Subject:Blood/Human blood
Entries
Entry 10728
De instinct or de blood - understand me, from de index finger here [demonstrates]. (Well what do they [do], squeeze the blood from the index finger?) [This is not a leading question. He, like so many before him is acting: pretending to prick his finger and to squeeze out blood.] Yeah, an' you kin take de brand-new tin plate and you take de needle, understand me, and prick your index finger till it bleeds. And write dat name down in dat brand-new tin plate and bury it with de point down dere - I mean with de tin plate down here. Den you write one verse of de 16th chapter of Ezekiel and de 6th verse. [He repeats verse rapidly.]
(Well, now will you repeat that verse slowly for me so I can get it?)
And when I passed by and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I says unto thee, when thy wasting thy blood live, and yeah, I says unto thee when dey wast- ing thy blood, live. [This is an understandable but not an exact quotation from any version of the Bible.] Now, dat'll stop any blood from flowin' in de world; not only on human beings but on animals, of any character, anybody with a shot, cut or have a hemorrhage in any respect in life - dat will sure as God stop it.
Entry 13324
In de ole days dere nevah wuz nobody, as ah really evah know of, dat put money down unless dey have somebody take keer of it. Well, dey always - yo' know, not in our days anytime. Dey don't do dat now. But ah wuz learned dat dey have tuh kill someone an' de blood of dat individual have tuh be somewhere neah roun' dat money tuh take care of it.
Entry 1
It was a stormy night, thundering and lightning and raining, and this old witch [Millie] was dying. My mother and father and grandmother and lots of other people were there. And she started to climb up the wall. Of course they had to tie her in bed. And then they all got frightened. My mother got under the bed. And she died that night. And when the time for the funeral came, which I guess was about two or three days after, they put her in the hearse. And she bled from the house to the cemetery. It came through the casket [coffin] and hearse. They say there was a stream of blood from the house to the cemetery. [New York City, (1), by hand. These three facts - where collected, from whom and how, are given for all material; sometimes "when" is added, this in Gaston Co., N. Car.,1892.]
Entry 110
A white man killed another white man in slavery time - had killed him for years. An' one day they was riding 'long an' he says, "Thare zem bones - I killed dat fellah ten or fifteen or twenty years ago." An' de other fellah says tuh him, "Aw hush, git down an' let's see yo' tetch 'em." An' dey say, when he touched de bones, de blood come out - out that bone, an' he had him 'rested. An' that was de evidence - dat blood.
Entry 1740
And then you know, your decacal [index] finger, you see that's your blood right from your heart.
(You do what with your finger?) See, that's the finger - that's the blood that comes right from your heart. [Points to right index finger.]
(Which finger?) )[I doubt index finger.]
Your decacal finger.
(Oh, this one right here?)
Yes.
(Which hand?) [I am still doubtful about hand.]
On your right hand.
(Oh, your right hand, I see.)
You prick that with a silver needle - have never been sewed with, a goldeye, understand.
(I understand.)
You'll take that blood and you'll take a sheet of paper - not lined paper but your writin' paper what is unlined, and you write your name at de top with your crimson blood. You write his name just as small as you can and you - with dat needle but not wid a pen - and you make nine circles around that and then enclose that and you bury it at the ninth hour at night under your front steps. Really, that's why sometimes you see people try to break from the county road [chain gang] and the penitent'ry. If that is done, they goin' break away and come to yuh. There's nuthin 'tall kin hold 'em from you - they'll take any chances they can and come to you [see No.77, p.32].
Entry 3040
(What about St. Peter?)
He'll do evil for anything you want done. He'll do it for you.
(St. Peter will?)
Yeah, St. Peter will do that. Well how, for example? Well now, if I wanted St. Peter to do something for me, I would take a pin and I will scratch my finger, or either my own self, and let it bleed, bleed, bleed, and I'll take a pen and write. And I'll write a letter with my own blood and I'll take it to the crossroads and I'll leave it there, and I'll get him fin'lly to do anything I ask him to do. He'll do it and then after that I kin do anything, too. See.
(You write a letter in your own blood and go to the crossroads and leave it.)
Yes, I'll leave it right there, I'll leave it.
(Then what? Then, what about it?)
He'll find it. St. Peter, he'll find that.
(Then what will he do?)
Anything that I ask for I'll get - see, don't care what it is.
[While my machine was turned off, informant began a candle rite.]
(Burn a candle to him and ask for that from St. Peter?)
Yes, after you - take a frog, get aholt of 'im - ev'ry mornin' take a broom and whup 'im, call 'im all kind of name an' whup 'im out the world till he [St. Peter? come up?] an' he'll [St. Peter will] answer you an' ask whut you want 'im to do. [Here, a well-known rite of whipping a frog is confusing - I return to the letter.] (Now, wait a minute - about this crossroad business. What would you say in that letter you would write?) Well, you would say, "Well, St. Peter, I want this woman do such and so. I want you to give me this and I want this done, and harm this certain fellow and move that man out of my way, ' or something like that. "I want you to do it." (And after you write this letter, do you have to go before St. Peter's picture to do anything?) No, you have to have him on your wall - have him on your wall to do that [letter at crossroad]. Keep him on your wall. Just keep him on your wall or highboy or bureau, or over in front of your door.
(Do you have to talk to St. Peter or anything before you write that letter?)
' Well, if you talk to him once, he tell you what to do. Then, get your blood and write him [a] letter with your blood. Put it up on the wall of - up over the door and he'll answer. He'll do anything you say. (I see. Well now, how do you work this up on the wall - in putting this picture on the wall what do you do to it?) Well, you get you a broom and just wham him out, just call him all kinds of names. "I asked you to do something and you didn't do it." Just whup him with that broom and he'll do it.
Entry 112
Well, you can find that out very easily. If I killed you and it seemed to be hard fer anybody to understand how it was done and who done it. See, you won't be naked, you bound to have some clothes on. They'll strip your clothes right off and put 'em to de side and get ready fer to lying you out as a corpse - you know, take 'em and stretch 'em right out right in de casket and lay you right on top of 'em. And I don't care where you are or where I am - if I've kill yuh, why I'm bound to be coming dere, and the moment I comes near, why the blood will gush out chure mouth and nose. It's not necessary to have the law do anything to me at all after dis, because I can't stay here. You bound to take me along with you.
Entry 3831
Take some of yore blood, yo' know. Take de blood an' take it...
(What blood?)
From de woman, yo' know, when dey birth a baby. Take de blood from dis woman - yo' git chance to steal some of dat blood. An' take dat, yo' know dat piece, an' den go ahead an' bury it in de graveyard. An' hit'll stop a woman, keep a woman - nevah will come no mo'. Nevah will come, an' fin'ly firs' thing yo' know she'll be daid. (This is - part of your monthly rag?) [My question is misleading. This is def- initely childbirth blood.] Any kinda monthly rag.
Entry 3833
Put it down roun' in de leak of a house. Well, jes' lak if yo' take a person's blood an' stop it up in a bottle, an' turn it down on its haid, turn de bottle upside down on de mouf [mouth]. An' let it be upside down an' put it in de leak of a house, an' see, dat'll run a person crazy.
(What do you mean by the leak of the house?)
Jes' lak, yo' know, where de watah leak down on de ground - yes, off de roof.
Entry 3835
Well, yo' could take some of de man's blood an' some of de woman's blood an' wrap it up. Jes' take some of it in a rag, of each one of 'em's blood, an' wrap it up an bury it up undah de house, anywhere up undah de house, an' dem people will stay togethah until de' die.
(Who would do this?)
Anyone.
Entry 3838
Ah know about one thing, yo' kin write a person's name. Yo' kin take it - now if yo' wanta be ovah a woman or a man, yo' take an' write his name in a piece of papah wit 'ers. Now, if yo' want de woman tuh be ovah de man, write de woman's name tuh de top an' write 'is name undahneat' 'ers. Den pick yore lef' arm, an' pinch enough blood outa dat lef' arm tuh spell dose names out. Den when yo' git dose names spelled, yo' take it an' wrap it up tuh yo', dat piece of papah. Fold it comin' tuh yo'. Whutevah way yo' fold it, let it be comin' tuh yo'. An' take it an' put it in a corked bottle an' bury it at nine 'clock at night. An' dat man an' dat woman nevah will quit one another. An' if dey quit one anothah, dey'll go crazy. Dey love one another so good as long as dey live. S'long as dey live, dat las' 'em fo'evah. Bury it undah de do'step at night. If yo' can't git chance tuh bury it, jes' throw it undah de do'step, an [or] in a place where dey gotta walk in an' out. An' dey nevah will quit one another, an' jes' go crazy wit dat han'writin'.
(You must get this blood out of your left arm?)
Pick it out - yore lef' arm, yo' jes' gotta pick it.
Entry 3839
[Ah] heah 'em say, if yo' got a man, someone yo' love an' he leave yo', yo' haven't got 'is pichure, why yo' take a needle an' pick till yo' git de blood out de little fingah heah [demonstrates].
(That's the little finger of the left hand.)
Yes, an' yo' git de blood out of it an' yo' have a pen, yo' know a ink pen, an' a piece of papah. An' yo' write it jis' like yo' would be writin', an' write his name, an' denwrite yores undah it; an' draw 'is pichure, if yo' haven't nary one of 'is pichure. An' nine a'clock at night yo'll put it undahneat' de chimley, de no't [north] cornah, de no't side of de chimley. Put 'is pichure dere an' 'is name an' yore name. An' put it - life up de foot of yore baid an' put it undahneat' dere nine days. He comin' back.
Entry 7286
When a man do a killin' lak dat, if he wants tuh git away where nobody bothah yo' [him]. Ah've heered dat whenevah he kills a man an' wants tuh git away, at de time dat chew kill 'im - first kill 'im - take a han'chief out of yore pocket or rag or somepin an' git some of 'is own blood, an' take dat blood whut chew git offa 'im an jes' smear it right cross yore nose - some part of yore nose. Put dat bloody han'chief back in yore pocket an' dey say dey nevah will ovahtake yo' an' yo' always will be out dere han's.
Entry 8793
Ah heard dat ef yo' write, if yo' stick yore finger an' yo' had a lover dat was goin' away. An' yo' kin stick yore fingah, draw some of yore blood an' write 'is name. Den write chure name undah dat an' put it in anothah papah. Fold it in de shape of a heart an' put it in a lettah an' send it tuh 'im. [If you did this] that he would come home.
(Do you stick any finger?)
Yeah, dis weddin' fingah, weddin' ring fingah [finger next to little finger on left hand], dis here engagement fingah.