew know. An' when yo' backs out from dey house, yo' let it follah yo' from de do' tuh where yo' goin' - long as it leaks out. Well, if dey try tuh do anythin' dere's nuthin tuh dat.
(You put nine spoonfuls of salt in this persimmon bark?)
Yes.
Entry 11076
A woman's stockin', you kin take it an' git chew some de cinnamoa, de big cinnamon. Dey got de two kin', dey got de groun' cinnamon an' dey got de big cinnamon. Dey take de big cinnamon. (You mean the bark?) Yes. Take dat an' yo' git chew some graveyard dust, an' yo' git chew two tacks an yo' nail that. Yo' nail de heel part of de stockin'. Yo' nail de foot-part any- where yo' wanta nail it an' dey jis' be gone. Dey'll live about nine or ten days but dey cain't live no longer, yo' see. If it's both of them it's all right but de left-foot shoe [stocking] yo' must have.
Entry 11323
Ah heard dat yo' could go tuh a dogwood tree an' cut de no'th side of it, an' de s'uth side of it; see, if somebody comin' tuh yore house dat chew want tuh stay 'way from dere. If yo' cut dat tree tuh de no'th side an' de s'uth side, dwy would sta y'way. Ah've heard dat. (How do you mean cut it?) Jes' cut it wit a knife, split it up. Stick it down an' split it up. Yo' know, jes' be cuttin' it, de bark off upon each side of de tree. [Wilson, N. Car.,. (1479), 2658:15.]
Entry 11324
Yo' kin go to a dogwood tree, yo' know, an git dis bark yo' know, an' do somepin to a person - a man eithah a woman. Yo' kin take somepin othah an' bo' a hole in dis tree. See, yo' take dis bark out an' bo' a hole in it [the wood part] an' git some of dat bark an' dat wood yo' understand out an' take an' mix it [bark and borings] up togethah, an' git some [of their] hair, an' den go back to dat place an' chunk [push] it [bark, borings and hair] back [in the hole] yo' undahstand. See, dat [hair] grow up in dere. An' take a - yo' know lak a person go to take a passage, yo' understan', take some of dat stuff [excrement] an' tie it up an' put it in dat hole. [Usually a hole with something in it is plugged up with a peg, perhaps not here.]
Entry 11346
If you be out of work and you want's to get a job, you go to the drug swre and you get you some cinnamon bark - not the ground cinnamon - cinnamon bark. You chew that. You get you 25 cents of what you call - it's a drawing powder - and you gotta pay attention too when you get that. After you get that powder... Now, for you, you have to get pink. They got two kinds of it. got the pink and white. You get that drawing powder. Of course, you rub of it in the palm of your hand like that [demonstrates]. You take that cinnamon bark and you chew that cinnamon bark. And when you get around there where the boss is, of course, spit it but not enough so nobody will pay atten- tion to you. You take some of that powder and you put it in some of your pock- ets, and because it's got a sweet smell to it, nobody never pay attention to it anyway. In your pockets. When you close to him, spit that cinnamon bark around there. And that powder will draw him to the person [to you] and he will give you a job.
Entry 12660
Pulverize persimmon bark and sugar, and one teaspoonful of sulphur. Put that on yore stove, on de top of your stove, on a Monday and Wednesdays. That's to get a job. Then you hold it and then you always kin pick up - getting jobs. (Well, what if you have a job?) It will cause you to pick up more, cause you to pick up more, cause you get more extra jobs. [This shows a chronic condition of the times, the Great Depression, there were few jobs for these people, and had there been permanent jobs, few were trained to hold them. Forty years later, as I write, conditions have not improved much.]
Entry 12661
Well, I'll tell you. If you're sellin' liquor, you can go ahead and sell it and have de house fixed so when dey [officers of the law] come dey can't come in. (How can you do that?) Well, you jes' git you some uh, you go to a 'simmon [persimmon] tree, you git a 'simmon tree, the bark, and tie it to de step - don't put it way under de step - and dey can't come in until you git everything out de way. [The magic here could be, you must get this bark while the tree has unripe persimmons on it. Bite into one of them and you will leave the others alone.]
Entry 13352
Dey git different root an' cork 'em down in a bottle an' bury 'em... (And bath water?) And - dat's right - and you bury 'em, and after you bury 'em you either stop up dere night water [or bath water] you understand, or dey git a pain in de head - sompin like dat. Dey cork dem dat way.
(I'm speaking now of the water you take a bath in.)
I understand. You mean de water that you taking washing in. Can't do nuthin [no hoodoo] wit dat.
(But this water, the night water?)
Dat it [you can do something with that] you kin bury dat.
(Well, what sort of root do you put with that?)
De' goes out and gits somepin dey calls snakeroot. Snakeroot for a pain in de stomach - sompin like dat. Yo' go roun' an' yo' gits cherry bark and chero- kee [cherokee rose?] you understand, and you bile [boil] dat together and yo' put dat together, de' fool around wit chew an' put dat in yo' water, yo' under- stand, an' dey'll cork dat bottle an' bury it.
(What do they do with the head after they cork it? How do you put it, down?)
[SORRY FOR THAT SLIP OF MINE!]
Turn de head down.
(I see. Do you leave the water run out or just tight?)
[I WAS STILL A LITTLE INEXPERIENCED AT CHARLESTON, BUT MY LEADING QUESTION IS IGNORED.] No, you have it fix so de water can't run out.
(I see, that will keep you from making water.)
Yes.
Entry 1237
If yo' have a fever, yo' know, take it an' put it in whiskey or brandy.
(The dogwood tree bark?)
Yessuh, de bark, yo' know whut ah'm talkin' about now. Yo' jes' skin dat bark off - de inside skin. (Any place on the tree?) At de sunrise side, but ah don't believe in dat. Anyway, an' yo' put dat in dere. It's a fine tonic. (You take that bark off the sunrise side of the dogwood tree and make a tea with it if you are running a fever. Any kind of fever?) Yes, dat's whut ah've heard.
Entry 1248
(How are you going to cure this snake bite?)
Why yo' take that bark an' boil it - de bark from de fig tree, an' yo' boil dat an' yo' give that tea to the person who's bit by the snake. That'll drive de poison out.
Entry 1403
Go to a oak tree an' git jes' lak dis red oak bark, if a woman be's sick or anything with stomach trouble, an' take an' make a tea of it an' take a douche wit it. Why, it will cure stomach trouble.
Entry 1442
(What kind of a tree?)
A red oak. Well, yo' go in de woods an' take yo' an axe or hatchet an' git on de south side of de tree about a foot from de ground, an' git de bark until yo' git to de meat - don't git no meat. An' yo' cut de bark off, den, an' yo' take de bark an' carry it back home an' yo' boil it an' yo' make a tea out of it. An' yo' drink de tea.
(What will that do?)
Dat's supposed tuh cure rheumatism.
Entry 1443
When yo' got a bad disease an' yo' go tuh work an' make yo' devils- shoestring, yo' red oak bark an' yo' take it an' put it on an' boil it good, an' then yo' go tuh work an' give 'em a quart of it tuh drink. Then yo' kin take it - take so much of it an' 'noint 'em with it - see, an' that is good fo' de bad.disease.
Entry 1678
Ah heard if de lightnin' strike a tree an' yo' kin go dere where dat lightnin' strike dis tree an' git some of dat bark offa de tree an' boil it good; if yo' got a person dat any person's been sick for a long time or sufferin' wit rheumatism or somepin like dat, or been hurt in whiskey or anything - let 'em drink dat tea offa dat bark an' dey will gain dere strength back.
(If they have been hurt - you mean tricked?)
If dey been tricked in any kinda thing.
Entry 1682
Well, dey say fo' n'instance now, if a oak tree wus right out dere an' de lightnin' strike it an' which an' it kill de part it strikes, well dat makes dat wood turn brown. Well, yo' jes' go dere an' take yore axe an' cut yo' a piece of dat oak bark an' bring it home an' chip it up fine jes' like yo' would Irish potatoes an' put it into a pot an' boil it - make a tea off it an' drink it, an' yo' hol' it on dat tooth. It'll shore stop de toothache - ah know dat.
Entry 1687
It's fine fo' toothaches.
(That wood from a tree struck by lightning?)
Yes.
(What do you do at first, now?)
Yo' git that piece of that timber that's been struck by de lightnin' an' git de blood from round de tooth, somewhere near de tooth dat aches, an' carry that to a tree, a oak tree, de no'th side of it, an' pull de bark down an' put that blood in there an' shove it back up, an' that kills yore toothache.
Entry 1724
Well, you've heard of people being stopped from having their real actions. Have you ever heard about it? Well, now it is very true about that. Jest say for n'instance chew know someone - course it is not always you can get things like that unless it's in a country home, but if you know someone who uses that spot or go some place where you can get their actions. You go and bore a hole in a green tree - some tree that's not dead - it's gotta be green, and you get some of this and wrap it up, jest a small amount of this, and wrap it up in some new cloth and stuff it into a tree and jest force it back in dis tree. Get chew a piece of new tin and nine tacks, new brass tacks, and nail dis down and then paint over this tree - after you got, jest say a piece of bark or something of this tree - paint over that. That stays in this tree, which it will. This person's bowels will never move. Now, I know a lady right here in this town now - her bowels won't move, it moves out of her side. It is said that that caused this woman to be like that. Well, ah know 14 years ago that she was just as well as I am now, and no doctor that have ever diagnosed her case have been able to tell her whut's wrong. But they say for a fact that she was treated that way.
Entry 2340
Dey tell yo' 'bout de tree dat's struck by lightnin'. Yo' take de bark from dat tree an' yo' take dat bark an' yo' burn dat bark into ashes an' yo' take dem ashes an' yo' git chew some Epsom salt an' put wit dat. Yo' kin take de Epsom salt an' de ashes from dat tree an' yo' put it in a flannen rag with lode- stone an' yo' sew it up, an' yo' take that an' use it as a toby for all de time. If yo' wanta go yore way, jes' go on an' go yore way. Long as yo' got that wit chew, yo' cain't nevah be disappointed, nobody will evah refuse yo' no way, yo' nevah have no fusses. [For "struck by lightning," see Thunderbolt Hand above.]
Entry 4389
Well, dey go right dere an' take yuh urinate [= excrement here] an' take dat stuff an' dey got anythin' ag'inst yuh, take dat stuff, an' yuh git some red peppah an' care [carry] it or take part of it, care it on off, put it on a bark - see a bark, a piece of pine bark will burn up. An' yuh burn dat when yuh git all dat stuff down dere. An' yuh sprinkle some of dat peppah - take dat odor away from it. Take dat thin' an' keep it in a can an' run yuh stone crazy. [For the use of tin can, see margin can titles soon to follow.]
Entry 11912
If you nail a person's hair to a tree - usually by first making a nail hole and then inserting the hair - that person will go crazy after the bark grows over the hole. [Ocean City, Md., by Ediphone.]
Entry 13290
Don't care what chew do - if you commit murder, don't make any dif- ference. If yo' kin stay out of the way of the law, until yo' get where yo' goin', why it's all over. You won't be harmed and they won't do any harm either. Yo' go to de woods and cut a sycamore sprig and you begin at the top and strip it right down. You know, it has a bark that will strip down jes' like as if it was buckhide. Strip it right down to the ground [this shows sprig is a sapling, not branch of tree] and tie a knot in that tight right close to the ground, and then lay the other part [side] down. Pull the other side down and tie a knot-like right close to the ground. Get right up and walk right on off about your business. You kin come right back and be ready for another [ex- perience]. You needn't worry.
(That will keep the law back?)
If the law's after you, they ain't goin' bother you any more. They ain't goin' to prosecute you any more. It will be over. And you'll find nobody else won't bother you. (That is, you take this stick [sapling] on one side and then on the other side, and just split it [bark].) Yes sir. [Doctor Glover of Charleston is speaking, the man who makes the headboard of a grave rock - Pp.2258-2259, v.3. In the present rite he returns to it later as follows:] And person [your client] get found out and you git to him, why you don't have to worry. You jes' get that sycamore sprig. See, go right to that sycamore sprig and strip it down, one side first and tie it up, and the other [side] next and tie a knot into it, and go right on off. (That will clear them.) [Charleston, S. Car., (514 Doctor Glover), first part of material 596:2; second part 598:1.]
Entry 13303
3 RooTS: blackberry, make tea, drink 3 days; go to dogwood tree, din bark from north side, pulling it upward, make tea, drink 3 days; bamboo Eier [like a fishing pole], make tea, drink 3 days. Then take a dose of castor oil and live things in you will come out.
Entry 13452
Yo' kin take a willow tree an' git some of de bark offa it an' tie it up in a pocket hans'cuff an' give it to someone an' dey'll follow yo' an' do anything yo' ask 'em to. [Waycross (1134) 1841:5.]
Entry 745
Ah had one [case] - Miss Katy Jones which was harmed, she had frogs in her. These frogs had came [from] de crushed bones of a live toady. De bones was grind and placed into de food with a serpent's head crushed with it and put into her food that she eat and create a growth. From this growth in her stomach - I could bring her fer you to see. An' taking a bone[?] weed, which dey call a herb which dey call a pestle - a pounder.
(What is the name of this weed?)
De weed? A bone[?] weed, dey call it. Yes, sir. Strip it up.
(Is it a bone weed, like b-o-n-e - bone of your body?)
Oh, no sir - a bore [or boar] weed - it grows like people say - dey call it de gall of de earth - a yella root. [Do pestle, pounder and bore or boar weed suggest that he is talking about the tion's-foot, a possible identification for his gall of de earth? The latter root is frequently used.] Take it and pull de bark from it up - you have to for casting, dat's de way ah always does it. [Pulling the bark up is upward magic to make the patient throw up, vomit, have a casting (up); just as dowrward magic, usually rubbing downward, drives pain or disease downward and out of the body through the feet.] Next, boil de herb and put a pickamarrow[?] into it.
(A what?)
A pickamarrow[?].
(What's that?)
That's a bush that grows high but you use de root of it. And boil de root and give dat to her to drink and that will 'cum'late a casting on [in] de stomach and that will bring de dangerous poison from de body, and then we kin be able to heal that body after bringing the casting from it. Otherwise, from that, if they have it in them and you never git a caskey [casting], you kin not cure de body.
(What is that caskey - what is that?)
That's heaving up - like you see some people heave up.
(I see - that's what they heave up, I see.)
That's de way I would get mine from 'em - let 'em heave it up, de poison part. And like rattlesnake's buttons off de body, you know, de rattle part of a rattlesnake - de powders from dat, people say dat will run you blind. Well, no doubt it will, if it git in yore eyes it will run you blind, but if it's crushed up into a powder and you eat that, that will create a death, because you kin not live with that in you.
(Well, isn't there any way to cure it, if they got that in them?)
Yes, sir. Take dat - that herb for them to throw up.
(That will cure them, too.)
An' you have to take a gallberry. You know what a gallberry bush is - take de berry from a gallberry bush and put it in water and squeeze de juice from de gallberry which dat is a snake food.
(What do you do with that, then?)
You squeeze it and take that juice from that and boil it. After boiling de juice, turn it into de person to drink, as after dey go to drug store and take a dose of castor oil. If dey have a cold, castor oil will break de cold on 'em, from dem, and dem [they] will be able to git rid of it. But if dey drinks dis medicine off of de gallberry leaves and de rattlesnake master, that will be able to help dem get rid of it. (Get rid of this - from the rattlesnake-button powder.) [Since gallberry (inkberry) is thought to be a snake food, here is another example of like cures like.] [Savannah, Ga., 655:1.]
Entry 1384
Peoples has buried things in trees an' it's lotsa times people kin use de bark offa an' dat's good fo' diff'rent kind of medicines. From a willow tree it's good fo' whoopin' cough. An' yo' kin git de twigs from a maple tree cause - yo' heah de name of maple tree didn't chew? Well, yo' kin git de twigs from a maple tree an' it's good fo' any kind of eyesight tuh boil de bark an' use it fo' any kind of bad eyesight, jes' lak yo' got a catarac' ovah de eye. Or eithah, prob'bly, maybe yo' hard of hearin' - it's caused from yore eyesight. Yo' kin boil de watah an' it's good fo' dat.
Entry 6219
Take fo' stran's of yore hair, yo' understand, an' make a foldin' plat outa it. Aftah dey plat dat hair, dey take a brand-new nail, a eight-penny dl, an' carry it out in de woods an' git on de north side of a tree. You see, te BORTH SIDE OF A TREE HAS A HEAVY BARK on dat side. An' take dat bark an' jIs barely crack dat bark enough to put dat hair in dere, see. Wedge dat hair in tere. An' take dis eight-penny nail an' drive it in up to de eye [of the nail]. Pat SUPPOSed to kill yuh. [INFORMANT DOES NOT KNOW THAT THE NORTH SIDE OF THE TEE HERE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE THICKNESS OF THE BARK. THE NORTH SIDE OF TTHING, ESPECIALLY OF A CEMETERY, IS A VERY UNLUCKY PLACE.]
Entry 702
Old Miss J. was mad at me one time and she said, someone overheard her, she was going to fix me. So she got a bottle and she placed a snake and a little frog all in this one bottle and buried it under my doorstep. Lucky for me a man told me it was there. And I know what to do for that. I went out into the woods and got me some old black oak tree bark and turpentine and came back to the house step and placed it on the step. Next morning when I woke up and that bottle was right on the ground. There was a snake in there, a frog in there. [This must have been powerful drawing medicine to draw a buried bottle out of the ground.] And I said, "Mercy, what can that be?" Then I took some salt and turpentine and put it on the bottle to keep from being cunjured with those germs. So I took the bottle and shook it and out came the snake and frog. And I said, "That won't do. I don't know they might come back." So I put this salt and turpentine on the frog and he curled up, and I put the salt and turpentine on the snake and he died. So that stop that cunjure. [In case the reader was a little sleepy during this remarkable rite or awed by the powerful drawing medicine, may I point out there was no buried bottle under the doorstep; the man-told-me-it-was-there threw the bottle under the door- step during the night. The powerful drowing medicine was suggestion and a trick. We will come to a small collection of tricks later.]
Entry 1591
Go to the woods and get yourself some turpentine and get you some bark from a walnut tree. Take this turpentine and bark and put it in water and let it boil for ten minutes. Take this water and throw it over your left shoulder. When you get through with that take two teaspoonfuls in your body. And that will keep evils and all hoodoos away from you. Another thing, if you find a bottle underneath your door and don't know what's in it, never touch it, but go to the woods and get some turpentine [raw sap from turpentine tree - several pines] and some walnut tree bark and sprinkle it over that bottle first. Then you move it and you won't be cunjured. That's the best thing I know for cunjures.
Entry 1665
Git de willow tree bark off de sunrise, an' den go round to de back where de sun go down an' cut dat off, an' he took de piece of splinter off dat an' pick de tooth until it bleed. An' jes' take dat stick an' carry it an' wrahp it an' put it ovah yore do'. Yo'll nevah have no toothache any mo'.
(Which side do you get that splinter from? The sunrise side or sundown side?)
De sunrise an' dey go round to de sundown an' cut it de same way, but dey git de splinter from de sunrise.
(But they only get one splinter?)
One splinter - dat's all.
(Well, what do they do at the sundown side then?)
Yo' jes' cut dat de same direction - de same way.
(You don't do anything though?)
Yo' don't do anything. Jes' cut it de same way, de same direction - cut it lak dat. But yo' git dat splinter out de sunrise an' go down round de sunset an' do de same thing - lak ah tell yo' 'bout dis tidewater.
(What did you say before? Did you say something that you pick your teeth?)
Pick yore tooth till it bleeds, den spit it out an' yo' take dat splinter an' carry it an' tie it up in a rag an' put it ovah de do'.
Entry 1677
Ah don't know if dey use it fo' de same thing, but ah know lak a tree dat been struck by lightnin' dataway, an' yo' go in de side - yo' see, yo' take a tree where de sun rise at it's practic'ly smooth cause it pressed [east side of tree has smooth bark because sun presses it], whereas it goes down dat draws it uP [west side of tree has rough bark because sun drows it]. Well, aftah de tree is struck by lightnin' an' yo' taken dat bark off of it, dey claim dat if a man is subject wit rheumatical pains, see - takin' an' boilin' dat bah'k an' vo' see puttin' dat in his watah when he bathe, he'll be practic'ly himself, yo' see. Where it struck wit lightnin', if it struck on de west side. See, on de east side of de tree she press de bark off de tree pretty smooth. When she goes down she draws. See. Take it from dat bah'k on de west side fo' rheumatical pain - it's de best pain dat it evah wus used fo'.
Entry 1732
Wal, dey say it's something whut you could fix uP as a bodyguard, but chew fix it up in a bag. Take a piece of shamry skin, something like hide, like dis shamry skin gloves - you know jis' tough skin. Take that and git diff'rent kind of roots and bark. All right, you git de John de Conker root. You git de lodestone and git de devil's- shoestring root and de black cat wishing-bone, and den you take de John de Conker and a piece of dragon's blood and take all of that and mix it up fine - yo' know, beat it up, mostly powder enough to go in a bag. And den you take that and after you git all that fixed up good, git whut chew call dis here Seven-'leven Oil and put seven drops of that. And mix it up all together and put in dis bag and sew it up. See. And take it and put it - and git a piece of red flannen and sew dis bag up in dat red flannen and jes' put a string around it and tie it and wear it around yore waist or around yore neck and dere won't nothing bother yo'.
(That's to keep people from bothering you.)
That's pertection fo' you.
(Where do you buy this Seven-'leven Oil? Where do you get that?)
You supposed to could - de woman told me that she got some from New Orleans but whut part of New Orleans ah don't know. [All black cat bones are hands (see pp.74-97) and therefore they are also in a sense wishing-bones. But wishing-bone here means form as well as power. As to form, one informant said the black cat bone was "made lak de breast of a chicken" (No. 316, p.94), meaning the furculum or wishbone in front of but not a part of the chicken breastbone. Similarly, another informant described black cat bone as "gon'a have three forks [prongs or tines]...two long forks an' a little small fork" (No. 299, p.88). I suggested this three-pronged fork could have been a 'devil's trident." Actually the "little small fork could have been the hypo- cleidium - the end adhering to the winning half of the broken wishbone. Despite informants, wishbone appears only in most birds; it appears in black cats only by the grace of hoodoo merchants. Among other black cat products I should mention black cat oil (No. 1121, p.417), black cat powder (No. 326, p.96), and black cat water (Nos.328-329, p.96f.).]
Entry 3780
If a man have a bad disease, yo' kin git de bark from de no'th side, outside, of a gum tree, an' de bark from de east side of red oak tree, an' mix 'em togethah an' make a tonic, an' dat will cure him of de bad dis- ease. Yo' put a few drops of turpentine in it.
Entry 6796
People sometimes claim that when you go out to a road like that [cross- road or forks of road] they've been hurt. They say they go to a tree, the tree after the crossroad, a birch tree. They're off from the forks of the road because most of the time the roads go dead off from a birch. And they get a certain bark off of that tree, and take it back home and keep it four or five days, and take it to a river of running water and throw it over their left shoulder. And they claim they will come all right again.
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 7039
Mah husband's a heavy likkah drinkah but he don' drink now see. He don' drink now becuz ah broke him of dat. Now, yo' have tuh ordah dis. Dey call it cinnamon bark. Dat's all ah evah known, dat ah evah did [for a heavy drinker]. An' it made as a tea, but chew cain't give him de reg'lah cinnamon bark. Well, yo' go tuh de [she could not think of blacksmith, if she knew it] - yo' know where did man fix horseshoe. Well, yo' gO an' GIT CHEW A LI'LE PIECE WHERE HE TRIM OFF DE HORSE HOOFS. YO' CAIN'T GIVE 'IM MUCH 'CUZ IT'S DANGEROUS. Yo' may git chew a piece, well say 'bout large as dis pea. An' yo' boil dat cinnamon bark an' dis heah horse hoof tuh- gethah, an' yo' strain dat an' put it intuh a extra li'le bottle. An' den when dey drink dat, drink coffee or tea, well yo' have tuh take a teaspoon; yo' know, jes' lak dey measure thin's as a medicine. Yo' take a teaspoon an' take it half full an' po' it in 'is coffee, where he cain't taste it, an' let 'im drink it an' he'll finely he nevah drink no mo' whiskey. Mah man a drinkah an' ah broke 'im from it.
(Well, you must know.)
Entry 1254
Dey say dat if yo' come prey wit a diff'rent disease, yo' could go to a dogwood tree an' git some root an' skin de bark from de sunrise side, an' go to a cherry tree and git de bark from de sunset side. An' then go to a firewood tree - dey call it firewood tree [the ironwood CyriZla racemeflora of southeastern U. S. A.; a number of trees are called iron- wood] - an' git some from de south side, an' put those ingredients together, and it would fin'lly turn if yo' had - somebody had tricked yo' or somepin, it would turn all dat away from yo' an' yo' become well. Ah heard dat.
(Well, what would they do with those barks? How would they fix those up?)
Dey said dey would take 'em jes' lak if ah got a bark from de dogwood an' one from de cherry, ah would take dem an' de firewood tree. Ah'd take dose barks an' ah put 'em in a pot an' ah boil 'em down to a certain ingredients, so dat dey Would become liquid, yo' know. Git some of de strength from each one. An' then ah would use 'em as a drug fo' to take or to rub until de parts dat were affected would pass - de pain would leave an' ah'd become well.
(What is a firewood tree?)
It's a tree that grows in the woods. De leaves all when dey come out, the bright side - in de nighttime dey give a light, jes' de same as if it was de, yo' see, de moon or somepin shinin' on it. It has a brighter leaf den any othah tree in de woods. Dey call dat firewood.
(Do they grow that out here?)
No suh, dey all be in de rivah swamps, mostly in the rivah swamps - jes' lak soggy [ground] or somewhere lak dat. Yo' mo' or less find dose kinda tree in that.
Entry 13372
Take de hickory tree bark an' beat it up right fine until it come tuh dust - beat it right fine. Beat it up right fine, jes' keep abeatin' it up right fine an' turn roun' an' pee LOVE on dat bark. See. Let dat pee dry on dat bark. See. An' den take some Heart Perfume [red hearts on label] an' put on dat bark an' give it ouh a person. Dey'll always love 'em.
(How do you give them that bark?)
Well, yo' see, yo' take de bark an' yo' beat 'em up, see. Yo' beat de bark up. Now listen an' ah show yo'. Yo' beat de bark up good intuh a dust. All right, yo' take a lil' dat dust, if yo' got some chewin' gum. See. Yo' kin take an' put it on dat chewin' gum an' seal back in de packet right good an' nice, an' say, "Have one." Well, see, she go tuh eatin' dat, see. She eatin' dat bark an' dat pee, dat yo' got mixed up dere an' she always love yo'.
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.
Entry 1158
Well, if anybody - now mostly ah nuse [use] dat to break - lak if dysente'y or somepin lak dat, yo' know. Or if yo' believed yo're poisoned or somepin of de kind lak dat. Well, den yo' git, yo' see, de bark off de tree on de sundown side, an' chip it sundown side, an' yo'll boil dat an' when yo' boil it, yo'll put a piece of gumbo wax in it. Ah guess yo' know dat. An' yo' make dat up as a powder an' let it resolve [dissolve] an' yo' kin use dat.
(What tree do you take that bark from?)
Yo' kin take dat from either a cedar tree or short-leaf [pine] or a black gum or sweet gum; either one of dem trees - short-leaf pine, or rosemary-leaf [pine] or( de thing dat chew call long-leaf [pine]. Yo' use either one of dem. [Since I did not ask about giobo wax, I must have assumed she was talking about the mucilaginous substance of boiled gumbo (okra). I did not ask which of the three so-called cedars or two black gums she used. Rosemary-leaf was unusual for rosemary pine (= loblolly = old-field).]