Subject:Bluestone
Entries
Entry 2423
I had a woman one time give me bluestone to put in the watah to wash up mah house. That make luck in the house, that help you build up trade in the house. I was sellin' liquor. [Bluestone is usually used in a combination of ingredients.]
Entry 3701
Yo' kin take yo' a little bluestone an' put it in some watah, not too strong, an' yo' kin jes' mop dat. Keep dat mopped wit dat bluestone watah an' dat will bring it back. (Bring your nature back?) Yes sir, or yo' kin use sweet milk. Sweet milk is good. Yo' kin jes' bathe in dat sweet milk. Sweet milk will bring it back.
Entry 3710
Lak yo' got a husban' an' he go off an' mess wit a woman, an' she fix 'im so dat yo' can't have connection wit 'im - can't discharge himself. (How would she do that?) Well, I don't know how she do dat but I kin tell yo' how to untie it. (Well then, how do you untie it then?) Yo' go an' get yo' about that much twice of bluestone, get 1Oç bottle of sweet oil [= olive oil], an' get de white of two eggs [three ingredients], an' put it all in dere an' mix it togethah, an' shake it up an' dat bluestone will 'solve, an' take it an' rub yoreself down lak dat, an' all around up in yo', an' it will be all gone.
(That's for a man to do? Or the woman?)
It's a woman. Man kin do it too, if a man is tied up so he can't do nuthin.
(That will take off the spell if some other woman has put it on him?)
Yes.
Entry 4009
Dey tell me yo' take some chamber lye an' bluestone, an' throw it 'roun' undah yore step, an' when a person put stuff down dere it will kill it.
Entry 4010
[One cylinder later, preceding informant gives another version of the bluestone rite.] Take some chamber lye an' put some bluestone in it an' some saltpetah an' mix it up, an' jes' throw it undah yore step. an' all in front of yore [front] do', where yo' have to walk, an' roun' yore back do', an' dey say while dat down dey can't do nuthin to yo'.
combining chamber lye, bluestone and saltpetah before distribution. Keep the opening editorial one-cylinder-later/preceding-informant note and this distinct numbered version. The neighboring4009 citation says1077 while4010 says1007; no identity or citation repair is authorized here. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 4621
Dey take dat bow out of a man's hat an' dress dat an' wear it aroun' dere waist, an' it keeps 'Im undah hypnotic [something] or hypnotic powah.
(What do they do with the bow, now?)
Take dat bow out, out of de back of yuh hat, but don't - don't cut it loose, jes' cut de hat loose an' let de bow work out of dere as it is. An' wrap it up in flannel, an' write his name across a piece of pa- pah an' write his name in four ways across de piece of papah. An' wrap dat bow up an' a little piece of bluestone an' brown sugah an' wear it nex' tuh dere waist, an' dey'll almos' have him undah powah dat dey kin make him do anythin' dey wants 'im.
(What do you mean write his name in four ways?)
See, write de name jes' like dis [demonstrates]. Write it dis way, den dis Way, den dis Way, an' den dis Way. Make two squares out of it, cross it like [demonstrates].
(Like, as if you were playing tick-tack-toe.)
Yeah, dat's it.
(Two lines up and two across?)
Dat's right. [Somewhere I have called his tick-tack-toe design a double double-cross. Split this design vertically down the center and you will see what I mean # = ± ‡.]
(I see.)
Entry 4678
Yuh kin take dat little bow out of 'is hat an' put it in some bluestone an' sugah an' burn it in de lamp fo' nine days, an' dat change s'is min'. It'll
[mind will] stay right on yuh, see.
Entry 4935
[Hanging can be a magic rite as here, but this action is not always recognized in indices.] Takes yore socks an' dress it wit de same thin' an' take it tuh de cemetery an' bury it. Drive a stake down an' hang dat stockin' on dere an' jis' yuh done dressed it wit dat stuff. [A woman buries a man's sock or socks, dressed with the following 4 ingredients, in the graveyard. She then drives a stake as a headboard over this simulated grave, and hangs on it her stocking or stockings. He is now beneath, ruled; she above, the ruler. A man may perform this rite against a woman.]
(What stuff?)
Dat brimstone, bluestone, cayenne peppah an' gunpowdah. Jis' rub it all in dat sock an' hang up dat stocking. Yuh done sweated in yore sock, or de woman sweated in de stockin'. An' jis' as dat rain come in dat stockin' [and] de socks molt away, dat's de way yuh'll molt away.
Entry 4963
Dey take his right- feet sock an' put nine knots in it an' put some sulphur in it. An' den yuh put some bluestone in it. Bury it at de right feet [side] of de steps an' dat will keep 'im home - keep 'im from runnin' aroun'.
Entry 5104
Ef a person git one of yuh shoes, ef dey put bluestone an' sulphuh an' beat it all up tuhgethah an' git some of dis stuff from de drug store dey call de incense, dey put dat in de bottom undah yuh shoe. Yo' know de li'le piece dat be's up in yuh shoe [insole]. Put it up undah dere an' put it back down. Well, when yo' put dat shoe on, yo' goin' always stay sickly, an' yuh feets will start tuh swell.
Entry 5185
Dat's anothah way dat dey are supposed tuh bring a person back. Yo' supposed tuh have nine ole shoes an' yo' supposed tuh put sugah an' bluestone an' dis very brown powdah dat looks lak - ah don't know now whethah it's - it's not de same. It has de same smell but it's not de same kinda powdah, but it supposed tuh be de same kinda powdah dat chew put on yo' - dat de women use on dey face. But howevah, dey call it love powdah. An' yo' sup- posed tuh put dose three things intuh dis heah [shoe] an' yo' supposed tuh burn one of dose shoes evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's till yo' burn all de shoes up. An' dat's tuh show yo' special favors an' control. Supposed tuh be controllin' powah ovah some individual dat chew interested in.
Entry 5202
Well, dey take yo' shoes if dey wan'a do any- thin' tuh yo' - anythin' lak dat. Dey take - if dey don' wan'a bury de shoes dey'll burn dem. But dey git somepin tuh put in dere tuh burn 'em wit. Dey git some of dis here bluestone an' put in dere an' table salt. An' dat tear yuh all tuh pieces. Dat'll run yuh ragged.
(You put this bluestone and the salt in the shoe and then burn the shoe.)
Yes sir, burn de whole thin'. An' den when it burn, he jes' as foolish as he kin be.
Entry 5233
Take dey lef'-foot shoe an' burn it wit sugah, black peppah, saltpetah an' bluestone. Dat'll call 'em back.
Entry 5461
[This statement contains 3 separate rites, the last one the burning rite.] Well, now yo' kin use a track fo' love tuh hold a person, or yo' kin use it tuh run a person. Now, tuh hold a person yo' kin take a person's lef' track when dey are leavin' yore house. Yo' kin take it an' pull it backward, jis' a li'le of it back tuh- wards yo'. See, an yo' kin take dat track yo' kin mix it wit a li'le cookin' salt, an' yo' kin bury dat undah yore do'step or right down by yore do'step. Well, dat will hold a person an' make dem love yo', see. Or, yo' kin take dat track an' not use de salt but chew kin take yo' a li'le perfume or a li'le powdah - sweet yo' know, perfume powdah, an' mix it wit dat track. An' yo' kin take dat track an' yo' kin wear dat track. Keep it on yore person an' dat will make a person stick tuh yo'. An' den if yo' take.... If yo' wanta run a person wit dere track, yo' kin git dere track goin' from yore house. Don't put it tuh yore house. Yo' see, yo' wanta git rid of dat per- son. Like ah'm leavin' de house, pull it from yo', see. An' den yo' git yore track - yore own track - an' pull dat back towards yore house. Den yo' takes dose two tracks an' put it tuhgethah, an' yo' git chew nine peppah seeds. Git chew a li'le piece of bluestone an' a li'le piece of alum. An' if yo' kin git de cemetery dirt, yo' git dat. But if yo' can't git de cemetery dirt, den yo' jis' use dose ingredients. An' yo' put dat tuhgethah, mix it up tuhgethah, an' put a li'le salt in dat. SALT IS A WONDERFUL THING IF PEOPLE BUT KNOW HOW TUH USE IT. Take a li'le salt an' mix it in dat an' mix all dat tuhgethah. Den yo' jis' take an' ball it up an' burn dat. Burn it in de fiahplace or in de stove an' dat'll separate dat person from yo'. Dat is if yo' pull it from yo'. Now, pull dere track from yo'.
Entry 5671
If yo' don't have nuthin tuh do wit 'em an' yo' wants tuh drive 'em, Yeep 'em away from yore house, yo' take some bluestone an' burn it well. An' while de bluestone is burnin', yo' take an' mix watah an' let it cook in dere good. An' dey come back tuh yore house an' yo'don' wan' 'em dere, when dey walk out, yo' po' it right in de tracks where dey make tuh go out, an' sweep it. Dat whut dey do wit de bluestone.
(They won't come back?)
Won't come back.
Entry 5686
They tell me that they can take the dust from under the right foot and mix that with High John de Conkah and bluestone and alum and aloes, and then use the word, "God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, " will bring him back. And take that then and wrap it in a rag and bury it under their doorstep and let it stay there for nine days. And then take it out and put it in a rag and wear it around her body, and he'll be compelled to come back.
Entry 5693
Now, jis' lak yo' say at de start back dere, ah would wan'a do yo' some evil. An' ah'd git up between midnight an' day jis' befo' de sun rise, but ah'd have tuh have some of yore urine watah or yore track. An' ah'd take dat an' ah'd mix it wit - it ain't powdah, it's a quick- silvah [and] brimstone. Yo' take dat brimstone an' ah'd have some of yore urine watah an' yo'd mix some bluestone wit, jis' lak yo' say. An' yo' take dat an' yo' git chew a tin box, yo' know, whut de lid will fasten down on, an' yo' put dat in dat box. Yo' bo' li'le holes in de bottom of de box. Yo' don' put no liquid in dat, jis' dat powdah. An' den set dat - de sun goin' tuh rise, yo' set it dis way [demonstrates]. Yo' don' lay it complete down, jis' kinda tilt it. Yo' set it so when de sun rise it'll come ovah it. Brimstone, bluestone an' quicksilvah.
(You bury that towards the sunrise.)
Yes, toward de sunrise. Yo' see de sun rise on it an' go ovah. Dis part of it tuh de sunrise. An' dat li'le box, whosomevah is doin' dis, dey got some words dey use three times a day: in de mornin' dey uses some words, dinnahtime dey use some words, when de sun go down dey use dose same words.
(What do they use?)
Entry 6099
Git de hair out chure haid an' mix it wit bluestone, red peppah, gunpowdah, thundah- strucken wood an' put it in a bottle an' bear [bury] it, an' dat'll give yo' headache for- evah an' eternal until yo' go some place an' see somebody an' git 'em to dig dat stuff up.
(What was that last thing you put in the bottle?)
Ah said, bluestone, gunpowdah, an' red peppah an' stops it up in a red bottle an' bear [bury] it. [I was trying to obtain a repetition of thundah-strucken wood, a rare term for the more usual liahtnina-struck wood (see p.599). Thundah-strucken wood of course is associated with the thunderbolt and thunderbolt hand (p.655). For thumderbolt see FACI, 1st ed., No.5380; 2nd ed., No.5786. Informant in present rite ismarked good]
Entry 6103
Yore hair proposition - dey git chure hair right out de mole of yore haid, right out de mole of yore haid. An' aftah dey git de hair right out de mole of yore head, dey take dat an' wrap it up into some into a rag, some cloth. An' aftah dey wrap it up into some cloth, dey takes it an' puts some red peppah, undahstan'. An' aftah dey put de red peppah in it, dey takes hit, takes de - Put red peppah, bluestone, alum, an' mix it all togethah, an' sulphur, an' put hit in dere an' ties it up. An' dey ties dat up an' dey carries it. Dey'll eithah bury it right at chure do'step - bury it at chure do'step an' yo' walks ovah all dat. Den dat begin pains about chure haid, right about chure haid. Den when it begin painin' about chure haid, put chew in bad sickness.
Entry 6375
If she wanta take him from 'is wife. Yo' see, he's got a wife an' she wanta take him. An' 'cordin' to dat, well, he'll go an' stay wit 'er all night. Well, while he's dere, she'll cut some hair out of 'is haid, see. She'll take dat hair out an' put it intuh a quart bottle an' good whiskey on it, an' put bluestone an' lodestone in dere. An' befo' she'll speak to anybody, she'll git up evah mawnin' fo' nine straight mawnin's an' shake dat up. An' at de end of de ninth mawnin' when she shake it up, dat hair will bejes' as black as a coal in dat bottle. An' dat man will walk right out of de house an walk ovah dere tuh her, an' 'is wife won' say an'thin' tuh him.
(That takes this man away from his wife?)
Yessuh. [Memphis, Tenn., (1530), 2736:4.] [These three parts of the human body appear separately, joined with one or the other, or all together, or in various combinations with various substances. About one-third of them concern food and drink. As always in these sections of special material, not all rites are here. Others will be found elsewhere, espe- cially in INTERVIEWS.]
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 6866
(You do what?)
Well, yo' take it an' git chew some...
(This bluestone.)
[Informant had said bluestone before I turned on recording machine.]
Bluestone, & an' fish brine an' pork [poke] salad root.
(What kind of root?)
Pork salad root.
(Pork [poke] salad root.)
Pork [poke]... (The kibitzer offers P-O-L-K salad root).
[For this parenthesis see comment later.]
She said polk [poke] salad root.
(Polk salad root.)
An' put it all [in] de watah tuhgethah, an' bathe in it; an' if yo' hurt dat'll take a spell off yuh.
(I see.)
[The preceding parenthesis concerning the kibitzer a person breaking into the conversation with advice or correction is a comment by my transcriber as follows: The kibitzer offers P-O-L-K salad root. Before transcriber discovered word polk, she thought the word sounded like pork and she was not exactly wrong. Many of my informants would have called pork, pōk. Transcriber even transcribes me as saying pork salad root, and later polk salad root. I corrected this on the original transcription, then decided to let the mistake remain. The proof that I was familiar with pokeberry, pokeweed and poke-root-salad - before I interviewed at Mobile in 1938 - will be found in the INDEX of FACI, 1st ed., 1935. There under Poke (berry), so printed, p.707, vill be found 15 entries: Do not gather pokeberries in June...poisonous (1286, p.56); poke root salve for cow's cake bag (2165, p.100); same salve good for coman's caked breasts (2641, p.128); poke roots for warts (4202-4203, p.200), cook poke roots with greens as spring tonic (4585, p.221); poke root tea cures itch (4647, p.224); poke root tea for skin disease (5025, p.244); poke berries, leaves, stems and roots for rheumatism (5362-5367, p.263f.); and pokeberry tea for epilepsy (5731, p.285). This plant has been defined as "a coarse American perennial herb (Phytolacca americana) etc." Actually, under proper growing con- ditions, the racemose white flowers, then dark purple juicy berries, and finally the beautifully colored autumn leaves make this Weed a rare and beautiful sight! Berries and roots are emetic and purgative, the latter really poisonous, but the young shoots off the large main root, carrot-shaped and 4 or more inches wide at the top, were eaten by American pioneers and are still used.]
Entry 6902
(What's the name of it?)
It's called de red shank.
(The red shank root?)
Yes, sir. It's called de red shank an' ah'll tell yo'. If ah came tuh yo' an' if ah've got a bad disease, see. Well, yo' take dat red shank, yu' undah- stan', if it's put out, why yo' take de top of it; an' if it's not put out, yo' take a grubbing hoe an' dig the root up an' wash de root. See. Put it intuh two quarts of watah, an' bile [boil] it down tuh one quart [the magic of diminishing amount]. Unnahstan'?
(I understand.)
Bile it down tuh one quart. Den yo' take - when yo' bile it down tuh one quart, yo' take it an' yo' set it off [the stove]. Unnahstan' dat?
(Yes.)
An' den when yo' set dat off, yo' git a li'le piece of bluestone, lak a speck- led pea, an' beat it up right fine an' stuff it in dere. Git chew a li'le piece alum about dat long. Put it in dere, but let de watah be good an' cool. See, don' put it in dere hot. An' den yo' takes it den, an' yo' give it tuh 'im an' tell 'im tuh take three swallows three times a day. Now de way a boy, or man eithah - whutevah he is don't yo' take it jis' lak yo' drinkin' watah, becuz if yo' drink it lak yo' drinkin' watah, well it don't do yo' any good, becuz it will git down in yore stomic an' it will be dere so much till it will sour. It will be de same as milk, when yo' drinks it. Dat buttahmilk when a man is in bad shape, it's jis' a dose of poison tuh 'im. It keeps sour on 'is stomic. Jis' take no more dan three teaspoonsful a day. Take it as [medicine] yo' know. If yo' take too much of it, why it don't do you any good. It'll do yo' harm.
(Three swallows. One swallow before each meal?)
Dat's right.
(I see, each day. All right.)
An' den don't eat so much grease.
(What did you say?)
I say, let de buttahmilk alone.
(I see.)
Entry 6910
If dey do sumpin tuh hurt dere ahm [arm] an' it's swollen up or sumpin lak dat, dey could take some vinegah an' put it in a bottle an' some bluestone an' salt an' red peppah, an' jis' keep a-bathin' de ahm, rubbin', an' dat'll more or less cure it in dem. (What causes this swelling in the arm?) It will be jis' lak if dey wan' tuh poison yo' or: sompin, sompin dey puts down, an' yo' go an' put yuh hand on dis. See, dat makes dat stuff go through yuh ahm. It'll keep on a-workin' an' a-workin' till it git intuh yuh body. If [you] start in time - den let 'em take a lot of sulphur. Sulphur's good, too. Jis' take it, put it in yuh han' an' eat it. An' brimstone. Joo kin take a pill of brimstone an' eat dat an' yo' kin eat or drink poison an' it won't hurt choo. See, dat brimstone kills it out.
Entry 6911
An' anybody got anything put down roun' yore place to make yo' - put chew in hard luck, git chew some sulphur, bluestone an' salt - table salt - mix it tuhgethah an' burn it. An' evah uhich way dat chew think it is, if it's in yuh room, why yo' jis' burn it. Yo' kin burn dat any time. Jis' take a teaspoonful or tablespoonful an' mix it up tuhgethah an' set it down in dere an' shet chure room up, shet it up an' let it explore[!] in dere. An' if anything wuz put in dere tuh put chew in hard luck, whenevah yo' burn dat three or fo' times, dat'll do away wit dat.
Entry 6912
An' yo' kin take kerosene an' bluestone an' brimstone an' salt an' rub wit it [the pains caused by conjuration] an' dat'll kill it, too.
Entry 6973
Now if somebody put a spell on yo' or sompin lak dat, Wanta kill yuh - Well, yo' know, serious - sompin gonna knock yo' out right away, see. Well, ah tell yah how tuh git rid of dat. Yo' git some bluestone, yo' know, out de drug store an' make watah. Make yer own watah, jis' lak yo' nurinate, an' put it in a bottle. An' put dat bluestone in dere an' let it stay in dere a while. An' take it an' po' [pour] in a toi- let an' it'll sink an' let it go on out. Pull de chain [old-fash- ioned device] an' let it go on out. An' de same thin' which yo' [spellcaster] wanta happen tuh me will happen tuh yo'.
[This is called returning the spell.]
(That is if somebody has hurt you, put a spell on you.)
Entry 6974
Put sulphur an' bluestone an' brimstone, tie all dat up tuhgethah an' put it in chamber lye an' throw it roun' yore house, an' nobody kin put down any cunjure fo' yo'.
Entry 7325
An' black or red peppah, salt, bluestone. Make dat stuff up an' sprin- kle it down, if yo' done a crime an' yo' Wanta git away. Dey goin' take de blood- hound to git aftah yo'. Git dat graveyard dirt an' dat bluestone an' salt an' stuff an' put it in your shoe. An' anywhere yo' go dat dog'll track yo' till yo' got dat, an' den when yo' got dat he can't track yo' no furthah, yo' see. Yo' see, yo' done hoodooed dat dog. Dat dog come on back. An' he can't go ovah dat cuz it's too strong fo' 'im, yo' see - dat graveyard dirt.
Entry 7353
Well now, jes' lak if he done de killin', [he] say, "Ah wants tuh git away." Well, he'll go to work yo' see an' git 'im a pair of new shoes, he'll git 'im a bottle of turpen- tine. He'll take dat turpentine an' he'll pull 'is shoes off an' rub undah de bottom of 'is feet wit dat turpentine, an' he'll po' a little in 'is shoes. He'll go to work den an' he'll git 'im jes' about nine grains of black pepper, six grains of spice, an' git 'im jes' about a piece of bluestone a little bit biggah den a black-eyed pea. An' he'll put all dat togethah. He'll go to work den an' git 'im a dime bottle of alcohol, an' evah mawnin' regardless to where he goin', he'll take dat alcohol an' rub behin' 'is ears, rub across 'is fo'haid, an' he'll take dat turpentine an' 'noint 'is shoes - under de bottom of 'is shoes - an' he'll chew a grain of dat black peppah, one grain of dat spice, evah day, an' jes' a little crumb of dat bluestone mixed togethah. An' as long as he continue wit dat, he'll always keep a-goin'.
(Can't catch him.)
He'll keep a-goin'. [Waycross, Ga., (1097), 1771:5.] [Rites for catching a murderer are much more varied and interesting than those permitting him to escape, egg rites alone being amazing both in number and diver- sity. Everywhere the spirit of the murdered person is present or its presence assumed.]
Entry 7676
If any harm wuz roun' yore place, go tuh a graveyard tuh de wickest person dat chew know dey buried in dere. Yo' come in on de right-han' side of dat grave as near as yo' kin. (The right hand side as you enter, come to the head of the grave.) Yes, dat's it. An' yo' go down, run yore han' down in dere an' come out wit as much dirt as yo' kin hold in three fingers [demonstrates].
(In the thumb, the index and the middle finger of the right hand.)
Yes. Den yo' go ahead an' yo' git chew some bluestone, pound it up fine. Den yo' go tuh all fo' cornah of yore steps an' yo' sprinkle dat down, but yo' do's dat at nine-thirty at night. An' ah don' cah [care] whut nobody put tuh de dat steps, dat stuff will run it 'way from dere.
Entry 7738
Ah think yo' put brimstone, camphor, bluestone, an' ah think graveyard dirt. Mix it up about soft enough tuh make li'le balls outa it, an' yo' keep dat till it git dry, an' yo' carry dat an' jes' powdah it. Jes' sprin- kle all roun' dere an' wish fo' whut yo' want it tuh do, tuh happen - whut yo' expect tuh happen.
(What do you expect of that?)
Yo' expect, jes' lak yo' want somebody tuh stay away from yore house, yo' could do dat den. Sprinkle it aroun', all roun' so dey can't see it, an' dey won't come ovah it.
Entry 7874
Yo' want sompin fo' luck or sompin lak dat, take some graveyard dirt. Depend on how much yo' want. Now, yo' don' wanta make a plastah of graveyard dirt fo' no sickness or nuthin. Yo' take a tablespoonful of graveyard dirt an' a tablespoonful of salt an' git chew some bluestone. An' mix dis up in a quart bottle an' use it in 'er room or in a hall where it's private. Now lak if it in yore room, use it in yore room. But yo' gotta git out an' use some out dere too an' not let 'em know nuthin about it.
(What do you do with that after you put it in that bottle?)
Shake it up an' use it jes' lak yo' would perfume, yo' see - jes' lak yo' do perfume. Yo' kin use it on yo'self, go tuh baid an' use it.
[To shake it up, a magic rite, excites the spirit in the bottle to action.]
(What will that do?)
Entry 7883
Or eithah yo' go tuh a graveyard late at night an' stick yuh arm as far down in de fresh grave as yo' kin, an' git some of dat graveyard dirt out. Well [rooster crows] yo' git back, take it, bluestone, salt, red peppah an' mix it tuhgethah, an' put it undah de cornah of a person house. Dey'll fuss an' fight all de time until yo' git dat removed. When yo' git dat away from dere, den dey quits fussin' an' fightin'. Dey don't fuss an' fight no more. But long as dat dere an' dey don't know where it is, dey goin' tuh fuss an' fight an' kill one anothah maybe, all de time. Yo' gotta git somebody dat knows [what to do - a hoodoo doctor.]
The informant describes fresh-grave dirt mixed with bluestone, salt and red pepper beneath a house corner, with reported conflict while it remains and relief on removal. The rooster interruption and final explanation of someone who knows what to do are editorial context.
Entry 8051
Ah heard dat yo' kin go tuh de graveyard an' git one of dese bones. If it's a sinnah, yo' kin take de bone off 'is right foot, de big-toe bone, an' take it an' put some black peppah an' salt an' cayenne on it. Dat's fo' gamblin'. (How would you handle that, then?) Well, yo' jis' go an' dig it up, see. Ah ain't nevah tried dat now. Go an' dig it up, see, an' cut dat bone off. Yo' have tuh git a saw an' saw if off. Saw dat bone, dat j'int dere. Saw dat off an' git chew black peppah, salt an' bluestone, see. Well, yo' car- ries dat home dere an' let it stay undah yuh step fo' nine mawnin's, see. Well, yo' take it den an' put it up ovah de do' - jis' lak yo' sleepin' in dis room, an' put it up ovah de do' an' let it stay dere den contin'ly [continually]. But yo' have tuh sew it up intuh a black rag, see. Let it stay dere contin'ly an' den yo'll be lucky in gamblin'.
Entry 8542
I will.
(All right.)
Well, the things that have been used to do such things as that is take a couple of things what is called bluestone, brown sugar, write the name of a per- son nine times on a piece of paper, wrap that to- gether. If by any chance you can hide or bury that under the steps of that person, sort of in a position where it can face with the name reading from east to west, where the sun rise and go down, place it under the steps of the people and face it from east to west. And you then will be able to take a power over them people by using that in that way.
(I mean just what kind of power do you want to have over them?)
A power, the person not being [stationary] at no certain place, and the per- son not being able to stop as long as you have that stuff under his steps that they lives in. But wrap it in red flannel.
(I see. Will that make them move or it just gives you the power over them?)
Give you the power over them that will keep them on the move.
(Oh, I see.)
Entry 8547
If a person - jes' lak if yo' don't like them or anything like dat, well yo' write dere name on a piece of paper an' yo' take gunpowder an' sulphur an' bluestone an' burn it in de fireplace an' dat will cause dem tuh be in hard luck.
Entry 8560
Yo' wants tuh know of any 'vantage of people don't chew? Oh, ah have experienced dis mah ownself. Ah've seen people do - dey take a piece of papah, see. Well, he'd write three names on dere an' he would take it an' fold it. Take an' fold de paper to yo'. Yes, an' if he wants to make anybody do whut he wants dem to do, yo' know - jest lak yo' wanta take 'vantage of a woman. Yo' take her note [or letter] an' write three names on dat note.
(What three names do you write on that paper?)
Three of one woman's names, jest de same woman. (In other words if her name was Helen, you would say [write] Helen, Helen, Helen.) Helen, Helen, Helen. An' yo'd write it an' yo'd fold it to yo'. An' yo' go out an' yo' take saltpeter an' yo' take bluestone, an' yo' would take it an' carry it home an' burn [it] see. Dat's to make her do whut chew want her to do. (You put saltpeter and bluestone in this piece of paper when you fold it up, or do you burn it after the paper has been folded up?) Yo' fold it up an' put it in an' burn it, see.
[Put it in and fold it up and then burn!]
(That is to make her do what you want her to do?)
Entry 8612
Yo' kin take a person's name, if yo' lovin' a man an' he don't ca' [care] fo' yo'. Yo] take yore name an' write it on a piece of papah first an' yo' write his name all 'cross on it, an' fold it up an' put salt, saltpeter, an' bluestone an' wrap it round nine times wit white thread an' go tuh yore lamp fo' nine days.
(What will that do?)
Dat will call 'im back an' make 'im come home.
Entry 8655
They use bluestone into a lemon, an' salt, black pepper, an' cayenne pepper, an' the woman's an' man's name, an' throw it in the river. That makes them drift. (You put this all inside the lemon?) Yes, sir.
Entry 8701
Put some salt in there an' bluestone an' yore name mixed wit it. An' tie it up an' put de [Red Devil] lye over it an' set it afiah. Yo' burn a whole can of lye. Dey take dat an' run people crazy with it.
Entry 8723
If de man leave an' yo' Want 'im tuh come back, yo' git chew some sulphur an bluestone an' a piece of papah - writin' papah. Yo' write his name on it three times an' yo' put dis sulphur an' dis bluestone on dis papah an' yo' burn it fo' nine mawnin's.
(This same paper or do you take a new piece each morning?)
New each mawnin'. Yo' burn dat fo' nine mawnin' an' de nine mawnin' he'll come back.
Entry 8734
This what they have done, when they want yo' to move out de house an' de neighborhood where dey livin' at. Dey goes to de Crackerjack Drug Store an' gets bluestone. Understan'? Gets bluestone an' gets some incense, an' fix dat up together, an' put it in de bottle. An' takes their name an' write it nine times an' put it in de bottle. An' turn de bottle upside down 'neath de steps an' they have to move.
(I see. In how long?)
In nine day's time they leave dere.
Entry 8790
If somebody writes yo' a lettah an' yo' don't want tuh hear from dem, yo' take bluestone an' cayenne peppah an' seal [reseal] it an' send it back to dem, an' when it's opened dey'll lose dere eyesight. [Fredericksburg, Va., cyl.80.]
Entry 8844
Jes' lak yo' write me a lettah an' ah don' wan' chew tuh bothah wit nobody else, an' yo' will not go wit me. Ah take dat lettah whut chew write tuh me an' ah goes tuh a graveyard an' git some of dat graveyard dirt an' bluestone - yo' know whut dat [bluestone] is. Well ah'll beat dat bluestone up, see. An' ah'll take it an' put it in dat lettah an' fold it up jes' as tight as ah kin. Carry it in de lavatory [outside watercloset] an' put it up on dat cross- piece dere. An' she won' 'ave [won't have] no mo' trouble wit dem [other girls]. Yo' can't write tuh her atall no mo'.
Entry 9029
Ah see whut it done an' done fo' me, but den yo' has a word tuh speak tuh it. If yo' wanta git dat, nuthin but gunpowdah, sulphur, aftah yo' git dat nest. Yo' git de sulphuh an' bluestone an' den dirt daubah out de nest an' dat black pep- pah. An' yo' make a good pow- dahs an' yo' kin sprinkle it anywhere roun' dere, jes' where de judge an' all de rest gotta come in ovah. When dey come inside of dat do' dere, an' dey walk ovah dere, dat settle it. Dat fur as ah know 'bout dat. An' ah've seen dat happen.
Entry 9065
Well, yo' could take an' go down [to buy bluestone] an' yo' would place dis bluestone intuh yore hat; see, bluestone an' saltpetah intuh yore hat - see, intuh yore hatband - an' turn yore hat [backwards]. Jes', say, fur an instant [instance] yo' take dis hat [my black hat on interviewing table] an' turn it backwards onto yore haid.
(Just turn your hat all the way around backwards. Wear it backwards.)
Turn de front intuh de back, see. An' he - he couldn't do nuthin.
(The judge wouldn't do anything to you?)
Nawsir [no sir]. Jes' turn yo' loose. To wear anything backwards or wrong- side out protects against ghosts, witches and trouble.]
Entry 9089
Dey claim that if yo' use God's Name three times aftah usin' three different kind of roses, one a red rose, a white rose, an' anothah a kind of a pink rose - after usin' those roses - they boil those roses an' get de juice out of 'em an' takes a bath in dat juice. An' den take dat juice an' put a little bit in a vial or sumpin like dat in de pocket. An' put a mixture in dat wit High John de Conkah an' bluestone an' aloes an' incense; an' den use de word, "God de Father, God de Son, an' God de Holy Ghost" fo' nine times in de court- house. Dat'll be impossible fo' a judge to give a heavy sentence. [Elizabeth City. N. Car. (482), 498:8.]
Entry 9096
Well, if yo' gotta go over there to meet a case an' yo' wanta miss de case, yo' gotta go in de woods. Aftah yo' git in de woods, yo' git yo' a lizard. MY GRANDMOTHER WAS A TWO-HEADED PERSON an' dat an' she know a whole lot about dat Yo' go git yo' a lizard. Aftah yo' get dat lizard, see yo' take its palate out. Yo' take its palate out. (Out of his mouth?) Out of 'is mouth. Jes' take 'is pal- ate out. Aftah yo' take its palate out, then jes' cut 'bout de tip-end of its tail off. Aftah yo' git his palate out an' de tip-end of his tail off, den, why yo' take some watah dey call glucose [or bluecose] watah.
(Glucose?)
Glucose. Glucose, yo' could mix it up, yo' could mix it up yoreself. Dey sell dat at de Crackerjack Drug Store [in New Orleans].
(Oh! You mix it up. What's it made out of?)
Yo' make it up. Yo' git some watah an' yo' mix about dis much of it. It's jes' like a blue pencil-like, yo' know. [He is talking about bluestone.] But aftah yo' put so much amount of watah in it, it come to liquor-lak, yo' know.
(What's the blue stuff called?)
Called bluecose [= bluestone].
(Bluecose?)
Yes. Yo' see, it come to a liquor-lak, yo' see. Aftah it come to a liquor, an' den yo' just put it in, de day dey try yo'.
(What do you do with that?)
Yo' got de lizard's palate.
(And this little piece of his tail? Now, what do you do with that?)
Yo' put dat in the bluecose [bluestone] watah, aftah yo' done mix it up, an' set it undah de steps. Aftah yo' set it undah de steps, dat's de only way I kneu make yo' miss de case.
(Under what step do you put that?)
Undah de jail-house steps.
(I see, I see.)
Some one gotta set it undah dere fo' yo'.
Entry 9156
Dat's if yo' git in a lawsuit an' yo' wanta win de case, yo' undah- stan', befo' yo' go. Befo' yo' go dere, why yo' jes' git chew some sulphuh, bluestone, alum an' borax. Beat it up right nice an' fine, an' yo' walk in dat room where de jedge an' de iury an' all of 'em. an' dey'll ask yo' tuh talk firs'. An' yo' git up an' talk an' let de prosecutor come on. Yo'll come out. [The preceding mixture is definitely carried into court and beaten up right nice shows that it was sprinkled.]
Entry 9265
Git a hen aig an' some graveyard dirt an' bluestone an' jes' keep a-throwin' it on dere front - yo' break dat aig in de front do'. Dat graveyard dirt yo' throw it all aroun' de house an' dat bluestone. Dey can't stay dere tuh save dere life.
(That drives them away.)
Yes sir.
Entry 9592
Yo' git chew some bluestone an' tote dat in yore pocket an' a little red peppah an' salt an' tote dat wid chew. Dey can't har'ly [hardly] - can't do a thing wit chew.
Entry 9593
Ah heard dat chew could take some red peppah, cayenne peppah, an' some bluestone an' some salt an' black peppah. Dat's fo' luck. Well, yo' take an' sew hit up into a rag an' wears it in yore shoe an' dat'll keep yo' hot, dey say. [Does cayenne pepper explain red pepper or is the latter broken pieces of a pepper pod?]
(That's for luck?)
Fo' luck.
Entry 9594
I'll tell you what I would do [to make a person move]. I would get some bluestone and salt and pepper, and put that down right beside of the house and wish them to go, and they're bound to go. [Fredericksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 9595
All she gotta do is tuh go tuh work an' take some cookin' salt an' some red peppah an' some bluestone an' beat it all up tuh- gethah. An' den she ain't got a thing tuh do but jes' pass by de gate where de lady lives an' jes' throw it three times ovah de gate where yo' bound tuh cross it, chew know, comin' in an' out. Yo' won't go dere any more. Dat breaks up de home.
(That breaks up the man and this other woman?)
Yes, an' he'll come back tuh 'is wife. An' stay.
Entry 9596
If de law's bothahin' yo', yo' kin take de onion an' de garlic an' cut it in fo' equal parts. Yo' jis' take de garlic, yo' don't cut it all; yo' jis' take diff'ren' pods, pieces [cloves] yo' know. An' yo' use eithah de white or de red onion, an' yo' kin jis' cut it yo' know, in fo' parts: An' go an' yo' po' a whole box of table salt ovah it, an' den yo' po'a whole box of red peppah ovah it, an' sprinkle a li'l saltpetah an' a li'l bluestone on it. Dat'll keep de law out chure house.
(What do you do with that garlic?)
Well, yo' take dat garlic an' burn it. It's fo' luck. Yo' take dat garlic an' put it in a li'l bag an' fold it up an' wit all kinds - all kinda diff'ren' li'le pieces of stuff dat chew use wit it. Weah it. Yo' know weah dat garlic. (How do you keep the law away with that onion after you prepare it? What do you do with that onion?) Yo' take dat onion an' continue tuh burn it till de third mawnin', an' dat'll keep de law away.
(Where do you do that - burn that?)
Well, yo' take it de firs' night an' let it burn up dere, yo' see. Sprinkle it all round yore house. [In preceding subsection see 3 pepper pods halved, No.9587.]
Entry 9637
If yo' know anyone tryin' tuh harm yo' roun' yore home, yo' git chew some dis heah bluestone, an' sulphuh, red peppah, an' salt. Mix all of dat up togethah. Evah mawnin' [you] come outa yuh house, befo' yo' hit de flo', [I mean] hit de groun', yo' take dat dust an' go along wit [use] dat dust - evah anin' befo' yo' come up. An' aftah yo' do dat, why take a li'le bit of it an sprinkle it right in de bottom of yuh shoes, both shoes. Put on yuh shoes an' go anywheres. Dey can't harm yo' none, regardless [of what they put down for you].
Entry 9655
If I see a person I don't like and I don't want him in my house, I can take salt and bluestone and put it under the door and they can't come in. [Fredricksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 9656
[If anyone puts anything down for you] an' yo' wanta walk ovah it, jes' put chew some bluestone an' cookin' salt in yore shoe. Jes' take up dat little piece in de bottom of yore shoe [insole] an' sprinkle a little bit in dere an' put dat back down, an' yo' kin walk where yo' wanta walk.
(Nothing will hurt you?)
Nuthin will hurt yo'.
Entry 9658
Dey kin make yo' move wit saltpetah, brimstone an' table salt - jis' plain table salt. An' po' it by night, chew know, at de do' or sprinkle it roun' de do', an' yo' shuh of makin' 'em move.
Entry 9771
Well, ah've hear'd of settin' dem nails. Jes' lak comin' up tuh yuh do' dere [in interviewing room] yo'd set dem nail wit de point down - pointin' away [demonstrates]. (Pointing away from the door.) Yes. An' [you] have tuh boil all of dem nails in sulphuh, brimstone, peppah an' bluestone. Dey [unwant- ed person: law, rentman, etc.] can't come [in] tuh save dere life. [Here I turn- ed off recording machine too soon, missing the first few words of the demonstra- tion]...place dem up lak dat [demonstration continues]. (How? Have the point straight out like that? [I demonstrate]: And all this stuff is underneath there [the doorsteps]? This lime and all this stuff?) Yes.
Entry 9925
Take a toadfrog an' squeeze him an' take his watah [urine] out of 'im, if a person yo' don't like, see. Squeeze him till yo' git 'is watah outa him. An' when yo' git 'is watah outa 'im, take a li'l blue- stone an' mix it up wit dat toadfrog watah, an' add some of yore watah [urine] tuh it. It will cause de person tuh swell up. Yo' give it tuh 'em in a drink or somepin, dey'll swell up an' bust.
Entry 10188
For success in business either at home or outside the house, bathe with 3 ingredients: bluestone, saltpeter and sugar. Or else bathe with blueing and sugar. Either bath is for personal protection. At place of business mop up with Red Seal Lye and burn brimstone as a purification. But before leaving home for work or opening the house for business, make wishes and light a yellow candle. [Did the maker of this rite realize that in some place during the late Middle Ages prostitutes legally had to wear yellow?]
Entry 10596
Dem little ole leather-wing bats. Well, ah heard dat chew kin - dem little ole leather-wing bats, dem little bitta ones dat goes all up in de corner of yore house. Well, ah learnt dat chew could take one of dem an' kill him, an' git his heart while it's hot, an' keep it until it git dry, an' put some salt an' black peppah an' bluestone onto hit. An' sew it up in a rag an' wear it in yore pocket, an' dat's good fo' gambling. Make yo' win money. [Waycross, Ga., (1136) 1850:5.]
Entry 10762
Keep out witches and ha'nts [ghosts], put bluestone at four cor- ners of house and at steps. [This is a five point rite, a modificatioo of the quincunx.]
Entry 10763
Ef they git hold of somepin that yo' was eatin' off [on] see, an' tbey place it with bluestone - they have it mixed with bluestone and that [piece yoo were eating on and the bluestone] they sets up ovah yo' [so that you valk ander it] and then yore teeth miu come out. (They put it over [above] yoa, so you will walk uoder it.)
[octor Johnson in Richmond gave something similar.]
Entry 10764
It's only certain days dat de bluestone, dat it will do ceruln work. Now, heah's de bluestone heah [demonstrates], den ah put in some lard an' chunk it [stir it] roun'. An' ah wants yo' gimme some work. Ah dip mah han' [demonstrates] in an' ah p'int [demonstrates] an' make a wish dat ah wants tuh work at S0- an'-so's house. Well, 'cos' God's Name gotta be mention, yo' see. Yo' p'int tuh dat place dere. An' yo'll shore git somepin tuh do.
(In what direction did you point?)
Dat way, at de house, right befo' yo' dat way.
(At the boss's house?)
Jes' lak, down roun' heah tuh dat church dat's where yo' goin', yo' goin' stay heah an' p'int. Stay right heah an' p'int.
(You simply pointed toward the boss's house or business?)
Yes.
Entry 10765
Yo' git chew a piece of bluestone an' brimstone an' pound 'em up to- gether, an' take notice when dey [unwanted persons] come, git to 'em. Take yo' a pencil or a stick about de size of dat [pencil] an' stick it down in de ground all across dat [foot tracks] - cross [make cross on foot tracks with stick]. Git chew a little piece of pap- er, a little bit of trash, anything, an' lay it right on dem tracks [foot tracks made by visitor]. An' go on 'bout chure business. Dey can't send him [rentman], bill collector, police- man] back dere. (If they could get a hold of him they couldn't send him back to that house? Keep him away?) Yes.
Entry 10766
Gunpowder, bluestone, brimstone an' beat it up together an' burn it five days out on de edge of yore yard to kill yore stock. I'd do dat to kill yore stock - hogs, cows, chickens an' yo' people. Yo'd have a sick pile ovah dere, fast as one git sorta straight- en [out] de rest git down; all like dat, sompin happening all de time.
Entry 10767
Bluestone - dat bluestone is lucky. Gunpowder is lucky, but you have to use it in such a peculiar way. Yo' know gunpowder is dangerous. Well, all right, you take dat blue- stone and gunpowder to- gether - dey call dat [bluestone] de lucky stone. Yo' mix dis bluestone an' gunpowder together an' put it in a little bag an' jes' tote dat in yore pocketbook. Well, all right, jes' lak yo' may walk off to a big poker game. Yo' walk aroun' de poker game an' yo' got yore hands in yore pocket, an' he laugh an' say, "How about it?" or "Take a chair." Yo' say, "Well, ah don't mind." Bang! Take a shot. Well, yo' bettin' on what chew got in yore pocket. Yo' ain't bettin' on what dis othah fellah got. Well, dat bluestone an' dat gunpowder - see, dat's hot, sure be luck fo' de winner. Now, ah knowed a man - mah uncle used to try dat. Dat wus good.
Entry 10768
Well, they claim that if you take gunpowder and bluestone and aloes, and there's another stuff they use where they burn. Let me see. What is the name of that, what the Cath'lics use? Incense! And burn incense along with that. And bura all of it together, it'll have an effect, a tendency to keep bootleggers [he means the police] away from your house, and the law can't have an effect on you.
Entry 10817
[Well, yo' take bluestone an' saltpeter an' yo' sprinkle it into de floor an' den yo' leave it dere. Yo' put dat together an' yo' burn it. See, yo' burn dat together. An' de next morning yo' git up an' sweep nine times, fo' nine mornings, see. An' dem people be gone 'way from dat place. Dey can't stay dere. (In other words, if I am living in a house, and somebody comes in there and burns this bluestone and saltpeter, it would make me move out of the house.) Make you move out. (Well, then I would have to sweep this [these] ashes nine times for nine mornings, sweep it out of the house.) Jest sweep to de steps fo' nine mornings an' yo' can't stay dere.
Entry 11035
I've heerd of 'em usin' chicken feathers - feathers, bluestone an' saltpeter an' sulphur. Yo' place dem things together an' yo' would take 'em an' burn 'em into yore house. Jest say, fo' an instamce ah wanted to make yo' leave, ah could take all dat stuff a' place it into de house an' burn it fo' three days, an' dere ain't no way in de vorld yo' kin stay in dese house. Yo'd have to leave, ain't no joke.
Entry 11227
Well, now, yo' kin use dirt dauber in confinement an' yo' kin use dirt dauber fo' runnin' people outa town an' around like that.
(How would you run a person out of town with dirt dauber?)
Well, yo' have tuh take - yo' know the dirt dauber nest has all that stuff inside of that clay there, inside of that clay. Well, yo' git the inside [lar- vae] an' yo' kin mix that with cemetery dirt. Mix that with the cemetery dirt an' yo' git chew a piece of brim- stone an' a piece of blue- stone, an' pound it up to a powder an' put in that. An' yo' kin sprinkle that wherevah - whoevah yo' wanta do. Yo' kin sprinkle that an' that will certainly run 'em outa town - run 'em an' they keep agoin'.
Entry 11384
Yo' take dat file an' it's a certain place at chure steps. yo' stick dat file down on de point. But chew gotta have sompin else tuh go undah dat. Yo' gotta have... Yo' take dat John de Conkah, yore chamber lye an' a teaspoon fulla sugah. An' de blue- stone yo' beat it up, if yo' don't git it compounded. Yo' beat it up an' put it in dere, an' yo' take it an' yo' put it in a hole. Den yo' take dat file an' yo' stick it down - po' it [ingredients] in dat hole an' stick it [file] down dere, about two or three inches from yore steps. Dat's whut dat file is fo', tuh keep down dose sharp things [an enemy could bury under your doorstep].
(What will that do now?)
Dat will hold yore luck in dat house. It will hold yore luck.
Entry 11852
To make love? All right. You kin take dere hair, some sugar an' some bluestone. You understand now? An' some lodestone. Put all of this together with a piece of John de Conkah root. [This root] look like two pieces [see ex- planation later]. Look now [demonstrates], cross that John de Conkah cross there
[these ingredients being mixed or laid in a container] and put it [John de Conkah]
crost de hair, you see, an' tie it at de ends with a little string. You under- stand, at each end you know, with a little string. An' put it [mixture] in a piece of paper, in a piece of brown paper, an' wear that in de bottom of your shoe. [This is a small package.] They kin nevah git away from you. [What does informant mean by saying John de Conkah root look like two pieces? On p.593 (Z.2, v.1) I say, "John de Conkah can be many things; and on p.595 (l.12, v.1) we learn you can git de he one and git de she one. I suggest my informant, a hoodoo woman, is identifying John de Conkah with an actual root called Adam-and-Eve, which has he and she parts, he the smaller, both looking like peanuts (see No.10609, page 4028f., v.5). Our present rite therefore ties our man and woman together with a thread or a string to make doubly certain, magically certain, they are tied to- gether. The sugar sweetens the situation or pays the spirit, the bluestone keeps away evil, lodestone is another drawing power, and brown paper is often used for black clients. My preceding statement about he and she parts among the roots of Adam-and-Eve is a hoodoo, not a scientific one.]
Entry 12314
Ah heard dat yo' kin go tuh de tree where lightnin' strike an' git three splinters or jes' as many splinters off de tree as yo' got corner at chure house, [like] corner of yore yard, yo' know. An' git some bluestone an' vaseline an' bluestone. Mix it tuhgethah an' grease dis lightnin'-strike splinter an' peg it at each corner of yore house. See, fo' tuh keep polices an' things from roun' yore house. Dat's whut dat's fo'. Ah know dat's good.
(So no one will bother you in your home?)
Dat's it.
Entry 12387
Dis heah Red Devil lye, it's good. Yo' know it's good an' yo' know it's bad. Take it an' make good out of it an' take it an' make bad out of it. (Tell me how you can make bad out of it first?) Well, yo' kin take that an' eat so much dat'll kill yo', yo' see. An' den yo' kin take it ag'in if yo' know anyone wanta do anything to yo' roun' yore home an' yo' not knowin' it. Git chew fo' boxes of it an' yo' put chew fo' holes in each one of 'em. An' take yo' some bluestone, salt, red peppah an' put all dat in dat bottle [box] an' yo' take an' yo' bury dem at each corner of yore house. If yore yard evah be covered wit watah [after a rain] why yo' know den everything killed. (Everything is killed that they put down for you.)
Entry 12868
An' dey say yo' kin take bluestone an' saltpeter, beat it up an' make yo' a kine [kind] of a little sack yo' know lak [sack-lak yo' know] an' wear it in yore shoe an' dat'll keep yo' from ketching dis stuff.
(Anything that anybody puts down for you.)
Yes sir.
Entry 12999
Well, if a man want luck in gambling, well, he'd wanta got Lost John powder. [This could be my only example of Lost John.] (What kind?) Lost John. (Lost John?) Lost John powder, it's good luck. You take Lost John powder and you put it in your pocket. All right, you go get you some pulverized bluestone. You take you five dimes and you boil that in two quarts of water. You boil that water down to one quart [magic of diminishing amount.] You put it in somepin and measure it. You put it in somepin and you boil it until it comes down to one quart [diminishing amount] one quart of water. You gets one quart of water, you pout one teaspoonful of pulverized bluestone, one teaspoonful of granulated sugar, one teaspoonful of sulphur, and well shaked [shake well]. You take your five dimes out of that water after it's boiled and put 'em - you can use them again, you can spend them. [Often articles used in rites cannot be used again, they are dangerous.] You take that and you shake it up - well shaked. You can take that and rub it in the band of your hat, and you go anywhere in town and you can have luck: with the laws, the police, or anything like that. They ain't going to worry with you.
(What do you do with that Lost John root powder? What do you do with that?)
That Lost John root you tote that in your pocket. Tote that in your pocket.
Entry 13000
Take bluestone an' alum an' make a - an' take nine silver dimes an' sew it up together, an' anywhere yo' go, any kind of game yo' play, yo'll win all de money dey have. (What do you sew that in?) Red flannel.
Entry 13002
They have live things in them, you kin take a cupful of lard, and a cupful of sulphur, and you take a cupful of salt. And you puts all of that to about a quart of water and let it boil. And you take a silver [bow or beau or bull] dollar. (A silver what?) A silver dollah, a bow dollah. (A bow dollar?) They call 'em bow dollah, them silvah dollahs, one of them big round dollahs. They don't use 'em very much now [1938]. Well, you let that boil. Yo' get a [cove] oyster can [these were not the recent canned oysters kept on ice] and you let that dollah boil real good. You boil it for about a hour in that water. And you take that water, put it with this other ingredients, this cupful of lard and everything. And I mean that will certainly pass from you. You let 'em drink that fuh 9 mornings, see. Give 'em a cupful and them live things will pass. That'll kill it. An' then you take - behind that give 'em a bath, behind that a bath of saltpeter and bluestone and sulphur.
Entry 13252
Ah've heard of dem using sulphur. Dey kin burn sulphur in a house fo' good luck. An' den, if dey uses de bluestone long wit de sulphur, an' take it to people's house, dey take it an' burn it in front of dey doorstep at night. Dat will bring dem all kind of bad luck.
Entry 3082
I came here to find out. (Will you sit a little bit closer so I can hear you?) [To bring him nearer the microphone.] [The following paragraph will introduce you to the problem I faced every day while collecting the material of this investigation - see also Introduction.] I came here to find out what your work may be, if there is any help I kin git in connection - if there is any of your help or whatnot in connection with what has happened to me in my business. [He is a bootlegger.] That's what I wan'a know. If it's anything 'at I've to tell or go through. I wan'a know that an' I'll begin my story jis' like I started off before [before I turned on machine]. There's so much of dis recently, I thought I jes' couldn't understand it you see. Lots of people come here an' say you's someone who tryin' to trap someone, an' this is tryin' to git someone in trouble. Well, I say, "Well, I don't know what in the world it's all about, but if he, that is to say, [does] things to help me, why I don't mind goin' over an' explain myself." ['Here I explain my work." These words are my penciled comment made at the time I did the original transcription in pencil. Here I also made one of my many mistakes. I failed to transcribe my explanation. My failure however Was excus- able - hand transcription being such a tedious and impossible task I had to call in an expert transcriber for the post-Wilmington cylinders. Yet one explaining sentence does remain, "I don't heal anyone, I don't sell anything." As you will now learn, this man Was in serious trouble. My lost explanation at least set him more or less at ease.] You mind if I light my cigarette?
(No, go right ahead.)
[I was smoking a cigar, why should I mind him smoking a cigarette. A woman later over in Memphis "came in...smoking a big cigar" - see MAMMY: THE CIGAR SMOKER in INTERVIEWS.] Now first, I'm a married man. I've got a wife an' three children - jes' as well say five because I've two to take care of that's my wife's sister's, dead, an' they stayed with me from the first, each one of them, so that makes me have five [children] to take care of. Now my wife, she's sick an' has been for a long period of time. Her first [sickness] was believed by medical experience was pelegra, an' after that, why I found out something else; an' I went on an' kep' - go see her an' I kep' finding out something else. I went to work at Wrightsville Beach six years ago [1931], right down here ll miles from the city, where I was workin' for Doctor W. there. An' one day, after knowin' that my wife had been sick so long - I kep' tryin' to, wonderin' what in the world's the matter - finally I found out from Doctor H., that it was pelegra. [Here informant is returning to something already said.] Thereon he subscribed that I take her to the country for her health. No doubt it would be a little beneficial to her, an' where it was quiet an' didn't hear the runnin' of the cars, the streetcars an' so on, an' jis' git out of all that stuff, an' it would make her no doubt so she recover. An' so I carried [her] on over to Atkinson, North Car'lina, an' she stayed there for a long long time - in fact the whole summer through an' partly of the fall. An' one day I got a telephone call - it come at ten o'clock jes' before I carried [her] to Atkinson. [Informant again returns to something already men- tioned. For the difficulty in following this type of thinking, see confusing story, No. 2750, Pp.758-767.] An' that was while I livin' away from home in the country right out here. In fact she was jis' like her mother, my daughter's god- mother [grandmother?] as fer as that concern [whatever this means]. Tom T., it was his wife [who. telephoned]. She say, "Come to town at once. Eliza is crazy."
[This may be why "she was jis' like her mother."]
An' I didn't believe it. When I got in town she didn't know me from [some- thing, not Adam] or nobody else. So after havin' consulted with Doctor H., as I foresaid, I carried her on up de country. She lived up there fer a while an' I'd go there. She jis' got in such a wreck, kickin' up so, an' jis' nobody could go around 'er. She didn't want to hear what they had to say. She jis' git to the place she dispised 'er father, you know. An' even to 'er sister or to herself or anybody. She didn't wan'a see nobody. Well we goes there to Clinton, North Car'lina. There's ole man up there, they call 'im Mr. Wickins[?]. He read the cards. He also give me a dose of medicine to take.
(What did he give it to you for?)
He told me when I took that dose of medicine - after readin' my palm - he said, "This dose is goin' work for you an' not her [it is not MEDICINE BY PROXY, p.365]; and besides, you goin' get it in house when you get back home. [This is preventive medicine - see PREVENTIVE MEDICINE CARRIED TO EXTREMES, p.328.] Well, I wonderin' what he meant by that. He told me, he said, "There's someone has thrown for you," he said, ''but they're not tryin' to kill your wife in connection with you, but they're durin' [doin'] somethin' to keep her puny, ailin' along." He said, "They'll give it to you, if they're havin' a whole lot of trouble with her." He said, "Now, it's a black-skin woman an' a dark-skin woman that's doin' this." [A doctor is always vague when identifying culprit - see MADAM JACKSON ACROSS DE CREEK, p.757.] An' besides, de black-skin woman is the woman that want joo, an' de dark-skin woman don't visit chore house very often but she's helpin' fo' this people." He said, "Now, the way they did this - goin' to git it goin' their way - they went there an' sprinkled somepin in de baid while you were away [in the country].
(Did he tell you what they sprinkled there?)
He said some kin'a powder. He couldn't - he don't - he set some kin'a thing in front of him. It was a little thing that looked to me like a little horses settin' up there, an' a little somepin looked like a crab, another thing looked like a little fish, another little thing looked like a little serpent. He could touch them little things, you could see them shiver all around in - looked like to me they was settin' in a little basin or a little [over shape? = over size?] bowl of water.
(Was it a bowl of water?)
Looked to me like it was water. An' he talked to me. Den directly he go startin' talk to these little things in there, an' they kin'a quiver. [See photograph, supposedly in crystal ball, "trembled like a leaf," p.173, line 5.] An' then he start to tell somepin else. ["I suggest that these figures were magnetic, shaped in forms of the zodiac, and that they quivered whenever the root doctor holding a concealed magnet passed his hand over them. There was no water in the bowl." This comment is a part of original transcription in pencil. The evidence or experience for it I no longer remember. These quivering figures may be a diagnostic device (pp.165-217) like the trembling photograph in the crystal ball just mentioned. It is certainly one of the many tricks to impress the patient - like invisible writing (p.265).] So he told me, he said, "You weren't all right, don't sleep well at night, an' neither one of you don't sleep good at night." I said, "Well, you're right." He said, "Well, don't answer me." He said, "I know what I'm talkin' about." I have given many examples of a doctor knowing or foreseeing everything - see YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME, p.316.] I says, "Well, I must tell you, she don't sleep at all at night." He said, "Well, that's why that was sprinkled in your baid for. An' the way this black-skin woman had the dark-skin woman to do, to give it to you, were to sprinkle some of the same stuff under your door, an' that's why it got choo an' it fix you. Then I told him exactly [all that had happened.] He give me some kin' of little roots - he called one [of] them John de Conker. Then he also give me some kin' of little stuff called wood mold. It grows in the little pine [something - could be thickets?] like tha' choo go to rake it up an' you use it for makin' fertilizer - like the farmers use. [In Maryland this "little stuff is called shadders (= shatters), "fallen pine leaves or needles," used for animal bedding, which turns into manure or fertiZizer - 723, p.240.] An' he told me to take that [wood mold] an' red oak bark [frequently used for medicine, p.462 and elsewhere] - take that stuff an' boil it, make a tea out of it, an' feed her off of it. Give her all salts that I could get her to take - physic salts. An' so I did it until she got to the place that she wouldn't even take that. An' I went back to him again an' he said get Vita-Food east [brand of yeast] that come in a big tall can about that tall - somepin tha' choo sprinkle over de food when she gits ready to eat. Not de Fleshman [Fleischmann] east, something in comparsion, but it was yellowish lak sulphur maybe an' had a very strong odor. An' he had somepin called Eastborn [yeast-born or Eastbourne] tablets. Well, she had then fallin' from a hunderd an' seventy-six pounds down to a hunderd an' twenty. Well, I was feedin' [her] on that stuff an' she went back to a hunderd and fifty. An' I come on back to town. An' afterwards I brought her back from de country here an' we lived together fer a good while. My house be the second doah to my brother-in-law - from her brother house, my brother-in-law. I was at 905, where he was 909. An' rather than stay home, she'd stay over there; but when she goin' eat she'd come home, an' jes' as soon as she eat she'd be right out an' gone. Well I got worried over the gait[?]. So I told my father-in-law about it an' he says, "Well, any steps you wan'a make, why go on an' make it." So then I got into another [acquainted with] boy that was workin' there with me. We called him Skeet. Skeet told me of a woman down South - Madam Rachel - Dillon, South Car'lina. [Note that a man in North Carolina calls South Carolina down South. This was frequently done - see Introduction.] An' he also made men- tion of a old man called Doctor Buzzard.
(Where was he?)
Florence, South Car'lina. First, before I got to this Madam Rachel, this Doctor Buzzard came to my house [in Wilmington].
(He came to see you?)
He came here ordinary passin' by. An' another person he goes by [visits pro- fessionally]. An' someone told him that I'd care to see somebody of that kind. So he came in. He had a little hand bag, not a big case. [Was he referring to my 3 large cases - recorder, transcriber, and cylinder carrier?] It was a hand bag [in imitation of a M.D.'s medical kit then in use]. He had a whole lot of little snakes in that bag. [See SNAKE, Pp.66-73, and elsewhere.]
(Alive or dead?)
Alive. That snakes scared her. She's frighten anything that kind. My wife was there. She was lyin' right in de baid an' he told her, he said, "Now, I'll put choo to walkin' by tomorrow for four dollers and one cent.' I ast him what was he goin' do with de one cents. He says, "Well, the four dollars is for me; the one cent is the cure." "I says, "If you put my wife to walkin' by tomorrow, I'll give you four dollers an' one cent." [For this type of payment, see DOCTOR ARMOUR, p.891, line 2.] He say, "Well git me a pint of liquor." I say, "That'll cost you a dollar." I got a pint of liquor. He took a needle an' two straight pins an' crossed them. He crossed all three of 'em an' tied 'em together with a red piece of string an' put em into a little bag. Then he took out some little seed that appearently looked like flaxseeds. An' he told me take these seeds; if it's any time you want to go, be with some Woman. He say you drop one of these seeds in the liquor or somepin that she's drinkin' an' make her do anything you want her to do. I said, "I didn't ask you to come here to cunjure me an' wife. I ask you to come here to aid." He said, "I don't mean that." Well, I went on an' give him de four dollers an' one cent, an' [he] took all this stuff an' sewed it up in that bag [thus making a hand]. Then he took the snake out of it [iar], which [snake] he had already wrapped one around my wife's leg an' throwed [throwing] some liquor over it he wrapped it around the right leg jes' above the knee. Besides, when I got that second pint of liquor for him, he poured some down the table an' poured those snakes out of a little jar he had 'em in, an' begin to talkin' to those snake, an' they stood right straight up an' go over to him. There's where I vacate out of de room fer a few minutes. [I repeat preceding reference, SNAKE, Pp.66-73, and elsewhere. Besides after one drink of raw moonshine whiskey a person could see a few things; after two pints of it, anything.] So I came back. In a few seconds later an' he told me, "All right. Now, by tomorrow, as I told you [she will be out of bed]." Well, he went home an' she seemed to be recoverin' a little. But then this Madam Rachel, about two weeks later, she came there. This was the third party [root doctor] now. [She had been called from Dillon, S. Car., to wait on a case in Wilmington, and had heard about my informant.] An' she told me to go to the drug store to Doctor Mason [druggist], the Ideal Pharmacy. I was livin' aroun' there at that time. [This is a normal drug store, not a hoodoo store.] She tole me to git a dime worth of bluestone an' red pepper. An' she put out some dirt, some kin'a lookin' - I called it sand. She poured out a little bottle, but she tole me it was graveyard dirt. So she mixed it all together. Then she ask me before she give me that stuff, she said, "Do you know any officers in this town?
(Officers?)
Officers. Policeses. I said, "Yeah, I know jist about every one of 'em." I told her the name of them. An' [she said], "Write them down on this piece of paper I'll give you. De's somepin I wan' choo to do with it." I said, "All right." So I wrote down every one that I could think of. She said, "Now, on this set of names, how many is it that you think would do you harm, an' he goes out an' make it his business an' come arres' chew jes' out of ordinary [for no purpose at all?]?" I said, "I don't know. I hate to go through that part of it; but still, since it's personal, why I guess I'll have to tell you." So I named the one or two that I thought wasn't very good friends of mine an' knew the whole family an' my wife and her [people] before I even knew her my own self. So I named 'em down fer her. She told me, she said, "Now, you take these names on this piece of paper, go to the northeast of this house an' bury it down there, then come back to me. Then she took that dirt, that mixture she had there, an' circle all the way aroun' my house entirely. [To circle the house with salt or other substances is a fairly common protective device.] An' told me then - she says, "There somepin under your front doorstep tha' joo an' your wife are walkin' over ev'ry day is what cause you not to be gittin' along any better, an' I'm gon'a stop it. An' besides, the officers been runnin' in here on you all the time an' claim that choo have a lot of liquor an' you doin' this an' that an' de other thing you' re not doin'." She said, "I'm gon'a stop that. Besides, Im gon'a fix it so when they come to the front door they can't come in." I said, "How much is that gon'a cost me?" She said, "Give me three dollers an' you pay for the goods an' a doller on my gas bill back home." Well, she had a big Buick car out in front. I did that. Well, I found out I was gittin' along very very good then an' really my wife did come out of bed, stayed up fer a long time, gittin' along gran'. So after she'd gone, I decided then I'd move an' change houses. I thought the house was bad luck to me. I didn't know if there any other stuff [sprinkled or buried] along there. So I moved. No sooner than I moved, I got in other house, [it Wasn't] three months before I in [jail] agin. That [this] time I cooked 60 days in the county jail up here in town. I cooked up there when the cook got sick.
[At least this tells us something about the informant - he was a fair cook.]
An' when I came back, to be sure whether I was right or wrong, I moved right back in that same house. [Which house?] Then [I] started to fallin back [into the same bad luck] right away. I had a ole - sister's dead an' gone now. She came to me one day an' tole me, she said, "Let me tell you somepin. She always did call me brother. [She Was not his sister.] She say, "Let me tell you somepin, brother." She say, "There's somepin aroun' this house that it interfering with chor life an' you can' be happy. You can't live with your family like you want to," she says. "I'm goin' find it," she say. She went up under my front doorstep an' got a pair of scis- sors out from under there with one of the points broke off of it, an' ole rusty nails au' needles all tied together. An' she brought them in the house with her, "Here it is, I've got it at last." [He did not see her find the articles.] I said, "Now, Mama Annie, do you reckon that's true?" She say, "Well, here it is."
(What was her name?)
Mama Annie, we called her. Her name was Annie P. We called her Mama Annie.
[She was a root doctor.]
So she tole me then to take that, break it up, burn it up, do anything I knew to do an' I would stop that stuff goin' on then. So I ask her what it was an' she tole me it was [some]thing that somebody still tryin' to git between me an' my family. I took that pair of scissors - I had a good hot fire in the stove - needles and nails, an' I thought that stove would melt. It turnt red-hot. An' I let it there fer two or three days till I was sure it was gone. I got rid of that. Well now, a little later on comes the nex' part of it. I got in some more trouble. A man 'cused me then of sellin' 'im whiskey. This happen recently, too. This party - he's dead, the one that said it; but this party lives right here in the city now. [I am unable to straighten this out - the man will appear again.]
(How long ago was all this happening - these stories?)
It happened to an' fro within the last five or six years - right along, all up an' down the sides, right up an' down. It's right now so. Jis' like I told Mr. Gavin out here [in my waiting or reception room in the Gavin home] jis' a while ago. [Mr. Gavin, my contact man in Wilmington, N. Car., Was the husband of the sister of Julia, page one. I interviewed in the Gavin home and had lunch there each day.] I said, "I've a tendency maybe today I want my wife any second an' I'll go to her. We are sweet and loving together. An' directly another feelin' jump right [up in] me an' I'm out and gone. Maybe she'll be talkin' nice an' lovin' to me. Directly she jump right up, "Oh! So-an'-So." An' I'm out an' gone. Well, I go around to her brother's house an' go to bed an' sleep or some- where, anywhere, at some friend, an' go on to sleep. So I told her one day, I said, "Let me take you down South. I had a party aroun' there in Walnut Street by the name of J. He told me a place up [down] here between Southport an' here, that I could go to a man that he was - well, that he could clear all that stuff where I lived at. [Southport - being south of Wilmington - equals informant's "down South."] Somebody agin! [Another root doctor!] An' that [meeting with the doctor down toward Southport] was suppose to have happened this last Thursday, but I was sick - had no more than come out of the hospital. I had a rectal abscess. I'd jes' been operated on. Come out last Monday an' I wasn't able to go. I didn't have any money to go with - the first part of it. I had to pay little bills you know. An' about this last party, to git back to de same trouble'as I started to say. This man claimed that I sold him some whiskey on the 21st day of November, an' I Wasn't even in the house that day or that night. An' so dis same [Walnut Street] Mammie J., he told me that, "I know a party that you ought to see right here in town. Maybe he kin help you a little." I said, "Who is it?" [No answer.] They [the rootworker between Wilmington and Southport] were supposed to be here in town this last past Thursday, but didn't come an' I didn't have any way to get to 'em. But I did see the party here in Wilmfngton. An' they told me also that it was things down aroun' my house; that's why I couldn't live happy an' peaceful at home.
(What do you think about it?)
Well, I do think there [is something] in it. An' I'll be frank with you. There had been a time way back, when I was much younger, I didn't believe any doze kin'a things; but I still now, since I found things buried - there is so much. An' that when I'd go as I foresaid, an' try to make love to my wife, seem like ev'rything is all right, right at first an' directly things occurred in an- other different way. An' then I would come an' try to humor her along, "Honey, what's de matter? What's de occasion? Sittin' in de dining room, huggin' wit 'er as sweethearts do. We'll talk things over an' directly she'll say, "Well, let's do so-an'-so, let's be sweethearts again." She'll forgit it an' I'll do anything fer you. You kin bet chor life right on the same schedule agin. So I went to this party [in Wilmington] an' he read the cards out fer me, an' told me that there was somepin down at my house to cause to bein' this way, an' I couldn't help myself, an' give me a root, an' got it with me now as fer as that's concern. He told me to keep it wit me anywhere I went. An' I got another thing, I got two other articles at de house that I keep. An' whenever I go roun' my wife, he told me to always wipe my face down with that powder. It's a little sweet perfume powder. An' then there's a little ball somepin like you got it sewed up in a little bag. You can't tell what's in it. I didn't cut it open to see. [This is a ball-shaped hand.] I leave it at home unless I'm goin' round to her house.
(What's the name of that root?)
I don't [know] what de name of the thing. I got it here in my pocket. An' she told me to chew a piece off of it an' spit around the door before I walked in, to kill my enemies before I got dere. That's what she give it to me fer. She said that would kill my enemies before I got dere; an' if it's anyone to do any harm, it'll change their mind. That I would also find a little dark-brown-skin man there. I didn't intend to tell you about that. That's de trouble over me an' my wife. An' [she said] I would certainly find that man there. An' she also told me she did it [whatever this means]. An' my wife sometime would mention this man ["rootworker is my transcription notation] to me. She said she liked me but she never [was untrue tol me an' didn't live no man in the world but me. Well, I know that of it's true [truth]. An' the thing that - so far [the marriage?] would last three or four years jis' about perfectly right up to the minute [trouble began]. This little bag I pinned that on the inside of my clothes nex' to my flesh. Then sometime it would smell like a onion an' agin it would smell like perfume - change odors all kin' of ways, like turpentine an' agin you don't know what you smellin'. Jes' the way that thing smell. Well, as I tell you, I didn't open it up to see what was in it, because it was sewed down there. Then she give me a prayer. It was written on a piece of paper down onto the 24th Psalm, called Ezekiel, I believe it is. An' I'd read that an' memorize as much of it as possible when I'm goin' aroun' my wife - like I'm away there now an' I should happen to think [trouble Was brewing]. That [is] to quite fusses down or anything in case you may start anything. Read that as I start towards my house, an' when I git to my yard I finish it an' then go in. An' they told me when I paid her a dollar and a half more, that she would go in there an' git this thing up an' show it to me. An' I told this weekend I'd let her complete her part of the job. An' [I] found that ev'rything she told me has worked out right. Even now in this case that I have now, she told me that this case was gon'a be put off three times. An' she said, "Let's put it off some more."
(That case in court now against you?)
Yes sir, that this man J. accused me of sellin' him some whiskey, bottle of liquor on the 23rd day of November of last year, which I wasn't even in my house, as I aforesaid a while ago, dat day or night. An' she told me and said, "Well, I'm gon'a show that I'm right before I clear you completely. I'm gon'a put off your case some more." An' she has put it off eight times successfully. Now this comin' Friday will make the ninth time that I'm goin' to be tried.
Entry 2469
Yo's sellin' likker - bootleggin' dey call it, used tuh call it boot- leggin'. Now, yo' go tuh work ovah heah an' git chew herbs an' yore stuff whut chew want from a certain person - anybody's [anybody who is] makin' dis. Well, he tell yo' tuh go out dere tuh de fo'ks of de road or somethin' lak dat. Be sure an' try tuh git chew one, understand, dat's leadin' down by yore house - de fo'ks of de road. An' be shure, understan' dat chew git yo' in yore house, make no diff'rence if its a mark in de house. All right, git to de fo'ks of de road, an' yo' know dat mark ah make lak dat - go dere an' dig yo' a hole right in de fo'ks of de road an' bury dis in de fo'k of dat road.
(Bury what?)
[I must ask this question before I forget it, but I interrupt him. He will answer later.] Now if de sheriff's - de deputy sheriff or policeman, an' ev'ry time dey's comin' dere tuh yore house an' dey's gon'a ketch yo' - yo' see, dey gon'a set a trap an' dey ketch yo'. After yo' go up dere to dis road to de fo'k an' do dat, yo' understan', an' dey come down - yo' see, yo' knows which way dey comin', dat's why yo' go tuh de fo'k of de road - dey'll drive ovah it, see. An'when dey drive ovah it, stid [instead of] yo' house, [they go to] somebody else. Stid dey gwine to yore house start worryin' yo', den dey drive ovah it lak dat dere, right straight up de road dey goin', or right down de road dey goin' an' ain't stoppin' take time tuh look at yore house.
(What will you bury in that hole?)
Well, yo' go tuh work an' git some - yo' kin take a piece of bluestone - yo' know whut dat is - a piece of bluestone an' gits yo' den a root dey call devil's- shoestring, an' take one dem dey call High John de Conker. Put dem in dere an' den whut chew wanta do, make it stronger, go tuh de woods an' find yo' snake shed. Git chew a snake shed an' put dat in wit it - put it down in dere wit all dat together. An' dere's a root grows dere right at de edge of de forest, has a great big flower on it, wit a mane hang down lak dat, jes' lak a man mustache... call it De ole man is daid - De ole man is daid. Hit jes' lak it. Yo' go git chew a root offa dat tree. Ain't ever'body kin find dat, dey see it but don't know whut 'tis, an' put dat down dere - de root offen De ole man is daid. De root off hit is de one gotta do de work. An' yo' put dat down in dere, under- stand, an' cover dat down in dere. Den yore safe, yore safe.
Entry 11504
"Gunpowder and bluestone and de track too, dat fer de roamin'...put it in de chimley, let de smoke go over dat fer 9 days." [Charleston 611:1.]
Entry 104
(This is the old witch who wouldn't come around to see me?)
Yes sir.
(What did she do?)
She went to de graveyard an' went to a new grave, and she run her hand down in de dirt, way down about up to her elbow, and got her a handful of dirt, three handful of dirt, put it in a tin cup, an' then, she taken a penny an' put it down in de hole to pay de spirit fer de dust dat she took from de grave dirt, an' it had to be a wicked person wus buried dah. An' she went on den an' fixed de dirt an' made some bluestone dust. An' she put de bluestone dust an' de graveyard dust togethah, an' den she went to de church an' dusted it all around in de church. An' de people got so angry an' got so - an' she said to de ghost, "Go theah an' terrify 'em, terrify 'em." An' de ghost went to de church an' jis' kept ever'body confused all de time in dah an' de preacher had to leave. [A note on my original transcription reads, "Informant repeating a story he had just heard about a woman who wouldn't come to see me." This was just about the first colored witch or hoodoo who refused to meet me; also first boy friend or girl friend to investigate me for the professional worker - see Introduction.]
Entry 1124
My father was sick and we had the doctor come attend him and the doctor tended him and he couldn't diagnose his case. So we changed doctors and the [second] doctor waited on him about two weeks or more. He didn't seem to do any good and we changed to another [third] doctor. And we got him and he said, "Well, I don't see I kin do any good for him, becuz I think he's poisoned." [Would a Doctor of Medicine say this? See my comments in Introduction.] So a ole lady told me to go an' see a ole man by the name of Simmons. And I went and got a ole man by the name of Simmons and he came there and he talked to my father and he told me, he said, "Come on boy and go in the woods with me." And he got some whut they call blackroot - that's a weed that grows in the woods, a round root, right black, something like a little potato - and red oak bark. [For oak, see No. 1060, p.402, also margin-title OAK later, and Index. Black- root is a name for a number of plants, the present one probably being Chaenolobus undulatus, indigenous to Southern U. S. A., and having black tuberlike rootstocks.] And he sent me to the drug store while he's boilin' them to get him five cents Worth of bluestone and alum mixed. And he boil that and he made a tea out of that and he strained it, let it cook and he told him to take two swallahs of it three times a day. And the first swallahs - the first two swallahs - that my father taken of it he vomit somepin jis' as green as grass [a usual expression for vomit caused by inside cunjuration]. Then he got kin'a relief on the nex dose he taken. He didn't vomit. But on the third one he vomit again. Then [this third time] he vomit up somepin there - it look somepin like jelly. Then he commence to gettin' a little better and finally he kept on takin' it until he did get so he could get out.
Entry 1328
He used black gunpowder, and ah know ah was chafed in here and he tole me, he says, "I'm goin' fix you up something," says, "and I'm goin' tell you what I'm goin' put in it and then I'm going let you see." He says, "Now, you get me a half pint of whiskey." And I got the whiskey and carried it to him. He says, "Now, you see this ain't anything but black gunpowder." And he took that gun- powder and emptied the gunpowder into the whiskey and he shook it up right well, and he anointed me down there and all the way across and then, after that - after he anointed me, he gave me a little bag and he had asafitidee, bluestone and gun- powder in de bag. He said, "Now, you wear this bag next to your skin." And ah took the bag and ah put it on me. And, he says, '"And every morning and every evening," he say, "you anoint yourself with this gunpowder and whiskey." And I used this gunpowder and whiskey. And he says, "And you husband - you goin' get rid of your husband." And he was going to kill my husband for me and I didn't know it, you know, with this little bag he give me to wear. And so after mah husband got sick and stayed sick so long - you know how you kin just dream things. In fact, don't nothing else. I always dream things. And I just saw where my husband going to die, and something told me to pull that bag off and throw it in some running water. And I did, and after I throwed the bag away, then my husband got well. But that gunpowder and whiskey forever kept me from chafing and I haven't never chafed since.
(What caused the chafing?)
I don't know. I imagine just perspire or something - don't know what it was.
(Do you think that somebody did something to you for the chafing or what?)
Ah didn't know - that's why I went to somebody that I thought would know.
(I see. You went to a root doctor?)
Ah think so.
Entry 1691
Ah'm gon'a tell yo' - yo' wanta know whut would yo' do to keep 'em from harmin' yo'. Well, yo'll git in a path or road dat come from yore do'. Yo'll dig a hole wit chure tablespoon and when yo' dig that hole, yo'll go an' take a aig - any kind of a hen aig, jes' long as it a aig, and den yo'll take two sticks of a lightnin'-strike tree - yo' know what ah mean, an' yo'll nail them down on each side of that aig - wit dat aig down in de hole. [This is a mock burial - the egg a body and the two sticks the headboard and footboard of a grave.] An' then yo'll take yo' some physic salts, an' yo'll take that physic salts an' sulphur an' bluestone an' make a powders of that, an' yo' kin put it down dere where that aig is, an' yo' set it down an' kiver it up. De parties who dat yo' say, or anybody who yo' think will harm yo', why then when yo' done put dat down, yo'll curse it. An' when yo' curse it yo' jes' kick at 'em, and den go turn yore back - don't nevah look back. Now, that's the story of that as fur as ah know. Well, now if a man walk ovah that and if yo' do lak that, it causes me, if ah aim tuh do yo' some harm - all of that will come back to me.
Entry 1719
At night befo' yo' go out tuh gamble yo' bathe in some bluestone, salt- peter, sugah an' yore chamber lye, an' bathe from de head heah all de way down an' yo' say the Lord's Prayer three times, an' yo take dat an' put any kinda oil whut chew believe in an' rub it on yore.ca'ds lak dat.
(What kind of oil would you use for that?)
Well, ah tell yo' whut ah do's, believes in - ah believes in de oil of rose. Yo' buy it at the drug sto'.
Entry 1841
You know what they make that out of?
(No.)
Well, I'll tell you what they make that out of - that's made out of snake- hides. That's what they make that out of - they make that out of snakehides. What's sewed inside of it is ordinary sawdust - sawdust and brown sugar. And you can keep that under a person's bed and a man' 11 never have no nature for his wife. [While machine is off we talk about another hand.]
(Well, what shape would they fix it up?)
Fix it up just the shape of a person - two arms and two legs with the body made to it. And if you put that under a woman's bed, she ain't going to be much service to her husband - her and her husband be fussful all the time. (What did you say they make that out of?) [I am trying to pick up what was lost while machine silent.l Sawdust - take sawdust and alum. Take you a piece of alum, powdered alum. Take you a little piece of bluestone and powder it. Take a piece of garlic and tie the garlic around it. Understand? And put it under a woman's bed.
(Well, what do you use for the outside cover?)
Outside cover on it? Just tie it around with a string, you don't have to wrap it in anything - just put in, open her mattress and put it in a mattress.
(What did you say about a snakehide a moment ago?)
A snakehide? You could take a snakehide and use that - just clip a person's, a piece of a person's hair and burn it. You understand?
(In fixing this doll baby - how was that made, did you say?)
You takes ordinary sawdust - just take ordinary sawdust. If you want to make a woman disagreeable - things disagreeable in a home for a woman and her husband, take ordinary sawdust, a piece of garlic, a piece of alum and a piece of blue- stone, and powder that. And mix it in that sawdust and sew it up in that form of a person - see, like - just like a little small doll baby - a small piece of it.
(What kind of material would you use for that form?)
For Wrapping that in?
(Yes.)
Bed ticking.
(Any kind?)
No, not any kind, bed ticking - something that a mattress or pillow is made out of, not any kind of material.
(Oh, I see. Well, why is that?)
Because you wants to lay the stripes according to the rise and fall of the sun. That's why we do that. You want to make the stripes so that on the shape of that thing like a person it lays with the rise and fall of the sun. You lays it like you take a dead person is buried with their head to the east - I mean to the west and their feet to the east. You lay that thing with the head to the east and the feet to the west. That's against the life of any person it's under.
(Now, where do you put this little doll?)
You put it in - you put it under or in a mattress. But the best way you do, if you can open the mattress and put it in there, sew it in the mattress. Just know how you got it - lay it in the position and lay it right in that mattress where they lay on that. And that woman'll have trouble in her house with her husband as long as she sleeps on it.
Entry 2059
To make yo' keep a job after yo've got it. Dey tell me yo' kin git chew some - somepin dey call lodestone. Yo' orders it from a book. Yo' kin git dat an' git some sulphur an' bluestone an' mix dat all up together fine, an' take yo' a new piece of cloth an' sew it up in dere good an' wear it round yore waist or anywhere on yo. Keep it damp wit Heart Cologne. Say dat keep de police out
Entry 2104
Bluestone, some blueing.
(Is that the blueing you was with?)
Yeah, blueing. Bluestone, brown sugar and scrub your floors first, and den take dat and put it in dat water and rinch your floor. Rinch your floor with it after you mop it, and sweep dat water out de door - all de time, all de time. Ev'ry morning git up and take dat blueing Water and bluestone and brown sugar and make it up and scrub your house. Get you some ensums [incense] and burn dem in dere and den de people be comin'. [Rinch = rinse.] You could be on dat corner and I could be on dis one and if you gittin' all de trade down dere and I ain't gittin' none here, I kin go down dere and stop you from gittin' anything. If de people is comin' by me gwinin' dere, I'll stop 'em from comin' by me. Dey won't never git no further den here. Dey ain't never gwine down dere cus I'm goin' stop 'em on dis end, you see, I'm goin' stop 'em. I'm goin' go out dere and cross 'em out in de road, you see. And when dey get to dat mark, dey goin' - instead of goin' on dey goin' turn and come in here, you see, all de time.
(I see. What sort of a mark did you put in the road?)
Well, I'd go out dere and draw me a mark and take me some.
(What kind of mark did you put?)
I'd just go out dere and draw just a straight line cross de road, just about dat deep, and take me some lucky powder and some lucky mojoo and put it right down in dat and put it on a little piece and put it right down in dat little trench and cover dat right back up, right where de people walk right by. Well, when he git dere he ain't gwine by, he gonna come in here and he ain't got no How come? See, the other fellah be dere and you be down dere, come to argue - how come he ain't gittin' no trade. Ah done took your trade, you see. [Lucky mojoo here is a perfume.]
Entry 2133
Yo' kin take a silver dime an' a piece of bluestone an' a piece of alum, an' yo' kin take a small piece of saltpeter, an' yo' put that together an' wear that. That's good fo' good luck.
(In gambling?)
Yes sir.
(What would you put that stuff in?)
Wrap it up in a piece of cloth.
Entry 2346
Mop in turpentine, bluestone an' dragon blood an' dat'll keep de law away; an' sprinkle lye aroun' yore house, aroun' de steps, all de way round de house.
Entry 2408
Why yo' git chew some sulphur an' some saltpeter an' some sugah. Well, yo' take a tablespoon an' a nutmeg an' some bluestone. Well, yo' take a rag an' yo' beat chure bluestone up an' beat up yore nutmeg and yo' takes a tablespoon fulla sulphur an' a tablespoon fulla sugah an' a tablespoon fulla saltpeter. Well, yo' take it an' put it in yore bathwatah an' some Heart's Perfruone put it in yore bathwatah, an' yo take a bath all ovah. Den yo' git up an' yo' mop all roun' de flo'. If yo' got a rug on, mop all roun' de woodwork an' all in yore do' an' wash yore do' down. Well, den yo' take some dat nutmeg an' bluestone an' sulphur an' some sugah - put it on yore shovel on a piece of papah. See, it burns hard. Light it undah de papah an' burn dat an' smoke yo'self in yore room. Do dat Mondays, Wednesdays an' Fridays.
(What do you do this for?)
Dat brings in trade an' makes yore luck good.
(That is if you are bootlegging or if you are a hustling woman?)
Dat's luck fo' yo' tuh do dat.
Entry 2409
If a woman is a hustlin'woman an' goin' tuh a new place, well, befo' she start to dis new place, when she know she goin' - quite natural, see - well she'll go tuh work an' she'll take a real new clean bath an' she'll take it some- thin' lak in de mawnin' befo' de sunrise. An' aftah she takes that watah - while in dat watah she says her prayers nine times, while she's takin' her bath. Take dat watah an' go to de cornah of de house - de east cornah of de room an' throw it east an' make a wish. Go 'head an' ketch de train an' go 'bout her business. Well, when she enter dis city - she go into dat city she takes her anothah bath. An' aftah she takes dat bath an' de 'gredients dat she have - bluestone, salt- peter, sugah an' alum. Well, dat gives her her luck right dere. She have washed away all de bad luck an' put on good.
Entry 2414
In gamblin' tuh give mahself luck ah have taken burnt sugah. Burn it perfectly brown an' kinda let it run down tuh candy, an' git me some bluestone an' mix that together, an' git me some saltpeter an' put that together, an' git me some alum an' put that together, an' make me whut chew may call a bath, a bath 'lution [solution], an' po' it into mah bathwatah an' take me a bath with it. Well, dat supposed tuh be lucky which it always has been tuh me when ah wus gamblin'.
Entry 2630
Yo' kin git some bluestone an' a can of sulphur. Yo' take that blue- stone an' sulphur an' saltpeter, an' put it undah de front do'steps an' de back do'step an' as fur as dey kin go up undah de house - see, round inside the house. Now, yo' burn some sulphur an' put yo' some essence of pennyroyal on that sugah, wit garlic an' a red onion. Don't nevah throw a onion peelin' outa de house. Always keep onion an' garlic. Burn it in dat stove with sugah. It brings luck in the house. An' de law ain't goin' bother yo'. Mop dat front steps - it don't take but a little time. Put yo' some garlic, cut up some garlic, an' chamber lye an' mop that be- fo' seven every mawnin', befo' seven. Do dis befo' seven an"leven. Dat brings yo luck - seven an' 'leven. Do yo' burnin' 'fore seven an' 'leven.
Entry 2666
You burn brimstone. Yo' use brimstone, bluestone, sulphur, rattlesnake marster, an' yo' git lowbush mercury[?] [myrtle?] - lowbush[?] - dat's a bush dat grows out. in de woods dey call it lowbush[?]. Well, yo' burn dat Sunday mornings three a'clock. Yo' burn that Wednesday night, Wednesday as the clock strike twelve. Yo' burn dat Wednesday. (Twelve o'clock night or noon?) At night. Three a'clock in de morning [Sunday], twelve a'clock at night [Wednesday], an' three a'clock Friday morning. Yo' burns dat in de middle of yore house. Yo' have yo' a pan dat chew use regu'ly [regularly]. Yo' use de brimstone, sulphur, bluestone an' dis lowbush[?]. Yo' burn dose things together. Yo' do dat fo' at least three munts. Den yo' skip an' de next three munts ketch it. [This is skip or staggered magic.] But if you are running a house, why yo' do that ev'ry week. Ev'ry week if yo' runnin' a house, if yo' have gambling, so on, don't chew see. Yo' runnin' yo' house, yo' do that ev'ry week.
(What is that supposed to do? Bring luck or what?)
Yeah, bring luck an' keeps ev'rything goin' smooth. Yeah, bring yo' plenty luck. Yo' have no trouble if yo' sellin' likker, anything lak dat. Yo' have nc trouble a-t a-l-l.
Entry 10919
Mix cat and dog hair with seven ingredients: pepper, bluestone, sulphur, salt, asafetida, etc., put at door; people living there will fight like cats and dogs. [Richmond, Va., 303:10.]
Entry 13034
As a prevention of or cure for cunjure boil 5 silver dimes and drink the water, and wear bluestone in both shoes. [Wilmington 113:6+85.]
Entry 29
Dey tell me dat dey kin take yore bath water and bury it. Dig a hole and pore it in dere and put a piece of - jest a small piece of bluestone, sulphur an' asafitadee [assafetida] in dat hole with dat water and cover it up. And dey tell me dat will keep yo' perishing away all de time.
Entry 250
Ah had a cousin dat wus hurt like dat - mah first experience to it. They taken some of her hair an' dey put it in de back of a frog, an' her finger- nails an' toenails, an' they got that frog an' put him into a 'bacco sack an' dey put a piece of frog bread - dere's de stuff whut chew call frog bread.
(Frog bread - what is that?)
It's somethin' grows in de woods - jest comes up jest like a sprout. Yo' ever seen celery grow? Well, yo' know how when celery come up outa de ground it's right white. Well, dat's de way dat frog bread comes up but it spreads yo' know, as it gits up outa de ground - it spread kind round like a parasol [a mushroom, always called toadstool in folklore]. Dey put a portion of dat in dat. An' afterward dey taken dat frog to mah cousin house an' dey sewed it up in de bed mattress an' dey had some pins in dat frog - [pins in dat] frog bread, tacked down. An' as dat frog - after it got in action - after dey sewed dis up in mah cousin bed - dis frog de longer it go - after it was fixed - an' as dis frog would Jump, she would fits right after one another. An' she wus jest wizlin' away to nothin'. Well, we could take her 'way from home, we could take her 'way from there an' she would git along pretty well, an' we thought she wus well enough to take back home; we'd taken her back dere an' no quicker'n she hit dat bed, she begin havin' dose fits. Dere wus a ole doctor, Mr. Marlborough.
(White or colored?)
Colored - we'd taken her tuh him. So he sont us back an' he tole her he'd be to her house de next day. Well, on de same day dat he promised us dat he would be dere, he wus dere on de noonsday hour. He goes [in] dere - he wouldn't let her see him take it out - he'd taken mah mother an' aunt an' also her husband. He went into de mattress an' he cut dat frog outa dere which dey had - dey says dey had examined it but dey refused [failed] tuh find [anything] but he went in dere an' seem to let 'em see it. So he bring it from de middle room back tuh where mah mother lived an' he'd taken it out an' he cut dat sack open an' out come de [live] frog: He tole us, says - before he ever did it - he said, "When ah open dis sack - de direction dat de ones who done it, dat direction dat dis frog gon'a try tuh go." An' sure 'nuff jest lak he did - it wus true. So he'd taken it out an' [there was] stuck in dere bluestone, stuff de color of graveyard dirt, her hair, fingernails an' all - I'll never forgit it - he po'red it down in de yard. An' he said, "Now, when ah burn dis stuff, when ah say, "strike a match to it, '" say, "hit gon'a burn like fire in all colors it gon'a be." Ah nevah see nuthin' like it befo' or since. He said, "It gon'a be a snake come heah an' dis snake he is gon'a venture to bit her" - a great long black one. He sot dat stuff afire an' it wus a long blacksnake come runnin' up an' he did his best tuh make it tuh her but he kilt it - ah reckon he jest didn't even know whut he wus doin' an' he kilt it. So he burnt dat up. He say, "In three days' time from dis day, de ones who done it, dey will leave outen de roof of dat house." De ole lady name Charlotte an' her daughter wus named Mamie, an' dey would be wanderin' from place tuh place. Course ah nevah - ah wus young den - ah nevah did learn how he done it, understand - dey have been wandering. But ah do - ah take a man oath - ah know dat's true.
The informant reports pins in the frog, followed by Hyatt's bracketed insertion and frog bread. Placement remains ambiguous; all three source layers are retained. Read the complete cousin narrative for its reported events and treatment claims, which remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 72) · Read full source (printed page 73)
Entry 1129
Well, you've gotta go to work then to get you some - you kin dress your home, you have to dress your home with bluestone water to keep down all danger, you see. You sprinkles with that every morning - you sprinkle your home with bluestone water. You have a sprinkler, you know, and you go round and you sprinkle all around your steps and everything like that. That kills out the power of everything. Bluestone is the strongest thing in the world that you could use.
Entry 1383
Git chew a box of [Red] Devil Lye an' bury one at chure step, one at each corner yore house or either at each corner of yore yard where yo' comes in an' go out, an' bluestone an' brimstone, but open de top of it an' put de brim- stone an' bluestone an' de red peppah on de top. Yo' see, dat's good tuh keep 'em away, kill out all de germs an' everything an' take care of de home. It will destroy all dat wus dere.
Entry 1483
And den, how you dress yo' feet. Yo' through wit dat part. How you dress yo' feet, you takes bluestone, beat up fine - not so much, just a leetle bit of piece and sulphur and salt. Put in each one of your shoes, put it under- neath the lining in your shoes. See. Well, you know what dat is fo'? That is for to keep dem from hurting you. See, dey kin hurt chew all kind of ways and dey can hurt chew on your feet so bad, if you don't hurry roun' and use dat chamber lye and things, saltpeter, you shore will get hit - you'll be out dere in de cemetery, for dey re'lly kin do it. Dat's de only thing whut kin pertect yore feet.
Entry 1484
Anybody put somepin down fo' yo': to protect yoreself, yo' kin get yo' some sulphur an' ashes out of de stove, jest de ashes - sulphur an' ashes an bluestone an' tablesalt, an' wear it in yore shoes an' nuthin won't harm yo'. Yo' kin walk over mostly anything.
(Do you wear that in both shoes?)
Wear it in both shoes, nuthin won't bother yo'.
Entry 1501
Take bluestone, a ole shoe sole an' gunpowder. Yo' burn de bluestone good until, yo' know, till yo' powder it up, an' mix a li'l gunpowder along wit it wit some fresh hog lard an' kinda make salve outen it fo' healin' a sore.
Entry 1507
Yo' kin go out an' jes' lak yo' - yo' git chew some ole shoes anywhere in de streets or road, anywhere in town. Yo' burn dem - yo' take de soles off. Ah nevah have heard of 'em burnin' de whole shoe - take de soles offa dem shoes. Git chew some sulphur an' bluestone or brimstone - it's all near 'bout alike an' jest put chew a little fiah in de yard or put it in a tinpan or somethin' an' burn it out dere. An' dat keeps dem away from dere.
(What do you burn, the shoe or just the shoe sole?)
De sole - not de shoe. Burn de sole an' put dat sulphur an' bluestone or brimstone - either one, jest put it on dere. A woman showed me dat - ah couldn't tell yo' de name, but she burns dat.
Entry 1508
A person's shoes - a woman's shoes - jes' lak if yo' figures somebody is workin' at chew, yo' hunt chew a throwed-way shoe.
(A thrown-away shoe.)
Uh-hmm, a man's shoe an' a woman's shoe. Well, if it's a woman, yo' wanta protect yo'self. Yo' take dat woman's shoe an' put it on top of dat man's shoe an' yo' burn 'em. Yo' put sulphur an' saltpeter, bluestone, gunpowder an' salt on there an' burn it - make yore wishes, whatever yo' want tuh come. An' dat'll protect yo'.
(What would a man do if he wanted to protect himself?)
He'll put de man's shoe on top of de woman's.
Entry 1578
Take the sulphur an' the bluestone an' mix it together an' yo' use it fo' nine mawnin's. Jes' sprinkle it around yore home that yo' dwell in an' say that will keep things from evah gitting bad - yo' know, yo' can't be bothered if yo' use that bluestone an' sulphur.
(People can't bother you?)
Can't bother yo' - interfere with chure business. [Wilson, N. Car., (1486) 2660:15.]
Entry 1715
Yo' take an' kill yo' a bull [male?] bat an' yo' take him an' cut him Open. Git his heart an' yo' git dis bluestone an' salt an' put it in a new piece of cloth an' sew it up, an' yo' tote it in yore pocket, if yo' gamblin' an' yo'll win.
Entry 1931
Ah heard 'em say yo' go to the graveyard an' git graveyard dust. An' jis' lak yo' wan'a make a bag fo' tuh gamble or somethin', yo' git graveyard dust an' yo' take it an' put it in a bag, an' put needles an' red peppah an' bluestone an' sew it up in dat bag with dat graveyard dust. An' dey say when yo' go tuh gamble, all yo' got'a do is jis' rub yore han's on it an' yo'll win ever' time yo' put chure han' on it.
Entry 2473
Well, heah whut yo' git - black peppah whut chew cooks wit, whut chew eats wit. Yo'll git dirt dauber nest out de roof de house, yo'll git a little bit of dirt from under yore steps, an' yo'll mix dat an' physic salts. It's a diff'rent one dem salts though from Epsom, but den ah kin tell yo' fur as ah know de salts. Ah don't know - yo' cain't keep up wit de name of 'em, but dere's some salts dey keep right heah in de Kress Ten-Cent Sto' in bags. An' yo'll take some of dat salts an' yo'll take dat dirt dauber nest an' yo'll - now, yo' listen jes' whut ah say now - an' yo'll take a lil piece of bluestone, jes' a lil piece an' yo'll mash all of dat as a powders. See, dirt dauber nest an' black peppah, an' yo'll put them together, yo' see, wit dat little dirt from undah yore steps, an' yo'll mash 'em together an' make a powders of dat. An' all yo' have to do is jes' sprinkle it anywhere roun' yore home an' it will draw dem.
(That'll draw trade?)
Ah mean he gotta come - ah done prove dat.
reported attracting/coming effect without unambiguous trade-only target. Do not convert the claim into exclusively drawing trade/customers or a named person. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 2483
Ah wanta tell yo' now, ah run a bo'din' house once fo' a ole lady dat stayed dere, an' she went to de fo'ks of de road an' got de dirt outa de middle of de road - don't chew understand me. Den she took some bluestone an' saltpeter an' brimstone - git it all at de drug sto' an' then she takes them an' beats it up fine an' puts it into that pot an' some splinters ovah it.
(What pot?)
To a small pot whut'll hold 'bout two or three quarts.
(Of water?)
Yes. No, no - of de sand, don't chew understand from out de middle of de road. Yeah, de sand is under de bottom of dis heah, under de bottom of dese splinters an' dis heah stuff whut she sprinkles ovah dat, an' den she po's a little kerosene ovah dat an' burns it about three a'clock in de mornin' befo' day. That is to git roomers in her house. Yeah, dat has come from de fo'ks of de road. (She would put this dirt in the pot an' then she mixes this other stuff with that dirt.) That's it - de saltpeter, bluestone an' brimstone. (So that I understand perfectly what it is about: she brings this dirt back from the forks of the road, she puts it in this little pot, then she gets these various things and puts on top of this dirt.) Beats it all up together. (And puts it on top of the dirt in the Pot; then she lights this stuff, this mixture - burns it.) Yeah - three a'clock in de morning.
Entry 2636
Well, yo' take de shoe, de man's shoe, de right foot, an' yo' put some sulphur in it an' a piece of bluestone an' yo' burn it. Put it in de middle of de floor an' burn it, an' dat will give yo' luck in yore home. Draw the crowd.
(If you are selling liquor or something of that sort.)
Dat's right.
Entry 5006
Jis' lak a man's sock or sompin, when yuh wanta break 'em up or sompin, or yuh wanta run 'em away, yuh bury it. Yuh jis' take it, jis' lak it's yore ole man or sompin an' yuh wanta git rid of 'im. Yuh kin run 'im away wit 'is sock, or: if yuh wanted tuh keep 'im, yuh kin keep 'im wit chure sock. (How would you run him away with the sock?) Well, yuh take his sock an' yuh wrap 'is sock up in sulphur, lodestone an' bluestone, an' yuh bury dat sock an' yuh put three rusty nails aroun' dat sock an' two pegs, an' yuh'll soon git rid of'em.
(How do you put those two pegs?)
Take de sock an' yuh bury his sock wit dat stuff in it. An' yuh take two rusty nails an' yuh put two on each side of de sock - one on dis side an' one on dat side. P An' put one in de middle of it, an' yuh put de pegs behin' it [like this N N N ]. What are those pegs supposed to do?) Ah dunno. [They symbolize the headboard and footboard of a grave. The design is a cross mark on the grave. She has crossed him.]
Entry 12948
Into right shoe put salt, red pepper, bluestone and alum, and bury shoe heel out and toe to house. This makes wearer of shoe stay home. [Mobile 906:1.]
Entry 13162
Wash dirty socks an' in this water put bluestone, pepper, sulphur; throw over shoulder into running water and say, "Go," an' don't look back.
[Richmond 303:3.]
Entry 1085
[This rite and the next one, which are the same, come from Pinewood, South Carolina, original home of the persons telling.them. Although informants were interviewed separately, they probably knew each other. For another example of two persons with the same story, see Nos. 73-74, pp.30-31.] It wus a woman had a aunt who's hurt in 'er feet an' it broke out, an' dey git anothah man or woman - git a man I think it wus - to work on 'er. An' he take 10 ten-penny nail an' put it in a tin can, an' some brimstone an' some bluestone an' sulphah, an' buried it in de chimley feh nine mawnin'. An' ev'ry mawnin' he'd take dat can up an' rin' [rind = peel] de scuff [dead skin] offa it - you know, pick it offa dis wound - an' put it in dis can. [Then the can was replaced in the chimney until next morning.] Dey did dat fer nine mawnin'. Dat turn it back on someone who had it fixed like dat. Den dis woman commence gittin' bettah.
Entries from source headings
These entries are listed under the following headings in the source volume:
- Bluestone — Volume 1, entries 2423. Source context: THE DOCTORS AT WORK: REPORTS FROM LAYMEN → BUSINESS AND CUSTOMERS.
- BLUESTONE — Volume 3, entries 3701. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SEXUAL IMPOTENCE → CURES FOR SEXUAL IMPOTENCE.
- CHICKEN EGG - BLUESTONE; SWEET OIL = OLIVE OIL; 3 INGREDIENTS - RUB DOWN — Volume 3, entries 3710. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SEXUAL IMPOTENCE → CURES FOR SEXUAL IMPOTENCE.
- BLUESTONE AND URINE — Volume 3, entries 4009. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → URINE.
- NAME - WRITE 4 TIMES - WRAP UP IN FLANNEL WITH; BOW - BLUESTONE - BROWN SUGAR - AND NEAR ABOUT WAIST — Volume 3, entries 4621. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SWEAT → HAT - SWEATBAND - BOW → BOW FROM SWEATBAND OF HAT.
- (2) BOW - BLUESTONE - SUGAR: BURN IN LAMP 9 DAYS — Volume 3, entries 4678. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SWEAT → HAT - SWEATBAND - BOW → BOW FROM SWEATBAND OF HAT.
- 9 OLD SHOES - BURN 1 EACH MORNING; WITH 3 INGREDIENTS; BLUESTONE - LOVE POWDER - SUGAR — Volume 3, entries 5185. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SWEAT → SHOES.
- GRAVEYARD DIRT - 9 PEPPER SEEDS - SALT - BLUESTONE - ALUM; HIS TRACK GOING AWAY - PULL FROM YOU; YOUR TRACK PULL BACK TO YOU - MIX ALL - BURN — Volume 4, entries 5461. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SWEAT → FOOT TRACK.
- 3 HOLY NAMES - ALOES - ALUM - BLUESTONE - HIGH JOHN DE CONKAH; BURY IN RAG - UNDER DOORSTEP - TAKE UP - WEAR ABOUT BODY — Volume 4, entries 5686. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SWEAT → FOOT TRACK.
- DOGWOOD BARK - FROM EAST AND WEST SIDES - BLUESTONE — Volume 4, entries 6785. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- POKEBERRY - FISH BRINE - BLUESTONE — Volume 4, entries 6866. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- RED SHANK - BLUESTONE - ALUM: 3 INGREDIENTS; BOIL - MAGIC RITE OF DIMINISHING AMOUNT; 3 SWALLOWS 3 TIMES A DAY — Volume 4, entries 6902. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- SALT - SULPHUR - BLUESTONE - BURN — Volume 4, entries 6911. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- URINE - BLUESTONE - INTO TOILET - PULL CHAIN — Volume 4, entries 6973. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- GRAVEYARD DIRT - RED PEPPER OR BLACK - SALT - BLUESTONE; YO' DONE HOODOO DAT DOG — Volume 4, entries 7325. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → MURDER → HOW MURDERER CAN ESCAPE.
- 3 FINGERS OF DIRT - AS MUCH AS CAN BE PICKED UP WITH; THUMB AND INDEX AND MIDDLE FINGERS - AT 9:30 P. M. FROM; RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF WICKED PERSON'S GRAVE - ADD BLUESTONE; SPRINKLE AT FOUR CORNERS OF DOORSTEP - TO KILL EVIL — Volume 4, entries 7676. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → GRAVEYARD DIRT MUST BE BOUGHT FROM SPIRIT → AMOUNT OF GRAVEYARD DIRT TO USE.
- SALT - BLUESTONE - GRAVEYARD DIRT - BOTTLE — Volume 4, entries 7874. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → WHAT TO DO WITH GRAVEYARD DIRT.
- SALT - RED PEPPER - BLUESTONE - GRAVEYARD DIRT — Volume 4, entries 7883. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → WHAT TO DO WITH GRAVEYARD DIRT.
- NAME WRITTEN 3 TIMES - FOLD TO YOU; BURN WITH BLUESTONE AND SALTPETER — Volume 4, entries 8560. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY → NAME.
- (34) WRAPS 9 TIMES - WITH WHITE THREAD; A WOMAN DOES - AFTER WRITING HER NAME; HIS ACROSS - AND ADDING TO PACKAGE; SALT - SALTPETER - BLUESTONE - ALL; IN LAMP 9 DAYS - BRINGS HIM HOME — Volume 4, entries 8612. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY → NAME.
- SALT - BLUESTONE - NAME - TIE UP; RED DEVIL LYE OVER - SET AFIRE — Volume 4, entries 8701. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY → NAME.
- (4) 3 INGREDIENTS: BLUESTONE - INCENSE - NAME; 9 TIMES - IN BOTTLE UPSIDE DOWN UNDER; DOORSTEPS - PERSON LEAVES WITHIN 9 DAYS — Volume 4, entries 8734. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY → NAME.
- BLUESTONE AND RED PEPPER - RESEAL IN LETTER; RETURN TO SENDER - ON OPENING BECOMES BLIND — Volume 4, entries 8790. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY → LETTERS AND HANDWRITING.
- GRAVEYARD DIRT - BLUESTONE - PUT IN HIS LETTER; TO YOU - FOLD TIGHT - LAY IT ON CROSSPIECE OF; OUTSIDE TOILET - HE WON'T BE ABLE TO WRITE GIRLS — Volume 4, entries 8844. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY → LETTERS AND HANDWRITING.
- (17) ROSES OF 3 COLORS: RED - WHITE - PINK; BOIL - USE LIQUID IN YOUR BATHWATER; ALSO CARRY SOME IN SMALL BOTTLE WITH; HIGH JOHN DE CONKAH - ALOES - BLUESTONE; INCENSE - THEN INTO COURTHOUSE - SAY; 3 HIGHEST NAMES 9 TIMES - JUDGE EASY — Volume 4, entries 9089. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → COURT CASES.
- SALT - PEPPER - BLUESTONE - NEAR HOUSE - WISH — Volume 5, entries 9594. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → SALT AND ITS COMBINATIONS.
- SALT - RED PEPPER - BLACK PEPPER - BLUESTONE - IN SHOE — Volume 5, entries 9593. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → SALT AND ITS COMBINATIONS.
- SALT - RED PEPPER - BLUESTONE; THROW 3 TIMES OVER GATE; "BREAKS UP DE HOME" — Volume 5, entries 9595. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → SALT AND ITS COMBINATIONS.
- SALT - RED PEPPER - BLUESTONE - WEAR — Volume 5, entries 9592. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → SALT AND ITS COMBINATIONS.
- BLUESTONE - SALT - IN SHOE - TO WALK OVER CUNJURE — Volume 5, entries 9656. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → SALT AND ITS COMBINATIONS.
- SQUEEZE URINE FROM TOADFROG - ADD BLUESTONE - YOUR; URINE - PERSON DRINKING THESE 3 - SWELLS AND DIES — Volume 5, entries 9925. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → FROG AND TOADFROG.
- BLUESTONE AND SOMETHING YOU ATE ON; PUT WHERE YOU WALK UNDER - YOUR TEETH COME OUT — Volume 5, entries 10763. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- BLUESTONE DOES CERTAIN WORK ON CERTAIN DAYS; MIX WITH LARD - WISH FOR WORK - IN GOD'S NAME; POINT TO PLACE WHERE YOU WANT TO WORK — Volume 5, entries 10764. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- 2 OR 3 INCHES OUTSIDE FRONT STEPS - DIG HOLE - PUT; IN 4: JOHN DE CONKAH - URINE - SUGAR - BLUESTONE; FORCE FILE DOWN THROUGH THEM - KILLS ALL CONJURE — Volume 5, entries 11384. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- 4 CORNERS OF HOUSE - BURY AT - LIGHTNING-STRUCK WOOD; FIRST GREASE EACH PIECE WITH: BLUESTONE AND VASELINE; THIS IS TO KEEP AWAY POLICE AND UNWANTED VISITORS — Volume 5, entries 12314. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- 4 BOXES OF RED DEVIL LYE - 4 HOLES IN EACH BOX; ADD SALT - RED PEPPER - BLUESTONE - BURY BOXES AT; 4 CORNERS OF HOUSE - FIRST RAIN WILL KILL ALL EVIL — Volume 5, entries 12387. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- 9 DIMES - ALUM - BLUESTONE - RED FLANNEL BAG: GAMBLE — Volume 5, entries 13000. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".