Subject:Bone
Other forms: Bones
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Entry 87
I'il tell you this one, it's an actual fact. A family of people that had two boys, they were poor people it's true, and the city in which they lived you could sell most anything to the junk dealer - rags, bones, iron, tin, glass bottles and the silver paper in cigarette packages. This boy had a habit of picking up bones. Where he went to get his bones was an old burying-ground that had went down and he did not know it. Everybody thought that when they changed this burying-ground they removed all the bodies but it wasn't so. So one night this boy had been out collecting bones and he had it in a crocus bag - that's the same as a potato bag [gunny bag or sack] - and he wanted to hide them, so he put them under his mother's bed. Around about midnight his mother and father heard a moaning and groaning all over the house. They couldn't locate it. They came back in their room and it was still moaning. So they looked under the bed and there was this bag. They pulled it out and the father shook the bones out on the floor and they were still moaning. That's the way he recognized them as human bones. So he woke his son up and made him take those bones out that time of the night. The next morning he asked him where did he get them from. He showed him. He tole him from now on don't never bring a bone from here near the house for this used to be a burying-ground.
Entry 100
Dere wus a man in slavery time - he went, started to cross de woods. In slavery - mah cousin wus one de slaves, an' he come in de house an' he says, "Boss, ah see a head bone down heah in de woods an' dis head bone said, "Turn yore teeth towards de" - nuthin' dere but de head bone, all wus gone but de head bone. De head bone talked to dis colored fellah an' tole him when he passed - it wus layin' down on de ground as he passed - it say, "Tell [him] mah teeth called me out chere." Well, dat means - tell 'im [boss, overseer or master] de teeth caused de head bone tuh be out dere, yo' see.
(Caused the head bone to be out there?)
Dat's right - tuh be out dere. An' so he said, "Well, ah'm gon'a tell de boss, dat ah see a head bone out chere an' it say, "Mah teeth called me out chere." All right, he went on an' he says, "Boss,"' say, "ah see a head bone out yondah in de woods says, "Tell 'im mah teeth called me out chere." An' want chew tuh go out dere an' see." All right, [he] said, "John, if dat head bone don' say, "Tell 'im mah teeth called me out chere, ' ah'm gon'a kill yo'." "Yassuh, Boss, dat head bone will talk." All right. Den he went out wit de Boss - dis darky went on out in de woods where de head bone wus, an' dis Boss took de head bone teeth an' kicked de head bone an' de head bone wus silent. He says, "John, didn't ah tell yo' ef dat head bone didn't talk ah wus gon'a kill yo'?" He say, "Yassuh, Boss, hit gon'a talk good an' plenty." So he kicked de head bone an' de head bone didn't 'gin say nuthin'. Well, all right. Den he said, "Well, John, ah say ah wus gon'a kill yo' if dis head bone didn't talk." So de Boss turn roun' an' killed John. An' when he kill John, de head bone say, "So mah teeth called yo' out chere, too." So both of 'em wus dead. See, tellin' him his teeth called him out heah. [This device is frequent - the attribution of a well-known story or folktale to oneself or relative or acquaintance; here a cousin.]
Entry 256
If yo' wants tuh make a man love yo' or yo' wants tuh keep a man - jes' lak yo' got a runabout man wants to keep yo' an' yo' wants to git somepin to make yo' [him] do whut yo' wanta do. An' jes' lak he wants tuh go off an' have a date fo' supper-feed or anything lak dat an' have a good time an' nuthin' be behin', jes' yuh carry a bone 'long wit chew. Now, yo' kin take a black cat, real black cat, an' kill him an' carry him in de woods about twelve a'clock at night where nobody but jes' yoreself. An' yo' kin boil dat cat bone - boil de cat an' whenevah yo' boil it, all kinda diff'rent insex an' devils, rattlesnakes an' all diff'rent things will come to yo' whilst its boilin'. An' de first bone dat come tuh de top out de black cat - dat's de lucky bone. Well, yo' take that lucky bone an' carry it off. Have it fixed [dressed] in dis heah powder whut chew call love powder an' tote it in yore pocket all de time. Dat'll make everything 'bout whut yo' wanta do come yore way.
Entry 292
Git de black cat an' boil dis black cat and git five of dem little bones an' yo' crosses dem lak Joseph's ladder [surely Jacob's]. [He demonstrates.] (You take two parallel bones and two more parallel and you cross them like that?) [This sound like a ticktacktoe (or noughts-and-crosses) diagram.] Yes. (That's Joseph's ladder?) Yes. An' yo' cross 'em lak that an' yo' make yore wish - lak yo' want luck or make money or somepin, wish it on Joseph's ladder fo' nine times. [He holds up an imaginary ladder.] Dat called Joseph's ladder, say, "In God we trust - luck - luck - luck" - fo' nine times, with that black cat bones.
(What do you do with the fifth bone?)
Well, yo' takes hit an' yo' wears hit - yo' wears hit down in yore bosom, dat fifth bone. (When you are making these wishes, what do you do - you hold the bones up like that?) Yo' hold de bones up in de east an' yo' call Joseph's name - Joseph's ladder name nine times, den yo' wish fo' luck.
(How do those bones stay together that way?)
Well, dey takes a little fine wire - wire 'em togethah. Den yo' make a mattress, kinda lak dat, of 'em [demonstrates] - kinda take a little sawin' knife, so yo' kin file [something like this #].
(Make it like a [rustic] picture frame?)
Yes, kinda lak a little picture frame an' hold it up to de east an' make nine wishes.
(What part of the cat do you get these from?)
Yo' git 'em outa the hin' laigs. (Either hind leg?) [This sort of question is usually conversational - not investigative - and meaningless, see Introduction.] Yessuh, in de hin' laig - that part of the thigh, de small bone - git dem bones, de thigh bones.
[Two cylinders later the black cat bone reappears.]
(I have to go down before the judge - now, what do I do?)
"Fore yo' go yo' have dis heah wishbone - dis heah black cat wishbone.
(Where do you get that?)
Dat's de one ah wus tellin' yo' 'bout when yo' boil de cat an' git dat othah bone - yo' know, dere's five of 'em. Well, yo' only use but fo' of 'em, an' yo' keeps one an' yo' has it on a black cord around yore neck. Well, yo' takes it out an' when dey brings de - yo' settin' dere waitin' an' yo' make a wish nine times in de east - lookin' in de east an' make a wish. Den yo' take de lode- stone an' rub hit on dere an' make yore wish an' put it back in yore pocket. An' when yo' go out, go out with this heah lodestone in yore han', an' de judge will make yore fine light an' he liable tuh dismiss de case.
(What did you say about passing something over my teeth or lips?)
Ah said, nine times, take dat wishbone ovah yore face nine times lak dat - while yo' makin' yore wishes.
(You said you had to look a certain way when you do it?)
In de east, an' make yore wish.
Entry 325
A lady that lived in mah part de country, she was a wicked ole woman - she was as wicked as all out of door. An' dat [woman got] the cat in the family, they got a black cat in the house, an' there anyone in that family she don't like him - and you kin [take] that black cat - git the cat - sit you a hot boilin' pot of water on de fire - have it boiling - git that cat - throw him in that pot an' put de lid on him. Boil him until he boils all to pieces, until you kin git his flank-bone. An' the road that person travel - say fer in'ance [instance] there's one in the house name Mary, one name Jane, an' one name Tom - this goin' make me a parable [example] - an' dat [is] de road they travel - you take those bone an' bury 'em in that path an' the one that in de house tha' choo wanted to hurt - jes' says while you buryin' the bone that, "This is Tom" or "This is Mary" [or] "This is Jane" - an' soon as they walk over dere, why dey say it's too bad.
Entry 822
I'll tell you whut happened to me. Now, I wus goin' with a gurl an' I liked 'er. It wus mah firs' wife. An' there's anothah fellow [by the name of John] liked 'er - he lived over in Baltimore aftah while an' he died over there. He left home shortly aftahward [the present story] - he liked her. He [John] goes to - there is an ole sign tha' choo kin go to a grave wahr [where] there's a preacher bur-ried an' de's a certain bone in that preacher, if you kin get it - I don't know whut it is, but I think it's a rib bone, maybe a short rib; but, a certain bone you kin get out of that preacher - an' a certain amount of dirt joo kin get. That clay, you kin git it somewahr by the head or the foot of someone's [grave]. But anyhow, you kin git a little bit of that dirt an' you work this trick. An' you could have this woman so that she can't - she won't notice the other man, she won't notice nuthin but choo. So he [John] did this. Well, I had a friend goin' with me, a great whiskey man, drinked all de time, staggerin' around. So he told me, he said - the girl got so she didn't notice me, I couldn't do anything with 'er at all, befo' that she didn't like nobody but me - he says, "There's somepin wrong" - she wus a cousin to him, too - he says, "there's somepin wrong about Henrietta." "Oh," I says, "I don't think so - jis' a kin'a way she's got." "No, no, helll Joe, there's somepin wrong, an' I'm gon'a find out." So by an' by [several days later] he come back to me an' says, "Well, I found out whut I want." I says, "Whut?" He says, "I wus to John's house the other day," he say, "an' I see'd [seen de] clay on his pants - ole overalls he wus wearin' last week." So he says, "I seen these ole pants." He says, "I seen this clay. You know wahr that come from?" I says, "No." "My GodI' he says, "that come out d'ole [the old] man Brodick's grave" - this is d'ole preacher, ole man Brodick. He says, "This come out of his grave." He says, "That scoungrel [scoundrel] has got somepin out of Brodick's grave." An' the other fellah [who enters the story for the first time] happened to come up at that time an' he stopped, talkin' with us. Both wus her cousins. He says, "Now, if I ain't too interestin'," he say, "I guess I ain't interferin' wit you fellah's business?" "No, indeed, whut we talkin' about." So we kept right on talkin'. He savs to me - he stood there with his haid down, an' when he did speak - he says, "Well, well I spect [expect] that may be so." He says, "I don't know. I don't think John would do you that way. Anyhow, he might. Anyhow," he say, "if he did do that," he says, "I'm gon'a tell you somepin to do, an' you'll know how to stop it." I says, "You will?" He says, "Yes." I says, "Well, I don't know wurther I'll do it or not, '' I say, "I ain't gon'a harm 'im." I says, "He ain't got no more sense than do that to git de gurl, he'll have to take 'er. I'm not gon'a harm 'im." "Oh! No, no," he says, "i' tain't gon'a do 'im no harm [if] you do whut I tell you." So he told me whut to do - a very peculiar thing. Now, he told me to go wahr I could find wahr somebody had made a passage - some human being, you see, passed some dung. He says, "Now, you want it to be maybe about a week or so old, two or three days old anyhow. You don't want a new pile, you want a ole un," he said, "an' you mess yourself all up, git it all on your feet, so you kin smell youself. An' if you ever ketch him aside of that gurl," he says, "don't you h'yessitate" - he say, "you knowed de time he's with 'er - he say, "you git jis' full of it." He say, "Even if you git it on some of your clothes, it don' make no difference," he say, "you kin git it off - jis' so she kin smell it - an' he could smell it - an' you could smell it. You walk right up side of her an' don' choo stop until you follow her an' him both right to de doah," he say, "an' if he's done anything like that" [put a spell on you], he says, 'he'll nevah go thah no more.'"
(What would you do, carry this stuff with you?)
No, that same night dat I knowed she wus out an' he wus to go home with her, why, fer me to git ahaid of 'em somewahr, you see, an' mess mahself up; an' then, when they come by, fer me to be already to break out. I did it. An' man! I wus smellin' turrible dat night. I didn't even like mah ownself. That's right. I thought it wus awful to be that way. But, I got aside of her an' I aimed to make out to stay aside of her. And before I got - oh, yes, I didn't git much further from here to Mr. [So-and-so's] garage [which we could see through the hotel window] before she begin to talk with me. Now, I nevah could git her to answer me - if I was aside of her, she wouldn't say nothin' to me.
(The other man was there, too?)
He was there, too.
(Did you follow them to the door?)
Right to the door. I nevah left. Soon as I got aside of her I nevah left no more. We walked about a mile - she lived about a mile, an' I walked -
(Did they smell you?)
Oh! They couldn't help it, choo know. Man! I wus in a furiosity! I wus furious! I wus in a furious shape! So I went on until I got from here to that garage, she commenced to talkin' with me, an' she talked all the way along. Ever' now an' then she'd answer me anything I ast her, all de way to her door. Now, he begin to git dumb. He begin to git so he wouldn't talk, he wouldn't have much to say. But yet he walked along with us. He didn't have much to say. When she got to the door he jis' said goodby.
(Do you think the dung affected him?)
I don't know whut it done. I nevah did know whut had happened. All I know, I did that.
(How long ago would that be?)
I'm sixty [in 1936] an' I don't guess I wus much over eighteen years old.
(Did it happen around here?)
Right over at Whitehaven, there over in Wicomico County. I lived there, born over there. [Princess Anne, Md., (133), 35:2.] [The preceding story is true - not a funny story. Was it a practical joke? Were the girl's cousins trying to help or hinder the romance? Did informant's rival belong to the conspiracy? Whatever the purpose, the conspirators devised it in terms of ancient witchcraft - human excrement (also urine) is a powerful protection against or cure for evil intent (see FACI 2ed. p.905, Nos.16488-16489 and others).] [I have preserved the name of the man who told this story; he also the teller of another remarkable story: "133 - Joe Dorman began with snake whistling - head of people expression - told story of old Indian - told story of dung - his first wife, never told her" - Nunbers Book 83-134. Snake whistling story perhaps lost. Head of people = group or crowd of people. For story of Indian, Marcellus Gates, see margin-title Zippy Tull.]
Entry 1732
Wal, dey say it's something whut you could fix uP as a bodyguard, but chew fix it up in a bag. Take a piece of shamry skin, something like hide, like dis shamry skin gloves - you know jis' tough skin. Take that and git diff'rent kind of roots and bark. All right, you git de John de Conker root. You git de lodestone and git de devil's- shoestring root and de black cat wishing-bone, and den you take de John de Conker and a piece of dragon's blood and take all of that and mix it up fine - yo' know, beat it up, mostly powder enough to go in a bag. And den you take that and after you git all that fixed up good, git whut chew call dis here Seven-'leven Oil and put seven drops of that. And mix it up all together and put in dis bag and sew it up. See. And take it and put it - and git a piece of red flannen and sew dis bag up in dat red flannen and jes' put a string around it and tie it and wear it around yore waist or around yore neck and dere won't nothing bother yo'.
(That's to keep people from bothering you.)
That's pertection fo' you.
(Where do you buy this Seven-'leven Oil? Where do you get that?)
You supposed to could - de woman told me that she got some from New Orleans but whut part of New Orleans ah don't know. [All black cat bones are hands (see pp.74-97) and therefore they are also in a sense wishing-bones. But wishing-bone here means form as well as power. As to form, one informant said the black cat bone was "made lak de breast of a chicken" (No. 316, p.94), meaning the furculum or wishbone in front of but not a part of the chicken breastbone. Similarly, another informant described black cat bone as "gon'a have three forks [prongs or tines]...two long forks an' a little small fork" (No. 299, p.88). I suggested this three-pronged fork could have been a 'devil's trident." Actually the "little small fork could have been the hypo- cleidium - the end adhering to the winning half of the broken wishbone. Despite informants, wishbone appears only in most birds; it appears in black cats only by the grace of hoodoo merchants. Among other black cat products I should mention black cat oil (No. 1121, p.417), black cat powder (No. 326, p.96), and black cat water (Nos.328-329, p.96f.).]
Entry 3203
Ah heard dat yo' git a toadfrog an' yo'od, kill 'im, an' put some black peppah an' some salt on 'in, an' carry 1m to a red ants bed an' put 'im down in dat - lay him right down in dat bed - go know, dem big bed yo' know - lay him right down in dat bed an' let de ants eat 'im up all but de skin an' bones. Den yo' kin take dat sharp bone - yo' low, let 'im stay dere though fo' nine days - an' take dat sharp bone an' carry it an stick in yore wife's garment, her nightgown, can't nobody else mess wit 'er atall but chew. [Waycross, Ga., (1136), 1850:3.] 3203A. If he had a ole shirt, an' iron a frog - yo' know a ole frog - on de tail of it...he'll stay dere... [These 3 separated periods show that I stopped my recording machine twice. A later copy of an original comment explains Why: "THE WOMAN HAS BEEN HOPPING ABOUT LIKE A FROG [[demon- strating the rite]]. Iron him [[the man represented by his shirt]] as you do the frog and his nature will be killed."]
(IRON A FROG ON THE TAIL OF THIS OLD SHIRT OF THE MAN?)
YESSUH. [This woman is marked prof? (professional) and good, but SHE EVIDENTLY HOPPED ABOUT DURING THE WHOLE INTERVIEW. This sort of thing Was Wonderful when Words accompained actions, but in the present case she was pretending that my inter- viewing table was an ironing board. But with my recording machine, switch con- trol, notebook, and old black hat on the table, I preferred demonstration a little farther away.]
Entry 3814
Wal, dere wuz a gurl ah started correspondin' wit in a - an' she wuz a purtty nice gurl an' we got along purtty tuhgethah [at first]. Well, ah dunno, we jes' couldn't git 'long tuhgethah an' she - ah guess she felt dat she wuz losin' me, see. So, well she used to cook fo' me. Well ah would eat from 'er an' ah would eat from othahs. It didn't make much diff'rence. Ah nevah did pay much 'tenshun tuh how she cooked anything fo' me cuz ah didn't [think] she'd try tuh poison me or do anythin' tuh me. So she fixed me up some meals one day, an' it wuz 'long about de 20th - 'bout 'tween de 29th an' de lst - fixed mah meals fo' me. An' right aftah ah eat dat meal ah got sort of sick. Well ah came out it an' den - well, while ah wuz goin' roun' wit anothah frien' of mine, ah met anothah girl. An' well, she wanted me tuh come an' live wit 'er. So ah would go an' spend nights wit 'er. An' well, ah'd sleep in de same bed. An' it seemed dat evah time dat ah'd wanted tuh have intahco'se wit 'er, it seemed jis' lak ah couldn't git mah mine [mind]. Mah mine jis' seem to fall, jis' couldn't git mah mine set on havin' intahco'se wit 'er. So ah went to a doctor [M.D.] heah an' ast 'im whut could be de mattah. An' he said dere wasn't anythin' de mattah wit me - took a blood test an' all, an' say he couldn't fin' anythin' wrong wit me. So a frien', he heard about dese thin's [women do], so he ast me whut all had she been doin', an' ast me could ah have intahco'se wit 'er. Ah tole 'im suah [sure], anytime ah'd go home an' git in bed ah could easily have intahco'se wit 'er, but othahwise any strange woman ah couldn't. So he wuz astin' me had ah noticed any funny thin's about 'er. Ah tole 'im ah nevah notice anythin' funny about 'er. So he ast me what kin'a food had she been feedin' me. So ah tole him diff'ren' meals. Well one special food she wuz feedin' at least twice a week an' dat be tomatoes. So ah tole him about dat. So he ast me did ah notice anythin' funny 'bout de 'matoes de nex' time she fixed 'em. So ah paid 'tention when she wuz fixin' 'em, but ah nevah noticed anythin'. But ah noticed she strained de tomatoes. Ah didn't pay any 'tention at it becuz ah figured she knows whut she's doin'. So ah tole him about 'er strainin' de tomatoes. So he say, whut kin'a rag did she strain it through. Tole me ah shoulda paid 'tention. So he tole me tuh go ovah heah an' ast 'is brothah 'bout it. So ah ast 'is brothah an' tole his bro- thah what happened. So his brothah ast me de nex' time roun' about de firs' of de mon' tuh pay close 'tention tuh see whut she would do. So it went on lak dat fer about six mont's an' ah wus goin' - still goin' ovah heah tuh see dis othah [second] gurl, an' ah wus livin' on wit 'er. She wus try- in' tuh do evahthin' [about my impotence] she could fo' me. So ah went on an' paid 'tention closah tuh 'er [first girl], an' one day ah caught 'er in dere an' she wus strainin' de 'matoes through some of 'er undah- weah. So ah ast 'er whut wuz de cuz of dat. She said, nuthin, she jis' couldn't fine 'nothah rag tuh strain de tomatoes in lak dat dat wuz clean. Wal, ah seen stains in de undahweah, but ah didn't pay any 'tention tuh it. Ah figured de tomatoes put de stains in dere. So ah tole mah frien' about it an' he said, well, she's been usin' 'er reg'lah rag dat she had on, when 'er reg'lah mont'ly sickness come on, strainin' de tomatoes through it, an' dat's whut wus cuzin' [causing] me tuh feel lak ah did tuhwards 'er an' couldn't do anythin' tuh any othah woman. So he tole me to go see a fellah, a fellah used to be a herb doctor. He's daid now. He died a few years ago. Tole me to go ast 'im whut ah should do. So ah'd seen 'im an' he tole me tuh take - tole me tuh try git holt of a good- size jar of 'er urinate an' take dat, an' boil it an' put plenty a salt in it, an' drink it at least twict a day. So it happen ah got holt of some. One night when she wusn't payin' attention tuh me, she got up an' urinated in a basin [she] had dere, yo' know. So de nex' mawnin' she went outside [away from home] tuh go tuh de baker's [to work?]. So ah'd taken it an' ah boiled it, an' ah boiled it an' strained it lak he tole me. Fixed it jis' lak he tole me tuh fix it, put some salt, an' ah drank it twict a day. An' purtty soon ah begin tuh feel mah- self ag'in. So ah left 'er, an' den ah went tuh stay wit dis othah woman. An' ah stayed wit dis othah woman one night.... [Remainder of this [[cylinder]] cannot be transcribed because of defective reception.[[comment by transcriber]].] See, we [informant and second girl] had been usin' de same towel all de time. So ah didn't pay any 'tention tuh it an' well, de nex' mawnin' when she got through wit dat towel, she took it an' folded it up careful an' put it away in de drawah dat ah'd used. Well ah didn't pay any 'tention tuh it cuz ah wus young an' didn't figure a woman would try any kin'a tricks on a fellah. So ah looked to be gittin' sorta po' [poor] an' skinny. An' ah used tuh go roun' tuh dis othah gurl [first one] an' we wuz lak we wuz goin' go back tuhgethah ag'in.
(The first girl or the second girl, you mean?)
De firs' gurl. So de secon' gurl she kep' on arguin' wit me an' arguin'. We fight an' fuss, back an' fo't' [forth] all de time. So ah went on - kep' on bothahin' dis secon' gurl. So one night ah went ovah an' stayed all night wit 'er, but still an' yet, when ah went to do somepin wit 'er, ah'd have dat strong feelin' until ah'd git right in bed wit 'er, an' den when ah git in bed wit 'er, seemed lak all hopes would drop an' ah jis' couldn't do anythin'. Ah'd Jis' lose mah nerve all de way roun'. So ah'd kep' on goin' lak dat an' she tole mah frien', mah close frien', dat she wuz livin' at 'is mothah. [Informant's first girl was rooming with the mother of the male friend who advised him to see a herb doctor.] She tole him about it. So he ast me [at the place where both worked - see later] whut wuz happ'nin' tuh me. Ah looked to be gittin' lak ah wanted to die [or] sompin. So ah tole him ah didn't know. Ah jis' seem to be gittin po'ah [poorer] an' po'ah an' mah healt' jis' wouldn't seem tuh build up atall. Ah'd eat de right thin's an' all. So he ast me wuz ah eatin' from home. An' ah tole 'im no, ah didn't eat from home cuz ah nevah had time, as mah wife, she didn't fix anythin' fo' me. So he ast me wuz dis othah gurl an' me on bad terms. Ah tole him yeah. Well, we wuz, 'cuz ah wuz about tuh quit 'er. (This was the second girl you were about to quit. The first one was your wife?) Yes, de firs' one wuz mah wife. So - an' ah wuz about tuh go back tuh mah wife, see. Aftah a while he ast me did ah know some man to cure me by. Ah tole him no. So one day he wuz up tuh de house an' we wuz jis' aftah takin' a showah. It wuz real hot [shower or day?], so ah gave him some towels. Ah didn't pay much 'tention tuh it, a towel wit a hem in it, an' ah happened tuh han' 'im a towel dat she had took dat night. An' he noticed dat right outa de centah, a hole wuz cut outa it. An' so he ast me how did dat happen. Ah tole him ah didn't know. So he begin tuh think. He's experienced on it 'cuz he wuz lots oldah dan ah wuz an' dat's one thin' [tricks of women] dat he always believe. Ah called 'im smart. Ah figured he wuz tryin' tuh be smart. Well, anyhow he really did know a lot of thin's. So he tole me de nex' time dat ah noticed, whethah she wuz un- dressin' or not, tuh notice whethah she had anythin' tied aroun' 'er neck or vais' or laig or anythin', an' if she did, tuh come an' tell 'im. Well, ah stayed wit 'er dat night, ah wouldn't stay out dat night. Ah stayed wit 'er dat night an' ah noticed dat when she got in bed, she had a little black bag tied right down in de centah of 'er stomach. So ah ast 'er what it wuz. An' she said dat [was] to keep 'er from havin' pains in 'er stomach. So ah tole mah frien' de nex' day when ah went tuh work. An' he tole me, he sayed dat he believe dat [in the] bag she had wuz a piece of dat towel out [without] de bag. [He now explains this confusion.] Said a woman could take a piece of towel dat a man would wipe on, an' could take it an' put some kinda black-cat-bone dust [see BLACk CAT POWDER, p.526], from a young black cat wit dat piece of towel in a sack, an' hang it in front of 'er an' de man nevah could leave her, no mattah where he go he'd always have tuh come back tuh 'er, an' dat he nevah could have anythin' tuh do t no othah woman but 'er. So ah jis' laughed at 'im. An' ah thought he wuz jokin'. An' ah went on tuh dis othah girl de nex' night an' went tuh 'er house. Well, ah wuz feelin' good an' ah felt lak ah wanted tuh have intahco'se wit 'er. An' so we got in bed all undressed. Well ah had high hopes until de minute ah got in bed wit 'er an' den evahthin' flopped. An' ah laid in bed fer half de night an' still an' yet ah couldn't git up nerve enough tuh have anythin' tuh do wit 'er. So ah tole him about it de next day. So he tole me tuh go back an' see could ah have anythin' tahdo wit mah wife. So ah went back dat day at dinnah time [noon]. Mah wife got off dat day at dinnah time an' I went ovah dere. An' she wuz home in bed, so ah got sweet wit 'er an' got in bed along wit 'er. Well, when ah went tuh have intahco'se wit 'er she took dis here bag from aroun' 'er wais'. Well ah got in bed an' ah jis' had high hopes an' ah jis' carried thin's right on through. Well, ah come back an' tole 'im about it, an' he tole me dat dat whole thin' wuz de trouble. Said where she had dat bag aroun' 'er wais' an' said fer me to git dat. So his bro- thah wuz de same way [impotent by trickery], but 'is brothah didn't believe in dis othah one. Some of 'em don't like dat [drinking the woman's urine]. [A bad spot in the cylinder follows. The next bracket contains my pencil notes made while checking original cylinder against transcription.] [Bad recording from here. [[Substance of informant's words follows.l] So ah went home. Ah ast 'er whut wuz dat bag. She said it was none of my business. So [[ah tried to take it.]]. Well she got mad an' said if I take it she'd kill me...didn't pay any 'tention tuh 'er...aftah awhile I was goin' wit anothah woman.] [To take a woman's hand, called a nation sack in the New Orleans area up to Memphis, can be a dangerous venture - see p.1449f.] So dat night ah come home jis' lak ah goin' stay dere. An' she got undressed, ah grabbed 'er an' got de string an' ah snatched it. When ah snatched it ah took an' run into de kitchen wit [it] an' put it in de stove an' burn it up. De min- ute ah did dat, it seem lak she jis' seemed to have lak a reg'lah fit. She jis' started runnin' all ovah, got real... [Here is a typical reaction - other than outright death - to the destruction of a witch's power. Yes, this woman is technically a witch, she having caught the man's spirit. There are many ways given in HOODOO to break a witch's spell; See also FACI, 2nd ed., Pp.790-920; and for burning the object she uses, Pp.882- 886. DE DOCTORS COME AN' DEY COULDN'T DO NUTHIN FO' HER. DEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WUZ DE MATTAH WIT 'ER. She continued to keep on fer about six mont's an' aftah dat she seemed gradually to come back tuh 'erself... [small remainder of recording bad].
Entry 6494
Dat would make yo' painful. Yo' scrape dat off de bottom of a person's feet an' den put it in a glass - in a drinkin' glass. Jis' put it in a drinkin' glass an' put 17 drops of kerosene on it. Put 17 drops of kerosene on it, a pinch of sulphuh - jis' lak yo' put a pinch up lak dat, of sulphuh. An' git some borax - take a level teaspoonful of borax an' put in dere. An' jis' let it set up.
(Where?)
Jis' let it set somewhere in a dark place lak up in de loft of de house or in a closet where nobody nevah visit at. An' it will dry out de marrah in 'is arms.
Entry 6528
Yo' kin take any kinda animal bone an' grind it up. (Is there any way of getting these out of your system after you get them into you?) Sho', yo' kin take some - jis' say fo' instance yo'd have a pan an' let it rust, an' yo' kin take an' scrape de rust offa it, undahstan', an' git chew some watah an' put it in dere, an' jis' use dis [rust] watah an' dat'll cut 'em all up. [This of course is the old iron or steel remedy against witchcraft.]
Entry 6619
Yo' kin take a - take a rattlesnake - yo' kin take anythin' dat wandahs in de woods snakelike - yo' take 'im an' yo' cut 'is haid off. Well, yo' put dat snake up an' let 'im be dried by de sun. Yo' take dem snake bones an' beat 'em up tuh apowdah, an' yo' put jis' a little bit of dat whiskey - alcohol, anythin' - an' yo' kin set dat bottle up, if yo' wan'a do it. Yo' set it up dere an' if yo' don' happen tuh give it tuh 'em dat day, or dat night, den mawnin' when yo' git up de snakes will be in it [bottle] - little snakes. [Snakes in the bottle next morning proves that snakes would have been in a victim, had you given the snake blood to him the day or night before.]
Entry 6620
Yo' git a snake bone an' take de shoes - yo' git de snake bone an' yo' take a person's shoe an' take dat li'le leathah piece outa it whut's in dere. An' yo' take dat li'le bone an' dry it up - yo' know, kinda make li'le powdah of it. An' yo' take de othah part, de tip-end of it, dat sharp part, an' put it down intuh de shoe an' place dat li'le cloth back ovah it. Yo' take dat powdahs an' sprinkle dat all roun' in dere. If it's yore shoe, if ah wanta kill yo' or put sompin in yo', put snakes in yo' where dey won' come out. Well, yo' see when yo' put dat shoe on, yo' goin' press yore weight ag'inst it; an' when yo' does, see, it pops up intuh yo', intuh yore heel. Well, yo' see, dat poison jis' goes right straight on up in yo'. An' aftah dat poison git up intuh yo', in about de ninth day it begin tuh make li'le snakes in yo'. It begin tuh make li'le snakes in yo'. Well, if yo' wanta git dose snakes outa yo', yo' git chew some sulphuh an' green peppah, black peppah an' mix it all tuhgethah. An' den yo' git chew dis milk of magnesia an' den yo' put dat in wit it an' mix it tuhgethah, an' jis' nine drops of spirits of turpentine. Yo' mix it all up tuhgethah an' yo' take dat fo' about eight days an' it will kill dose snakes. An' yo' go tuh de woods an' dere's one li'le sprig of stuff dat dey call dat Copras it bears one of de straight leaves an' de li'le j'ints [joints]. Dey got about four li'le white j'ints run up tuhgethah. [Does informant mean copperas, and does he think it is a plant?] Yo' take dat an' weah dat intuh yore clothes, an' dey say dat will really, surely run de snakes outa yo'. Put it all tuhgethah an' it will run dose snakes out of yo'. (You just wear this root though, you don't take either of those things - just wear it?) Yes.
(And that snakebone, can you get that any place about the snake?)
Yes, yo' kin git it from de snake, jis' any part of 'is body, jis' so it has dat li'le sharp end kind lak a pin.
Entry 7211
A gamblin' han' [the best] dat yo' evah had, if yo' wan'a gamblin' han'. Well, yo' might go intuh a graveyard where dere somebody dat yo' know well, an' dey been buried fo' several days or several yeahs, yo' might say. Yo' take dere fingah dey call a dog fingah. (Which is the dog finger? Point it out to me. Which is the dog finger?) Here 'tis, right cheah [here]. (Well, which hand?) On de right han' [demonstrates]. (All right, I see the index fin- ger of the right hand.) Dat will be de right han' dere. Dat is de third fingah from de front. (The middle finger, then, on the right hand?) Dat is de thing. (All right, the middle finger.) All right. Den yo' take dat fin- gah an' clean de bone in milk - git de li'le bone out, but yo' gotta do all dat work at twelve o'clock at night. An' yo' find yo'self dere when yo' boilin' dat. WHILE BOILIN' DAT BONE DERE, YO'LL FIND YO'SELF FEEL FEAHIN' [FEARING]. WHUT AH MEAN BY MIS[TERIOUS? OR MIS- ERABLE?] YO'LL FEEL YO'SELF - YO'LL FEEL WARM. AH DON' CARE HOW COLD YO' BE. YO' KIN DO IT IN DE MIDDLE OF DE STREET, OR IN DE MIDDLE OF DE BANQUETTE [=SIDE- WALK IN NEW ORLEANS, LA.] OR IN DE YARD DERE; AN' IF IT BE COLD AS ICE, BUT YO'LL FIND A GREAT HEAT RIGHT AROUN' YO', BECUZ WE HAVE WHUT CHEW CALL THREE WITCHES DAT RUNNIN' IN DE AIR DERE. AN' IF YO' DEALIN' WIT DEM, WHY DEN IT COMES HEAT. DEY'LL BRING HELL FLAMES TUH DERESELF AN' TUH YO'. Yo' are dealin' wit dem.
(Oh, I see, you're dealing with three witches. Oh, all right.)
An' quite natchel, if ah'm dealin' wit chew, yo' have a right tuh go ovah dere an' see aftah me [see what I am doing]. An' yo' are wit me.
(I see.)
Now, maybe all three of 'em come tuhgethah. An' TUH GIT DEM [WITCHES], YO' GOTTA SET A SUPPAH, A DINNAH. YO' HAVE TUH MAKE A DINNAH, AN' DE DINNAH WHICH DEY EAT'LL BE A TURTLE HEART.
(A turtle heart.)
An' one thing again would be cel'ry whut chew eat aroun' - make salad.
(Celery?)
Yo'd git cel'ry. An' we have one thing, which de nex' would be, three grass- hoppahs. Yo'd have tuh put dose things in yuh mouth, dat is, tuh make de suppah; cuz yo' couldn't make de dinnah if yo' wouldn't do dat. An' in othah words, yo' hardly kin make de dinnah in de wintahtime. Yo' have tuh make it in de sumah, becuz we haven't much grasshoppahs who run in de wintah. Yo' undahstand?
(I understand.)
An' aftah dis suppah is made an' is started, yo' would fin' dem. Yo' would take a glass [mirror], but yo' - dat glass have tuh be bran' new, dat nobody nevah look intuh it.
(A looking-glass?)
Yes, sir. An' yo' could see dem lookin' intuh dere aftah yo' begin tuh eat. Yo' kin see three people but chew couldn't recognize yo'self, but chew dere. But chew cain't recognize yo'self, but chew see three people; but chew dere, but chew don't see yo'self. Yo' wouldn't count yo'self 'cuz yo' cain't see yo'self. But chew see three people dere, but one of dem dere is yo'. Den yo' see upset one person, den dat'll be de dragon. He look very proud, very nice-lookin' fel- lah, standin' right dere but den he's a destroying angel. Dat's de truth ah'm tellin' yo'. Den, aftah dat yo' won't see nuthin dere. Evahthin' disappeah from dis glass. Den yo' able den fo' tuh go on an' do anythin' whut chew wanta do. (I see. They'll call the witches. After that you use your power to do these things.) Why certainly.
(Well, what about using that bone? What do you do with that bone, now?)
Well, whichevah bone dat dey call de middle bone. Many people, if dey know whut de bone is, dey kin find ft, dat is, in de black cat, wit'out goin' tuh work an' takin' it an' usin' dem all; but some people by not knowin', dey'll have tuh use all of dem until dey git tuh de right one. But, de sense, if yo' know whut de right bone is, yo' kin go right tuh it an' git it. Maybe yo' might miss one, but yo'll git de nex' one an' dat'll be it. Undahstand? An' dat bone carries three fo'ks [forks]. Dat is, three j'ints tuh it. Whut ah mean by three j'ints, three rows, an' yo'll find between de edges of de bone, yo'll find three crosses. Dat's supposed tuh be main powah. An' yo' fin' dat dey use dat in more Mason lodge and Odd Fellahs, lotsa people do, tuh do dere work. [New Orleans, La., (861), 1374:7 to 1375:4.]
Entry 7368
De person dat dey had an idea dat kilt 'im, aw he could be dead fo' so long, an' [dey] said dat he could go an' tetch dis person, even if it was nuthin but jes' de bone, an' hit Would bleed. [Even after 15 or 20 years the bone of a murdered man will bleed - see No.110, p.40.]
Entry 7414
I say dey done takes dat bone, a dead person's bone, an' den dey pow- dahs dat up, makes a dust out of it. An' den dey gits de watah dat yo' bathe 'em in an' dis graveyard dirt an' dis cayenne [pepper], all be togethah, an' mixes dat up an' dust dat on 'em, dust where he sit down at. (The water they bathe in. Which water? The fellow who is doing it? Or the one against whom he is doing it?) Yes, sir, de one dat's doin' de work. Gits dat dead person's watah, bath watah, see what dey bathe him in, an' mixes all dat together an' dust it, yo' know anywhere he sit down at, or anywhere he walk at, or yore room or yore bed, eithah one.
(What will that do?)
Dat will kill yo'. Sure it will ruin yo'.
Entry 7776
Once ah wuz goin' wit anothah woman - me an' anothah fellah wuz goin' yit de same girl an' we didn't know anything about it. An' she tole anothah girl dat me an' 'im, dat we wuz both ma'ied [married] an' she wuz goin' kill both of us befo' three days. Well, we went on back an' wuzn't pay- in' any 'tenshun an' she fixed a pint of whiskey up an' sont [sent] fo' me a' 'im tuh come an' git some of it. So den de fellah come on an' got de whiskey a' tried tuh git me tuh go an' ah didn't care tuh go. An' he went an' got an caken a drink of de whiskey. He taken sick an' he lived three days aftah dat. An' she tole 'im, when she got through wit 'im, she taken some of 'is hair out from off de left side of 'is haid an' put it in some whiskey an' got some grave- Yard dirt an' went to a place where dere wuz a dead snake, an' got some of 'is womes an' grin' hit up real fine an' put it in de whiskey. An' he drinken [drank] dat an' he died in three days.
Entry 8019
Take de bone of a wicked person an' puttin' it in a secret place in dere house an' it will cuz confusion. (How would it cause confusion?) De spirit will wisit dat house. (The spirit comes to the house.) It wisit dat house an' nobody nevah be able tuh live in dat house.
Entry 8020
Dey say if yo' take, fo' example, yo' take a daid person's bone an' bury it undah some person's premises, dat chew do not tuh thrive, an' dey'll jis' die away. Dey can't thrive. Dey git weak an' can't wage anything dere an' event'ly [eventually] go down.
Entry 8024
Says yo' take lak dere's a grave rotten down or sompin othah lak dat, if yo' happen tuh go an' git dat bone, anything, yo' kin dress dat bone wit what- evah yo' wanta dress it wit, an' yo' kin use it, if it's [worn] undah yore arm or anything, yo' kin dress it, an' dey say dat's good tuh kill luck [of other gam- blers].
Entry 8025
A dead person bone, a small dead per- son bone [a small bone from a dead person], an' dey put it in a bag an' a couple of red beans an' steel dust, an' dey tie it up an' give it tuh yo' or sew it up. Dat's fo' luck.
Entry 8026
Ah hear dem say dey goes tuh de graveyard an' git - dig down dere an' git de lucky bone. Take it out an' bring it home an' dress it. Well, dey use Heart Cologne on it [for a dressing].
(How do they use the Hearts Cologne on it?)
Well, DEY WILL TEST IT OUT WIT DIS COLOGNE. DEY WILL PUT IT OUT AN' LET IT DRY. IF DEY TALK TUH IT AN' IT MOVES, IT BE'S DE LUCKY BONE. (Well, would they go out to the graveyard? They dig into a grave and get some kind of a bone?) Yes, sir.
(Just any kind of a bone?)
Yes sir, any kina bone.
(They grab anything and run home?)
Yes, sir. (And test it out. And if it isn't the right bone, they go back for another bone?) Dat's right, go back fo' 'nothah one if dat ain't de right one.
Entry 8027
Well, yo' kin take a dead person's bone, if yo' kin git one; an' if yo' got warts on yore han', yo'picks dis bone up an' dat'll take de warts off. But yo' puts dis bone back down, don't carry it off no place.
(But it must be the bone of a dead person?)
Dat's right.
Entry 8028
Yo' kin use dat bone [dead person's bone] in dis way. If a person is very, very, very evil, yo' take dat bone...yo' could take dat bone wit chew home [from the cemetery]. Yo' put it an' bury it undah dere back steps unbe- knownst tuh 'em fer nine nights an' nine days. Yo' take it up de tenth day an' take it back tuh de ceme- tery. It'll worry dem tuh de grave.
Entry 8032
Git chew some Heart Cologne, git chew some black gunpowdah. Go tuh de graveyard an' go down dere as fer as yo' kin reach. If yo' kin reach de casket an' git a bone - jis' any bone yo' git - take it, specially a ole graveyard where de bones is awfully rotten. Git it an' make a dust [of it]. Jis' git bone enough tuh make a dust out of it. Make it kinda in a powdah. Go dere - [I mean] go back home an' put it in a flannel [cloth] an' weah it undah yuh left arm. Git chew a piece of blacksnake root dey calls it, git hit an' put it in yuh mouth. Chew it up. Aftah six days yo' dere, go tuh dis place where yo' wanta git dis job an' git tuh talkin' tuh dis fellah, an' evah now an' den yo' spit. An' he might herd joo off de firs' time, but de second time yo' go back dere an' yo' git a job.
(You wear this stuff under your arm?)
Yo' weahs it fo' six days, goes down tuh de office an' carries it on. Nevah take it off until nine days aftah yo' git chure job. (Don't take this away until you have been on the job for nine days. And then you don't have to wear it any more.)
Entry 8033
Go tuh a graveyard where a man died, [I mean] if he died a gamblah, an' git dat bone [one of his bones] an' put dat bone - pound it up well, yo' see, an' put dat same ordah [amount] of con- trollin' powdah in dat, an' put dat cinnamon in dere wit sugah [these 3 substances dress the bone]. An' if he goes in any game, an' if anybody's playin' [chances] lak in a church or anythin', [or] he ask 'em fo' anythin', he controllin' 'em, see - he git it wit a smile, see. An' he kin be a man dat do not [harm?] tuh anybody, see.
Entry 8034
A bone from a daid pusson depends whut chew wanta use it fo'. N Now, yo' kin use a bone from a dead pusson fo' two diff'ren' thin's. Yo' kin use it - well, say three: yo' kin use it fo' gamblin', yo' kin use it fo' tuh hahm [harm] somebody or somepin of dat sort. (How do you use it for gambling?) Well, now, yo' take a bone. If yo' kin git de bone an' yo' can't beat it, if it's too hard fo' yo' tuh beat, yo' take dat bone an' yo' git chew a file an' yo' file dat bone. An' as yo' file dat bone, yo' file it intuh somepin, a clean piece of white papah where yo' kin git all dat dust yo' file [from] dat bone. When yo' git all de dust yo' want tuh, offa dis bone, yo' git chew a silvah dime an' yo' cut fo' holes - not holes, but ah mean marks in de dime, jis' lak whut is aroun' dis ole piece of ring ah got heah [shows it and demonstrates]. Yo' cut a hole dere, one dere, an' one dere, an' one dere - yo' cut fo' holes.
(Sort of a notch, like you cut a piece of pie.)
Yes, sir, a notch.
(Cut a little piece off of it.)
Yes, yo' cut fo' lak dat in dat dime an' put dat dime in dere wit dat powdah. Yo' git chew some steel dust, see. Yo' git de steel dust an' dis dime an' yo' put 'em in, an' yo' git chew three needles. Yo' take dem three needles an' yo' put 'em on a piece of flannel - red flannel. But chew put one lak dis an' one dataway. Yo' cross 'em. An' yo' put de othah one 'way up above it dataway in dis position. See? Now, yo' wrap dis needle up here, yo' wrap it ovah dis way firs'. (Now, Wait a minute. You have these two needles crossed like that [I demon- strate], and then you put one above it like that?) Yes, sir. (One - this top one is just like you're making a "T" out of it. One, this top one is up above the "x" [the two crossed needles] there.)
[These 3 needles are now folded 9 times in a complicated rite:]
One's above de othah, yo' see. Well, dat's de one yo' fold, yo' see. Yo' fole dis othah one - when yo' fole dis othah one, yo' see, it'll fole right from dere tuh dere. Yo' kin covah dese othah two needles, yo' see. Now, when yo' fole dis way, dat one fold. See, when yo' fole ovah disaway ag'in, dat two folds. Yo' foles disaway, dat's three foles. An' disaway, dat's fo' foles. Now, yo' got fo' foles dataway. Now aftah yo' fole 'em dataway, yo' take an' yo' fole it ag'in. Dat's five. An' yo' fole disaway. Dat's six. An' fole dataway. Dat's seven. An' fole disaway. Dat's eight. See? An' yuh last fole, de ninth fole, it'll be about dat big. Dat's yuh las' fold. An' yo' fole jis' lak dat. Dat be yuh las fole an' it's goin' tuh be jis' - not a bit biggah dan what de needles, de length of de needles are. See, when yo' git through foldin' dat, dat'll be de length of de needles. Yo' put dat in yuh pocket, or yuh pocketbook rathah. An' now yo' got dat in yuh pocketbook, be sure dat chew got anothah small piece of coin dat chew kin put wit dat besides dat silvah dime yo' already have. Now, if yo' got anothah silvah dime, yo' put dat in de pocketbook wit dis othah stuff dat yo' jis' finished. Yo' put dat wit dat. Now, dat steel dust an' dose two silvah dimes, an' dose needles is tuh draw money, see. Yo' kin go an' shoot dice, play cards, anythin' yo' want. Yo' needn't tuh worry. Yo' might a-go dere an' lose de firs' dollah yo' have, yo' might even lose de firs' fifteen or twenty dollahs. Don't worry about dat. Yo'll make dat back in de nex' two plays yo' make. Yo'll make double of dat, yo'll make triple of dat. Dat steel dust an' dem dimes an' de needle is done draw yuh money tuh yo'. See.
Entry 8035
Yo' pound it up.
(What do you get?)
Yo' git a bone, any bone yo' git.
(A dead person's bone?)
Yeah. Yo' jis' pound it up. Yo' kin make a powdah. Yo' kin take one bone dat long an' make a thousan' dollahs wuth [worth] of powdah, becuz it don't take but jis' so yo' got one grain of dat bone. De person dat yo' give dat tuh will die wit de same disease dat he [bone owner] died wit. An' soon as he take it he got dat disease.
(How would you give it to them?)
Well, yo'd have tuh give it tuh 'em in somepin, yeah. If it's any way - de bes' way yo' could, if yo' wus goin' to do dat, if yo' could git tuh any of dere eats, or yo' could git tuh any of 'is coffee, or a drink of likkah or anythin'. Jis' de bes' way tuh yore advantage. But jis' as soon as he take dat he'd have de same disease dat de person dat's daid. [Brunswick, Ga., (1189, small-time doctor, has 6 & 7 Books of Moses), 2008:3.] [A few bones-from-the-dead rites were given on pages 543-545, as well as scat- tered throughout the text. Let us begin with a rite that could have been indexed under graveyard and graveyard dirt margin titles on pp.3248-3254:]
Entry 8036
An' if someone die an' yo' know 'em good, jis', yo' know, fresh buried, an' yo' git in trouble, yo' go by an' cut off dey left fingah an' put it in yuh pocket an' dey nevah will ket' chew [catch you].
Entry 8047
Yo' kin [take] a person's bone outa his laig, a li'le small one of 'is bones. Take a strand of 'is hair, live person's hair, whoevah yo' want, an' wrap it aroun' dat bone. An' yo' take dat bone, if yo' don' want tuh bury it, yo' kin put it in a close [or dark] corner wit de hair aroun' it, yo' know, an' whutevah yo' wish fo' - if yo' wish dose person tuh die or whutevah yo' wish fo', den at [after] de six week dat wish will come true. Wit de hair Wrapped aroun' dat bone, becuz if yo' wrap dat hair roun' de bone, it won't be long fo' dat DEAD BONE WILL TURN DAT STRAN' OF HAIR WHITE. Yo' kin notice it. It will turn dat stran' of hair white.
Entry 8048
Yo' know what dat candle's fo'? (No.) Dat candle's fo' gamblin' purposes. (Well, how would you prepare any- thing of that sort?) Bell, if yo' kin git de bone of a dead person - de bes' thing dat yo' kin use from a dead person, if yo' kin git dat bridge of de nose, what's in a person here. If yo' would put it in... [I interrupt.]
(You mean the bridge of the nose?)
Yes, dat bridge in de nose. If yo' kin git dat an' take dat an' put it in, go tuh an' make a novena[!] ovah dat, an' burn two candles. (Well, after you get that bridge of the nose, where do you make that novena? In your home or in the church?) In yuh home.
(In your home. Then what do you do?)
Den yo' set two candles tuh burn.
(You mean two candles before, or near it, or what?)
Two candles ovah it - undah whatevah yo' got de candles in burnin', have it. Have whatevah yo' got de candles in big enough so dat de wax from de candle will rum right down in dat containah what it's settin' in. An' have dis bridge of de Dose undah dat containah. Yo' undahstan'? An' let dose two candles burn out ovah dat.
(What sort of candles do you use in a case of that sort?)
Yo' kin use two white candles.
(I see. All right, go ahead.)
An' yo' wrap dat bridge of de nose of dat person wit one piece of garlic. Divide it an' tie it aroun' de bridge of dat nose, an' sew it in red flannel. An' let dat person keep dat piece of - dat in dat pocket, an' when dey go tuh a gamblin' house, or any place tuh gamble, rub dat ovah dere hands an' den rub dere hands ovah dere face, an' put it back in dere pocket. An' dat's all dey've got mah do wit it.
(That's a gambling hand?)
It's a gamblin' hand.
(I see.)
Entry 8050
(Did you say they could kill you with graveyard dirt?)
Yes, not with graveyard dirt eithah. When yo' spoke of it, ah remembah now about puttin' things in peoples. Yo' kin take powdah from a graveyard - yo' know, aftah a pusson been daid so long. Well, say if yo' wanta put a daid man's bone... Have yo' heah of peoples puttin' daid man's bone in peoples?) (No.) Now yo' take a pusson dat's been daid. Now, firs' yo' kin take de haid or skull, a man's skull, aftah he's been daid fo' yeahs. Yo' kin got [go] out some place an' find a skull. Scrape de skull off, jis' scrape an' scrape until yo' git a powdah. Yo' know as yo' scrape, an' it's ole, yo' gonna git a powdah off of it. Well, yo' kin take dat powdah, or a woman or man kin do it. If yo' wanta put it in a woman, yo' [a man] kin do it; if a woman wanta put it in a man, she kin do it. All right, chew take dat powdah an' yo' mix it up [in] bread or in tea or in coffee, jis' where it won't show. Mix it up good wit sugah, where it won't show. An' let 'em drink dat. An' when it gits down intuh 'em, dat stays moriced [moist] see, an' dat bone will jis' fertilize. Dat dust will fertilize intuh a bone. Dat bone will clog right up tuh here [demonstrates].
(Right up through his breast.)
Right up through 'is breast, an' if yo' don't fin' some way tuh git it out of 'em, it will kill 'em. Evah time he breathe yo' kin jis' see dat bone jis' up in 'is breast. Yo' see dat bone by bein' moriced [moist] in yuh stomic, well dat cuzes dat powdah tuh fertilize intuh a bone, an' dat keeps dat bone in here.
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 8053
Well, ah've toted mahself in cologne fo' luck, a woman bones. Her small toe bones an' den her fingah bones, dese heah two fingahs heah [points].
(The two middle fingers?)
Dat's right.
(What did you tote that for, what kind of luck?)
Luck in gamblin' an' luck fo' sellin' whiskey.
Entry 8054
Well, yo' take a bone, say dis wrist bone here [demonstrates].
(The left wrist.)
Yeah. Yo' take de left wrist. If it's a evil person, say like some fellahs ah might recite yuh [or their] name fast: "George Bohall," "Up-jump, de Devil" [etc.]. All dose fellahs had police records, bad. Dey got kilt, dey died bad. Dey had tuh hold 'em down. Well, yo' take his bone an' yo' would bring it ovah tuh de house, an' yo' have what yo' call de dead pot.
(Dead what?)
Have a little pot about dat high, what de women use fo' po'in' [pouring] on.
(For what?)
Fo' po'in' on, tuh keep dere comb warm when dey are straight'en' [straight- ening] women's hair. Well, dey got a small little pot lak dat. It's a little stove, yo' know.
(Yes.)
Well, yo' take dat bone from dat evil spirit [the spirit of the bad man killed] an' yo' take it dere, an' yo' git some good whiskey. Yo' know, an' if he died a drunk. Dose are people dat yo' know [about], yo' know where dey grave, buried at, an' yo' go tuh dat most pahticlah [particular] grave an' git dat bone. Yo' put dat on de fiah an' yo' boil dat. Now, yo' set three hick'ry sticks across dere an' yo' set dat right on top of dat bone. Aftah yo' set dat on dat bone, why yo' take whiskey an' yo' po' ovah 'im, po' ovah dat mos' pahticlah bone. An' aftah yo' po' it ovah 'im, yo' demand 'im tuh go an' kill So-an'-so-an'-so.
(I see.)
An' dey goes on an' yo' do's de work.
(I see.)
Or else, yo' wanta, say, run 'im ovahbo'd [make him jump overboard], let 'im, let a automobile run ovah 'im. Yo' always place him in a place dat he'll git kilt.
(I see. You cross those hickory sticks?)
Cross 'em across. (And then when you - this [I demonstrate] is your pot. Are the bones in the pot?) No, dat's what de sticks are dere fo'. Supposin' de pot about dis size [dem- onstrates]. Well, yo' place [demonstrates] one here, one dere, an' one here. An' den yo' place de bone right 'cross dere lak dat [demonstrates].
(Oh, across the sticks.)
Across de sticks. Dat is tuh [I interrupt]...
(Then what do you do with the pot?)
Well, yo' mos'ly use a li'le turpentine an' linseed oil in dat pot - turpen- tine an' linseed oil in dat pot. But yo' start yuh fiah slow, jis' so, so she [pot] make an ord'nary steam. Dat is tuh keep a certain pressure on 'im. Den yo' demand 'im wit controllin' powah, say, "Ah demand yo' wit controllin' powah tuh go ovah an' do such-an'-such a thing. Go ovah an' kill Such-an'-such a one." An' yo' [the spirit] must do so. (I see.) [New Orleans, La., (819), 1171:2.] [As we have seen, there are many substitutes for the human body: (l) anything that came from the body, such as blood, semen, urine, excrement, sweat, spit, hair, fingernails, toenails, and footskin; and (2) anything that has touched the body, especially clothes. In this division we shall examine three entities that are not a part of the body and yet preeminently represent it - photograph and name and letters and handwriting. Of these three, name already has occurred so many times in the preceding rites, I shall start here with photograph.]
Entry 8507
Well dey use a catfish bone. It's one dose li'le fo'ked bones an' it's kinda shaped lak a ink pen. Yo' seen some fish bones dat's kinda shaped lak dat. (When you get this bone out of the catfish, what do you do with that then?) Yo' dip it in ink an' write chure name wit dat catfish bone, an' fole dat papah tuhwards yo' lak dat. An' yo' stick it down in de fo'k of dat bone, an' yo' place it wit a string aroun' [demonstrates]. (I will write your name with this fishbone on a piece of paper, and just keep folding it to me. Then, what do I do with that paper then?) Well, yo' weah dat in yo' hat. Dat's tuh draw dem.
(Do you use ordinary ink in that pen?)
Yes.
Entry 8908
You can take a bone of a person and do lots of harm. They can be the biggest crook in the world, the one that has got the bone - like the professional stealer, the one that has the bone. And as long as they have that bone, they will never be caught because they got the dead man's bone. And the dead man's bone keeps all other spectators away and nobody perhaps hardly sees what this man with that bone is doing because it is a real dead man's bone.
Entry 8909
(How do they do that?)
They go to the graveyard and get a bone. And like some - ah knowed a fellah, he went to the grave - he tote [carried] it iin his pocket. He say that was his lucky piece. He'd tote it in his pocket an' he'd pass it through his mouth and put it back in his pocket, go any- where. He.say he could do anything he wanted, nobody wouldn't do him nuthin. They couldn't do him nuthin or nuthin like dat. He'd pass dat bone through his mouth, go anywhere he felt like going, and do what he wanted, and nobody would bother him. [To pull a black cat bone through your mouth also makes you invisible - see Nos. 301 and 303, p.90.]
Entry 9894
If yo' have someone dat yo' desire dere affection an' dere love, dey say now yo' could ketch a bullfrog an' put 'im intuh a box where he's confined and put holes. Set dis box where ants kin eat 'im up. Aftah dey eat 'im, dere's a bone in 'im. Yo' take dis box up an' look in dere [among the bones]. Dere's a bone-lak, lak a "T". Yo' take dis bone an' go tuh dis person an' put it somewhere in de lining, somewhere in dere clothes where dey won' know it, an' let dem weah it nine days in dere clothes. Aftah dat yo' take it an' keep it, an' as long as dey live, yo' can't git rid of 'em. Don't care whut chew do or how mean yo' be or how cross yo' be tuh 'em, as long as yo' keep dis "T" dere, yo'll nevah git rid of 'em in de world.
Entry 9896
If yo' wuz a young man an' wan'in' [wanting] a girl an' love der [loved her] an' she wuz not yore class [she was above you] but still yo' wanted 'er, yo' take yo' a toadfrog an' git chew a nice li'l cigah box. Take yo a icepick an' put chew maybe two dozen holes, some in de side an' some on de top, so he git air yo' know. Shet 'im up in dere an' make some airholes in de box. Well, he'll 'vently [eventually] perish tuh death, an' de ants will eat de flesh off 'is bones. De ants will eat all de flesh, dere jes' be de carcass dere. He's got a hook in 'im jes' 'zactly [exactly] lak a fishhook. De ants eat all de flesh off 'im - dere be no skin dere, no nuthin but jes' 'is carcass - in about fo' months. It take about fo' months in de summah. In de fall of de yeah yo' kin git de carcass. Well, he's got a bone right in 'is hip back dere jes" 'zackly lak a fishhook. It shaped jes' lak a fishhook. Well, whut dey wanted de ants tuh do is tuh show 'em de bone, de fishhook. Dey take dis li'l bone an' put it anywhere in yore clothes. If it's 'er, when yo' go tuh see 'er, she'll hang it in yore clothes; or yo'll hang it in 'er clothes. Well, den she's got yo' tied. Dat's whut dey use de toadfrog fo'.
Entry 9901
Yo' kin take a frog an' put 'im in a pot an' boil 'im. Git chew nine red ants an' put in dere. Aftah yo' boil 'im, yo' take de frog out an' strip 'is laigs. Jes' lak yo' ketch de frog in dis han' [demonstrates] yo' ketch 'im by his laigs an' strip 'is laigs. Pull 'is laigs through de soup - de watah dat boilin'. [I describe informant's demon- stration.] (You hold him up by the legs and pull his feet down tovard the body.) Take dat, aftah yo' git de meat off - take his haid off - strip 'im enough tuh git de meat off wit'out teahin' 'im too bad. Take him an' git chew some cologne an' some linseed oil. Yo' 'noint 'im good wit dat linseed oil an' cologne. Take an' tie him in a bag. Put dat bag undah yore mattress. If yo' wan'a keep it from fallin' out, [put] 'tween de spring an' mattress. Gits a cloth an' put it up 'tween de mattress an' he [man] lie on dat.
(What will that do?)
Dat will keep 'im wit 'er.
(Do you take this meat off all the bones or what?)
Jes' offa one, his lef' hin' laig.
(And you put the whole frog under there?)
De whole frog undah de baid. An' take de meat dat chew got off 'is lef' hin' laig an' one dose bones, an' tie hit an' weah hit between dere in a bag. Weah it roun' 'er waist in a bag, let it hang down in front of 'er.
(This is to keep the man.)
Reep de man, yeah, at 'er place.
Entry 9903
There was one trick they had. They used to ketch a frog and take this old frog, kill an ole land frog, an ole toad. And put him in a little box and make holes in it supin like yo'd a pepperbox. Little ants would crawl in there and them ants would go in there and destroy the body of this ole frog. And after he was dead, eat him up. You put that box into run- ulag water, whare there's a place of water running right steady down, until it washed all that ole filth, that ole eat-up flesh, away from that frog, yo' know, and leave nuthin but de bone there. And there was a certain bone there, I don't know what it was, but I've heared them tell it. There was a certain bone in that frog that they'd take that out and go around de girl's house. And if she was walkin' around, cookin' an' doin' anything, she had no knowledge of what was goin' on, why you could hang that in her dress.
(Hang it on the clothesline?)
No, her dress on her. She'd have a dress on. But, if you's to take that ole bone and stick it in her clothes somewhares, she passin' around de house an' you's settin' there talkin' with her, and she couldn't git clear of you.
Entry 9904
Well, you take a frog, you take you a nail, or take a knife and peg him down alive jes' like that with a peg right at your house. Take some sugar and just sprinkle it good, you see. The worms, the ants and things will eat all the flesh off it. And after they eat all the flesh off it, you will find a forked bone at the back tail of it. Then you take that oil of clover, van van and fast luck, see. Now you take that and sew them together and make you a little bag, and put it in your pocketbook. But that fast luck. you must keep a little bit out when you going out, on the side, and scrape in your hand like this [demonstrates]. That gives you gambling hand; power in gamb- ling.
(Is fast luck a liquid or a powder?)
That's lickrish [liquid]. When you put it on your hand it burns shoe [burns you]. Now, when you look at it, when you put it on your hand and rub it, you see that curl up, sort of yellowish. It gives you satisfaction.
Entry 9905
Tell yo' about frogs. Take a frog an' put 'im in a snuffbox an' punch holes in it, an' ca' it down tuh de fo'ks of de road. An' at de twil of day go back fo' nine mawnin's, an' de las' mawnin' he'll be et up by de antses. An' take him den an' take de bone outa his haid, an' keep it in yuh pockit. An' if yo' wan' someone tuh do whut chew ast 'im [ask him] take an' put dat somewheah neah dem, an' dey'll do anything yo' as'cum [ask them].
(When do you take that frog down there to the road?)
At de 'twill of day - yes sir, jis' befo' daylight. (The twill of day, that means just before daylight.) [This last remark of mine is merely an editorial comment for the future. I may have another example of twil but I am not sure. Does it mean at the twilight of day? Somewhere in HOODOO I think we have the expression first Light. Does the latter equal dawn?]
Entry 9906
Yo' kin take a toadfrog. Now, I had dat - dat wus done tuh me. A man wus co'tin' [courting] me an' he wus co'tin' anothah lady. An' we co'ted fo' a good long while an' ah tole 'im, ah says, "Why don't chew let's git ma'ed?" He say, "Well, ah'm engaged tuh anothah lady tuh git ma'ed." Ah ast 'im, ah say, "Why yo' co'tin' me so long when yo' know yo' wus engaged tuh anothah lady?" He says, "Well, ah guess ah lak yuh." Ah say, "Well, dat ain't busi- ness." Say, "Ah thought chew wus co'tin' me fo' a wife. If ah hadda thought chew wusn't doin' dat, we'd abeen [we would have been] quit long ago, becuz a husband [was] whut ah wus lookin' fo'." He says, "Well, ah'm already [TORTOISE IN GEORGIA] engaged tuh git ma'ed." Ah say, "Well, when yo' goin' git ma'ed?" "Well, we's tuh git ma'ed in June." Ah tole 'im, ah says, "Well, when June come if ah live, yo' won' git ma'ed." He say, "Well, if ah live, ah will git ma'ed." Ah say, "Well, if yo' live yo' won' git ma'ed." So when June come - de lady wus down south - she came. He come ovah an' he tole me, he say, "Well, de lady ah tole yuh about ah wus tuh ma'y, she have come."
[Cylinder change causes the following repetition.]
Ah say, "Well, when yo' goin' git ma'ed? He say, "We's tuh git ma'ed in June." Ah say, "Well, ah tole yuh, yo' wouldn't ma'y her." He say, "Well, Ah don't see how yo' [can say] ah'm not gonna ma'y 'er. If ah live ah'm gonna ma'y huh." Ah say, "Well, if ah live yo' won' ma'y huh." So ah goes tuh a fortunetellah an' dis fortunetellah tole me tuh ketch a toad- frog an' git me a coffee can, a tin coffee can, an' drive holes in de bottom of dat can an up aroun' in dat can tuh 'bout halfway. An' ketch dat frog an' put 'in in dat can an' name him dat puhson's name three times. An' take it tuh a black antses baid an' stir it up, an' set dat can in dere; an' evah two or three days fo' me tuh watch dat can. Go an' look in it evah two or three days. An' when dem antses eat all de meat offa dat frog, tuh bring 'im dat frame [skeleton] in dat can. An' when dat wus done, ah ca'ed it tuh 'im. An' he tole me dere wus some bones in dat frog dat he wus gonna fix in a li'l package fo' me tuh weah shere it'll keep warm nex' tuh me, an' he would nevah ma'y dat wumman. An' he fised de package an' ah went tuh weahin' it. So when de time come fo' him tuh ma'y dis wumman, he come ovah an' he tole me, he sayed, 'Miss Cartah, '' he sayed, "De lady didn't ma'y me." Ah said, "Well, why she didn't ma'y yo'?" He said, "Ah dunno." Ah said, "Well, did yo' buy de papahs?" He say, "Yes, ' say, "Ah bought mah license an' dey cost fo' dollahs an' fifty aents, an' ah went ovah tuh ma'y her an' she tole me she 'clined [declined] de idea of gittin' ma'ed." Ah said, "Well, when did she say she would ma'y yuh?" "She didn't say." Ah said, "Well, yo' oughta make huh tell yuh when she gonna ma'y yuh. She 'clined de idea right now, maybe a li'l latah she might ma'y." He say, "She don' mean tuh ma'y' Ah say, "Yo' reckon she don't?" He say, "No." Ah say, "Why?" "Cuz she given me mah money back. Ah paid fo' dollahs an' fifty cents fo' de license an' she give it back tuh me." Ah say, "Oh well, she don't mean tuh ma'y yo' den." An' den he commence tuh worryin' me tuh ma'y 'im an' ah wouldn't ma'y him den, 'cuz de fortunetellah dat ah'd gone tuh tole me it would happen dat way. An' he tole me, "When he ast chew 'bout ma'in' don' chew ma'y him." Said, "Becuz he wouldn't live long. He would soon stricken an' die an' yo' would soon be a widow ag'in." An' jis' lak he tole me 'bout it, he would ast me 'bout ma'in' 'im, he did. But ah kep' 'im shooed off, an' re'lly, latah he did taken sick an' died. [Here I changed the cylinder. Informant begins by returning to an episode she had omitted, what she had done to make her rival refuse the man.] So dis fortunetellah tole me dat dis woman dat he wus supposed tuh ma'y, she wouldn't ma'y him. He tole me tuh git some li'l boy tuh go on in de swamp or somewhah an' fin' me a gophah - wit fo' laigs, a gophah, yo' know. So ah come back an' got de boys tuh hunt de gophah up an' dey wouldn't fin' one. [The preceding word gopher may confuse the reader. Here in Georgia where I was interviewing, people called the gopher a salamander. What informant means by gopher is a burrowing land tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), the animal and eggs edible.] So ah went back an' tole 'im about it. Ah said, "Well, don' seem lak ah kin git a gophah." Ah say, "It'll have tuh be some othah 'rangements made." Ah said, "Dis man sweahs dat he gonna ma'y dis wumman." He said, "Yo' needn't worry about dat; he ain't goin' ma'y huh." He say, "Well." He got some dirt, some red-lookin' dirt, an' he showed it tuh me. He said, "If ah give yuh some of dis dirt an' tell yuh whut tuh do wit it, would jew be scared tuh do it?" Ah said, "No, ah won't be scared. Ah'll try tuh do it." An' he fixed so much of de dirt in a papah an' give it tuh me. An' he said, "Aftah dahk [dark] - yo' know wheah dis wumman live?" Say, "Yessuh." "Aftah dahk yo' go tuh huh house wheah she live. Don' let no one see yo', if yo' kin he'p it, an' yo' throw dis dirt tuhwards 'er front do', as much as yo' kin, tuh spattah it on de do' an' de porch aroun'. An' she won't nevah ma'y." So ah did dat. So dey didn't ma'y. (You said this was another case where a woman was going to marry the man. This is the same story?) Yes sir, dat's de woman's part of de graveyard dirt. [The reader may recall that my informant told us her rival de lady was down south. Here we were in southern Georgia not too far from Florida! I found this down south all along the Atlantic coast from Maryland southward. The south was always somewhere farther south!]
Entry 9907
Dey say yo' kin take a red ants bed an' cut a frog up an' let de red ants eat up dat frog - eat all of 'em [pieces]. An' den yo' could take cer- tain bones from 'im, lak a laig bone, lak dat an' carry it fo' luck. Dey say dat's very successful fo' a luck charm.
(Luck in anything?)
Yes sir, luck in anything.
Entry 9908
Yo' kin ketch a toadfrog an' yo' bur' 'im [bury him]. Dere's two or three ways about a frog. Yo' ketch a toadfrog an' yo' bur' 'im, an' put 'im in a ants baid an' de ants done pick 'im bad. An' den aftah dat, why yo' takes 'is bones. Don' want no flesh on 'is bones. An' weah it in yore pocket. An' den if it's a woman dat chew wanted tuh be wit, why yo' jes' tetch 'er wit dat frog [bones].
Entry 9911
Well, now, yo' take a frog. Hit's a bone in dat frog lak a fishhook an' dere's anothah one in dere's a scale. Yo' see a man an' yo' wanta use him jis' lak yo' wanta. Yo' ketch yo' a toadfrog an' yo' lay 'im up on de shelf. Well, yo' turn 'im on 'is back. Lay him ovah on de shelf where he cannot turn ovah an' he perish tuh death an' he rotten. An' yo' go dere an' yo' fin' dis fishhook an' yo' fin' dis scale. Well, yo' take dis scale an' yo' keep dis scale. De fishhook, yo' hook it intuh de man's coat, an' as long as he tote dat he stay wit yo'. An' when yo' git ready fo' him tuh go, yo' take dat fish- book out dere an' strike it on de back of dis scale an' he'll go.
Entry 10015
Dey says ketch a black cat wit not a white spot on 'is body an'- dat's a perfectly thing [cat is totally black]. An' says, put 'im in a pot live an' boil 'im live till all de meat come off 'is bones. An' he take dat bone, all dem bones tuh a runnin' stream of watah, an' de bone dat sink yo' git it. An' say he could do anythin'.
(The bone that sinks. What will the other bones do?)
Float on top.
(The bone that sinks you take?)
Yes sir.
Entry 10018
Well, ah hear'd dat dey take dis black cat - ketches a black cat wit not a white streak on 'im any place. An' dey takes 'im an' puts 'im on - starts 'im off tuh boil. An' when yo' git chure watah boilin', jis' drop dis live cat in de watah. An' den when yo' drop dis live cat in de watah, den yo' lets it boil all tuh pieces. Yo' take it tuh a swift stream, tuh a stream dat is runnin' swift, an' yo' po's it in dere. An' den de bone dat goes up de stream, yo' git dat bone. An' den dey say yo' kin go do anythin' dat chew wanta do.
Entry 10019
Take a black cat an' have oven heated hot, dat's got a lid on it, an' take dat black cat an' put 'im in dat oven, see. An' put de lid on it an' cook 'im. Call 'im [cat] by name whutevah it might be. It may be Tom an' it may be Jim. Dey have diff'ren names. Whatevah 'is name be, yo' call it, an' he'll answer yuh! He'll tell yo' 'zakly what bone tuh take. Dey tell me he'll tell yuh tuh take de short bone. Take all de - aftah yo' burn 'im up, take de bones an' carry 'em tuh swift watah, see. An' pour all dese bones in de watah. An' de bone dat goes up de stream, dat is de bone fer yuh tuh take. Dat's whut chew do. [This is probably the only black-cat-bone rite in which the name of the cat is called! Lid on an Oven is unusual!]
Entry 10023
Dey say take de black cat an' kill 'im, an' boil 'im an' wake ot all de bones, an' whatevah bone is de lucky bone, why yo' throw 'en all in see watah, runnin' watah, an' all of 'em 'ill sink tuh de bottom but de locy bone will stay on top. Dey said yo' kin take dat bone an' open any kinda do'.
Entry 10024
Dey take dat black cat an' dey kills dis black cat an' boil 'im down, an' one'll sit an' suck dose bones. Jis' suck dose bones until dey begin tuh cain't see. When dey cain't see, den dey'll know it wuz de right bone. Den dey git up an' go on do dere work.
Entry 10029
Well, ah haven't heard of a bone from a dead person, but ah've heard jis' yo' take a black cat an' boil 'is bones. An' carry it tuh runnin' watah an' throw it in runnin' watah, an' de bone dat floats dat'll be yuh lucky bone. [Everywhere believed.]
Entry 10030
Dey tell me it's very lucky, it's de luckiest bone in de world. Ah tried it one time but ah jis' didn't have de ingredients. Yo' take a black cat an' have boilin' hot watah, an' have a cat wit not a white hair on 'im. When dat watah git tuh boilin' good, yo' grab dat cat in a sack or somepin an' throw 'im in dere an' put de top.on 'im. An' he'll boil an' he'll boil all tuh pieces. An' de bone whut chew want'll float an' de rest'll sink, but chew use dat wit lodestone. But now ah nevah did git de full ingredient but ah did cook de black cat an' got de bone. Dat bone shore will rise. Ah know dat. (It didn't work.)
Entry 10031
Well, tuh be successful an' lucky, it'd [it would] cuz [cause] zhow [you] [a lot of trouble?], yuh git de black cat bone. Yuh kill a black cat. Yuh got a pot of watah on [the fire] out dere. Yuh take de black cat [out there] befo' dat he is killed. Throw 'im in de pot of boilin' hot watah. Den aftah he cooks tuh pieces, take de bone [bones], put it [them] in running watah. De one dat stands [on surface of water and does not float away] yuh take dat. Dat's de black cat bone.
Entry 10032
Yo' take de black cat an' yo' take 'im down by de run- nin' watah. An' yo' boil 'im until all de meat come off 'is bones. Den yo' take all de bones an' dump it into de watah, an' de bone dat swims - dat comes up an' swim down de stream wit de watah - why dat's de bone dey gits.
Entry 10034
Ah have information concerning that, how a person sells theirself to the devil, but ah have never [done that]. They tell me what you do to sell your- self to the devil. They say, you take a black cat alive and boil him. Drop him in hot boiling pot of water and boil him, you see. And after you boil him, you take out all those bones, the different bones, and you drop them in a running stream of water. Now, the bone that runs [floats away], you see, you pick up that bone. And you make a oath to the devil that you sell your soul for so many years to be successful. Not forever, you know. You sell your soul for ten years, you see. You be successful and can get everything your heart desires. But othervise, you oouldn't have no luck. If you dies, you couldn't go to heaven. You belong to the devil and all [heaven can't save you].
Entry 10035
It's awful [dreadful] tuh say so, but chew kin take a black cat. Ah've seen a fellah dat did try dat. Ah had a brothah dat tried it. Put it in de watah an' boil it an' take de bone out, see. Take all de bones. Boil it till it's boiled all tuh pieces, see. An' den aftah it's boiled all tuh pieces - don't go in de home of no one, boil it out [outdoors]. An' let all de meat fall from de bones, an' take it an' carry it tuh a branch - a creek, a small creek ~ an' put it in dere. An' de bone dat go backwards, yo' kin take dat bone. An' den yo' [can] go an' steal an' all lak dat [probably because you can make yourself invisible].
Entry 10037
Said dat dey would take de cat an' put 'er intuh a pot an' boil 'er wit'out killin' 'er. Let 'er kill 'erself in de pot. An' take her tuh de run- nin' watah. Do dat aftah dey already cooked 'er up an' until de flesh would fall off de bone. An' take de pot tuh de runnin' watah an' empty it ovah in de runnin' watah. An' de bone dat goes up de stream is de lucky bone.
Entry 10040
De way ah've heard it, yo' ketch chew a black cat. It must be black cat an' when yo' ketch dat cat, yo' take it to de fo'ks of de road at twelve a'clock. Have yore watah hot. Don't kill 'im. Dive 'im in dat pot of hot watah an' shet it up, an' let 'im cook till hit cook de meat off 'is bones. Den yo' take all dose bones an' taken 'em down tuh de runnin' stream, de stream goin' dis way [demonstrates]. Dat's down, backwards is upwards. An' yo' po' dem bones intuh dat runnin' stream one at de time. An' de bone dat goes back up de stream, dat's de lucky bone an' yo' git dat.
(What do you do with that bone?)
Well, dey tell me yo' kin take dat bone an' tote it in yore pocket an' it brings good luck in love affairs, gamblin' an' sech lak as dat.
[While machine turned off informant says something about disappearing.]
(Use that same bone you say?)
Yes sir, yo' put it in yore mouth an' it makes yo' invisible, people can't see yo'.
Entry 10044
All right, if yo' wan's tuh be a man dat chew kin do anythin' dat chew want, yo' git chew a black cat an' yo' boil 'im. Go down tuh a crossroad at twelve a'clock at night an' yo' boils 'em. An' when yo' boil dis cat yo' see evahthin' all aroun' dere, maybe yuh coffin, or yo' may see all kinda spooks. Go down tuh a runnin' stream of watah an' throw dese bones in it. Well, all dose bones dat no good, dey go downstream, but de bone, dat lucky bone, it comes up- stream. Yo' take dat bone an' put it in yuh pocket, an' yo' kin do anythin' wit dat bone dat chew want.
Entry 10045
Well, jis' lak yo' wanta be a rootworkah or somepin lak dat, yo' go in de fo'k of de road an' yo' take a black cat [with you]. An' ketch 'im alive an' boil 'im. Boil 'im live an' take 'im an' take de bone whut run upstream. Take dat bone an' take it an' stand in de fo'k of de road till twelve of midnight at night. An' whatsomevah happen, dey say it will come tuh yuh dat night, an' de devil will tell yo' whut tuh do wit it.
(Tell you how to do the rootwork?)
Yessuh. (After you get this black cat bone, you take it out to the fork of the road and stand there until twelve o'clock at night?) Yessuh, an' if yo' kin stand evahthing whut come about, yo'll be a good one.
Entry 10047
Take a black cat - ketch 'im an' put 'im in a pot'a boilin' watah alive, an' den let 'im stay in dat pot'a boilin' watah until he dies. Den take him down tuh a stream of runnin' watah an' cos [of course] quite natchal he'll be's intuh bone [bones will be separated from flesh] an' dere'll be a bone dat'll stay on top'a de water. An' yo' take dat bone an' take it an' keep it in yuh pocket. An' den yo' gone a week from dat, dat day dat chew did dis [= 7 days later] go down tuh de fo'ks of de road an' sell yuhself tuh de devil. An' yuh be able tuh do anythin' yuh want tuh do. (What do you do down at the forks of the road? [Pause.] Do you know? [I am not making myself clear.] When you go down with that bone in your pocket, is there anything that you do at the forks of the road?) Well, yuh jes' - yo' hold it [bone] in yuh lef' han', an' dat de time yuh sellin' yuhself tuh de devil.
Entry 10048
People do dat when dey sell dereself tuh de devil. Dey go out dere 'tween de fo'ks of de road. An' dey kills a black cat, yo' know, an' take a certain bone in 'im, an' dey take dat bone an' go out tuh de fo'ks of de road. An' when dey git tuh de fo'ks of de road, dey have sold deyself tuh de devil. He will come down [one of the roads]. Dat's why dey doin' dat, dat's de correct thing [to sell yourself to the devil]. People do dat, yo' know, who is notorious. It's not fo' good people tuh do dat.
Entry 10052
(You what?)
Goes tuh de fo'ks of de road an' learn how tuh play music, an' dey will play right dere. Take a black cet bone, ah believe it is, an' as dey play an' as dey talk, dey draw it across dem, yo' know, until dey find dat main bone. Den dey fin' dat main bone an' ah think it's - dey'll heah a roostah crow. An' den dey 'ave sold dereself tuh de devil.
(I see.)
An' den dey kin play music jis' as good as a pursun dat's been playin' all de time. (What do they do to the cat first, before they pull all those bones through their mouth?) Well, yo' see, dey boils de ket. (And then they take each bottle while they are playing and put it through their mouth?) [This was inferred from informant's dey draw it across dem.] Yes, sir, put 'em through dere mouth.
(And when the right bone appears, a rooster will crow?)
A roostah 'ill crow.
(I see. And they have sold themselves to the devil?)
Yes sir.
(I see.) [For rooster see also 10066.]
Entry 10053
After killing black cat and sucking bone, go to three- pronged road 7 mornings before day, you will meet devil. Luck for seven years..[Deal Island, Md., resumé, 19:3.]
Entry 10054
Go to a three-forked road at night, on the 9th night kill [boil] a black cat there. While sucking the bones the devil will appear and "give you all the tricks you want."
[Norfolk, Va., resume, 448:8.]
Entry 10055
Ketch a black cat an', yo' know, put 'im in a hot pot of watah, see. An' dey say de lucky bone'll rise, yo' know, tuh de top of de watah. Dey take dis [bone] an' go tuh de forks of de road nine mawnin's. Say yo' go dere tuh meet de devil. An' say, if yo' go, yo' know, in any place [to rob it or where you could meet trouble] an' long as yo' keep dis bone wit 'im [you], yo' know, nuthin wouldn't hahm [harm] 'im [you].
Entry 10056
Dey git a black cat an' care 'im tuh de fo'ks uh de road fuh nine mawnin's about six a'clock. An' dey come back home an' bile dat cat. An' dey says den dey kin do mos' anythin' dey want. Dey bile dat cat an put 'im a - take all de bones, yuh know, aftah dey boil de cat, an' care it down tuh a creek am trow all de bones ovahbo'd. Well, all de mos' a dem bones'll go tuh de botto. save de bone w'ut float. Dey say dat be de lucky bone.
Entry 10058
Take a black cat an' throw it in a pot of hot watah... [I turn off machine here be- cause rite did not appear to be promising. This was a frequent habit of mine to save time and cylinder space. Once more I shall stop machine before letting it continue to the end. My questions show what had been omitted.]
(After they boil this black cat what do they do?)
Take 'is bones, all de bones an' carry it down tuh de...
[I stop machine and then begin again.]
(After they get this bone that goes up the stream, then what do they do?)
Dey take it an' goes tuh de fo'ks of de road fo' nine mawnin's an' pray tuh de Lord an' say dey sell deyself tuh de devil. An' den dey kin do anythin' dey wan'a do an' can't nobody hahm 'em.
Entry 10060
Ah hear'd if a man wanted any luck, wanted tuh learn how tuh be a ex- pert or a musician, or if he wanted tuh be a expert gamblah or what not, dey goes out tuh dat crossroads fo' nine mawnin's. An' de ninth mawnin' when he go out there - but befo' he go out dere, he goes den an' he git 'im a black cat. Ah bettah [begin again] so yo' kin undahstan' it good. Befo' he goes tuh de crossroads dat nine mawnin's, he goes de firs' mawnin' an' he git 'im a black cat. An' he takes dat black cat an' he cares 'im out dere wit 'im tuh de crossroad nine mawnin's. An' when he cares 'im dere nine mawnin's, de ninth mawnin' when he git dere, dey says dat de devil 'imself meets 'im dere. An' dey says he'll tell 'im anything dat chew wan'a do or anything yo' wan'a know. Says, he'll give me anythin' between de sole of yuh haid an' de crown of yuh feet. [With a mixup like this between sole [soul] and crown, devil still must have been working.] He says, "It shall be granted tuh yo'." An' so when- evah he do dat, he takes dis black cat, which he's got alive, an' he gits 'im a pot.
(After he has gone there nine mornings, he takes the cat and gets this pot?)
Yessuh. An' when he gits dis pot, den he goes den tuh a stream of watah dat's runnin'. He makes 'im a fiah on de hill right up above de watah. An' when he makes dis fiah an' git dat watah boilin', he throws dat black cat in de pot alive an' lets dis cat cook alive. An' when de cat cooks until all de flesh has come off de bone, he takes de carcass of dat cat an' throw it in de runnin' watah. An' all de bones an' all de ones dat goes down de stream, he let 'em alone. He takes de - an' de bone dat runs up de stream, dat goes back up de stream de object [opposite] way, why he takes dat bone den an' he totes dat in 'is lef'-breas' pocket. An' when he tote it in 'is lef'-breas' pocket why anythin' he desires den, he'll git dat.
Entry 10061
Ah hear'd of people takin' a black cat an' boil 'em in a pot of hot boilin' watah alive an' den take 'im out. Take his bones out, all 'is bones, an' carry 'em tuh a stream of watah. An' throw 'em in dat stream of watah an' de one whut go upstream, take it out, an' de rest of 'em'ill go downstream. Let 'em go 'bead. An' de one dat go upstrea yo' take dat out an' put it in yore pocket. An' go tuh de fo'ks of de road evah Sunday mawnin' fo' nine Sopday mawnin's, an' de ninth mawnin' yo'll meet de devil dere. An' if yo' don' y My Duthin tuh 'im, he won' say nuthin tuh yo'. An' yo' turn rou' a'cone on back. An' yo' kin go down heah tuh de National Bank, any bank yo' want tuh - so ah've hear'd - an' take anythin' out. De law won't bothah yo'. Yo' disappeah. Yo' kin 'tempt [attempt] de cashier, yo' kin 'tempt de dogs, anythin' yo' wanta 'tempt.
Entry 10062
Whut chew call gittin' de black cat bone. Yo' take him intuh de fo'k of de road. Yo' take 'im out tuh de fo'ks of de road an' make a fiah, an' a pot, an' boil it. An' den yo' would take all dese bones, when it boil all tuh pieces, tuh a runnin' stream. An' yo' would put all dose bones in de stream an' de one dat floats up de stream, dat's de one tuh git. An' aftah dat dey'll go back tuh de fo'ks of de road nine nights. Go back evah night fer nine nights an' talk wit de devil. Yo' go dere an' meet de devil dere. An' den aftah dey do dat fer nine nights, dey is through. Dey kin do any- thin' dey wanta do.
(Well, what time do they go out there at night?)
Roun' nine 'clock.
Entry 10071
Yo' [some enemy] kin take yore track an' a black cat's bone an' bury it in de cemetery, an' in about nine or ten days - about a week latah - yo'll suffer. Yo' will have dis same cat, of yore own, in- side of yo', if yo' don't try to git shet of 'em.
Entry 10072
(After you have boil- ed this black cat, you take these bones and limbs. Then what do you do with those bones?)[I am summarizing what informant had said be- fore I: turned on machine.] Yo' has tuh suck evah one of 'em, evah one tuh git tuh de right one. When yo' git tuh de right one, it's a short j'int bone, somepin lak dat [demonstrates]. When yo' git tuh dat, it goin' burn yore mouth. When yo' burn yore mouth, yo' take it an' yo' force it roun' - put it in a sack an' reseal [seal] it up wit some garlic an' salt an' some sugah an' some red dirt [reddish clay unless one buys a special red dirt somewhere; in any case it is a substitute for blood]. An' if yo' goin' play dice wit dat or any kinda game, dere's two words yo' say out de Seven Book of Moses: If ah could win, ah'm goin' win; an' if ah happen tuh win, ah'm trustin' yo'. [Whether this is from Seventh Book of Moses, I do not know.]
(What kind of a sack do you put that in did you say?)
In a mink skin! [After informant leaves room, I say to machine: End of 1604. I think this fellow was a liar. Liar is a little strong, but I did concentrate upon every Word said. That I did not believe everything is shown by the section on made- up material in this present volume.]
Entry 10073
Ah heard dey take a black cat bone, aftah dey done kill de black cat, an' take it an' put it in dere mouth. Pass it dere a couple of times. an' den set [itl back in dere pocket an' go in tuh win.
(That is for luck in gambling?)
Yeah.
Entry 10074
They says yo' kin go to a four-fork road - you've seen them - for nine mornings after you suck this black cat's bone. Suck the morrow [marrow] of it, then you be lucky and do whatever you want to do. [The marrow is swallowed. You evidently visit the crossroad to receive the devil's left-handed bless- ing.] [Deal Island, Md., (109), 25: l. This cylinder reference was also given for margin title POWER FROM BROTHER'S SKULL, v.1, p.283, informant's number here, a day later, being 125. Numbers of cylinders and informants were for collector's conveience only.]
Entry 10075
I heard yeh had to kill a black cat. A certain bone yeh had to git. I think the story went yeh had to suck that bone. And then you had to go to a three-prong road, a crossroad - [dem- onstrates] a prong this way, and a prong that way, and a prong this way - seven mornings before day, and yeh supposed tuh meet the devil there. That's people that is trying to git Over for to do anything they want to do. And he [devil] was supposed to meet yeh at a certain time. And yeh meet sompin other dere dat was supposed tuh be the devil himself. And he was to set jeh free [to do anything]. And then you could do anything, have any kind of luck you wanted for seven years.
Entry 10076
Yo' put chew a pot of watah on an' boil it. An' ketch a black cat, a all-black cat, an' put 'im in de pot of boilin' watah an' put 'im in dere 'live. Boil 'im until - boil 'im tuh pieces. An' de lucky bone will come on top. An' dis bone dat come on top, yo' take dis bone out an' suck de bone [suck out marrow?] an' den lay it up an' let it dry. An' carry it in yore pocket an' yo'll be lucky enough tuh git anythin' yo' want or do anythin' yo' wanta do. Yo' kin even disappeah.
(Why did you suck it?)
Jis' suck de bone aftah it comes tuh de top. De only way yuh'll know dat bone, yo' see, aftah de cat boils, de meat boils off de cat an' dis bone will come to de top, an' all de resta de cat'll go tuh de bottom.
(You don't suck it at any particular place?)
No, yo' jis' put it in yuh mouth an' suck it. An' aftah yo' suck it, den yo' lay it out on anythin' an' let it dry out.
Entry 10077
Yo' git a black cat without any white spots an' take dat cat an' a pot - ketches dat cat an' puts 'im in a pot of hot boilin' watah an' boils dat cat. An' yo' boils him until all de meat comes offa his bones. Den yo' takes dat cat out of de pot an' yo' goes tuh a runnin' stream of watah - jis' let it be a li'le small stream - an' yo' suck each one of de bones [on bank of stream] until yo' come tuh de bone. An' throws 'em all [into stream] until yo' come tuh de one dat goes up de stream. An' de one dat goes up de stream dat's de lucky one if yo' kin git it. An' yo' takes dat an' keeps dat one.
Entry 10079
Yo' kin git a black cat an' boil it an' stan' befo' a mirror in a dark room an' run dem bones across de mouth an' de one dat's de natural bone, why it will be a whole lot- ta diffrent sights dat will appeah befo' yo'. [Here is a tricky one: if you can see into mirror in a dark room, you do not need a black cat bone! Probably my informant means you will see all the horrors including the devil, you missed, had you gone to a crossroads.]
Entry 10082
[I heard of] people using a cat.
(All right, how do they use that?)
Well, yo' git a real black cat. Dat's now in regard if yo' wants tuh hurt someone, yo' undahstan'. Ah've heard yuh git a real black cat, an' yo' heat yuh some watah. Yo' git de watah real hot an' yo' put de cat in dere alive. Yo' put a lid on topa de pot an' jis' drop de cat in dere alive. An' aftah he's in dere alive, let 'im boil 'til evah bone in 'im - 'til it come all off de meat, therly [thoroughly] done. An' aftah yo' boil 'im therly done, den yo' take 'im out an' yo' suck evah bone in de cat 'til yo' git tuh de right bone. Whenevah yo' git tuh de right bone, it'll cuz yuh [to disappear] by yo' cannot see yuhself - yo' can't see yuhself in a mirrah. Yo' kin look in a mirrah an' yo' fail tuh see yuhself.
(Then what do you do?)
Well, yo've got de right bone, an' yo' kin do mos' anything den yo' wants tuh. Yo'll accomplish mos' anything yo' want tuh accomplish.
Entry 10088
You get a real black cat, jet black, and throw him in a pot of hot water and let him stay there until the bones all come to pieces. You take all the bones out then and put them in your mouth, one at a time, and when you strike that bone, the lucky bone, you'll become blind. Then you have struck the right bone. You carry that for luck. [This is a tricky rite! After I draw each bone through my lips and still see, what happens then? Are some black cats without lucky bones? Am I supposed to continue in rotation or haphazardly redrawing the bones through my lips ad infinitum? Is this merely a folk trick? A practical joke?] [Hampton, Va., Old Point Comfort, Ediphone cyl.30.]
Entry 10089
De black cat bone, ah've always heard dat wus good. Ketch a black cat about midnight in de night an' throw 'im in a hot pot of boilin' watah. An' yo' git befo' a mirrah an' yo' be- gin fittin' de bones 'cross yore mouth whilst lookin' in de mirrah; an' when yo' git tuh de right bone, den yo' vanish - yo' cain't see yo'self in de mirrah. Dat's de way ah've heard it.
Entry 10090
See, jis' lak dis black cat bone - yo' kin disappeah. (How do you do that?) Well, dey tell me yo' kin take dat black cat bone an' yo' keep agoin' till yo' git de right bone; an' when yo' git de right bone, yo' rub yore face on it an' look in de glass [mirror] an' can't see yuhself, yo' disappear. Can't no one else see yo'.
Entry 10091
That fer stealin' also. Yo' take a black cat with notta white spot on it. Yo' understand what I mean. Yo' take this black cat an' yo' have a hot boilin' pot of water. Yo' put this black cat in there. Cover him up, and let him cook all to pieces. After he cooks all to pieces, then you take him out and pour that water off of it. Dash them bones in some cold water and take a looking glass, and put that stuff before this looking glass. And take ev'y bone and pass it between yore teeth and look in this glass. An' the bone that yo' pass between your teeth and yo' can't see yourself in this glass, that's the right bone. Yo' can tote that bone and do anything you wanta.
Entry 10092
Dey ketch a black cat with not a spot on 'im an' put it in a pot, put 'im in a pot 'live an' boil 'im till all de meat, yo' know, drop off de bones. An' den dey go to a runnin' stream, a swift runnin' stream of water, an' dey say dey chunk dem - pitch dose bones [into the Water]. An' dey say de one, yo' know, dat comes back down de stream - not go up it - de one dat come back down de stream, turns an'. comes back down de stream or runs back against de water, say dat's de one. Yo' kin put it in yuh mouth an' yo' disappears. Say yo' kin go
[unseen] into banks [and rob them].
Entry 10093
Put a black cat in boiling water while he is alive and keep him there, and when the meat comes off, you take the bones and stand before a mirror. And put them bones through your lips, yes, one at a time, and when you can't see your- self in the mirror, that is the right one, the black cat lucky bone. All black cats have it. If you are gambling or anything and losing and want to leave, if you run a black cat lucky bone through your lips, suck it, out you go and they can't see you.
Entry 10096
I heard one fellow tell that too. As near as I can recall what he said. You take a black cat at twelve o'clock at night, boil the cat in hot Water until the flesh is boiled away from the bones. The first bone that floats up to the top of the water, you say certain words - I don't remember the words. You tie a string to the bone and keep the bone in your outh a certain length of time. Then tie that string around your neck with the bone hanging to it. That puts the person in the power of what they call...in ocher words he sells himself to the devil. He can work wonderful miracles. Be can do anything he wishes. It gives luck in gambling, too. [Fredericksburg, Ta., by Ediphone,62.]
Entry 10099
Dat black cat by de watah's got tuh be at twelve 'clock at night. An' if dey ain't good, dey can't stay dere. Cain't stay dere. Ain't no way fer yuh tuh stay dere. Yuh take dat black cat bone. Yuh take dat black cat an' yuh boil all de meat off 'is bone. Dey says yuh goes tuh a runnin' stream of watah an' put dat cat bones in dat place an' do dat business. Well, ah believe dat's a mistake. Dat's mah belief. But chew take dat black cat bone an' yo' boil dat black cat down, an' when all de meat fall off de bone, yo' take dat black cat up [from the pot] an' yo' wash dem bones off wit cleah watah. Aftah yuh wash dem bones off in cleah watah, yuh take evah bone, evah bone dat Was in de cat, an' put 'em in yore mouth. An' de right bone is goin' tuh turn yuh blind as a bat. Dat's de bone.
(That's the bone you use.)
Entry 10100
Now, dis is not mah personal experience. Dey take a black cat down by a stream of runnin' watah an' a pot, piece of glass an' so forth. An' put de cat in dis pot full of watah. Aftah yo' build a fire an' de watah begin gittin' warm, put dis cat in dere an' have a top on it. Now, yo' must hol' dis cat in a certain way an' slip 'im in dis pot, an' git dat lid down befo he hollahs as yo' do dat. An' den let 'im boil den until he's thoroughly [done] an' de meat absolutely floatin' aroun' in de pot. Den yo' take dat glass an' look through it [it is a piece of glass and not a mirror] an' jis' take up each bone in dere an' bite it. Bite de meat offa it umntil yo' come tuh de right bone. An' yo' git dat bone an' de glass will dis- appeah from befo' yuh. Then yo' take...
(Then you get the right bone. How do you know it's the right bone?)
Well, at de disappearance of de glass. Den yo' take dat bone an' do certain articles wit it. Ah don' know jis' zac'ly what dat is. An' it will enable yo' tuh become in de knowledge of how tuh slip out of dere hide. [I turn off machine too soon.]
(Whom do you say does this? Do the witches do this?)
Yes, den dey become de witch when dey become so dat dey kin slip outa dere hide. An' yo' can't ketch 'em. Yo' know what ah mean.
(You can catch them?)
Yo' know what ah mean. Lak if he'd kill somebody out dere. He come in de store an' steal somepin or othah lak dat. Yo' can't run 'im down an' ketch 'im. So law kin ketch 'im. If dey ketch 'im an' put 'im in jail - dey locks 'im up in dere - an' den walk down de street an' he's standin' aside of 'im pattin' 'im an de shouldah. Walk along an' say "Hello' all dose kinda things. Now dat's vbat chew call tuh mah knowledge witchcraft.
Entry 10104
(When you boil this black cat, these bones fall apart?)
All a 'em fall off [the flesh].
(Which bone do you take?)
Take...izza [it's a] bone shape lak de wishbone in de chicken. Yo' call it de night bone. [As I have explained elsewhere, there is no black cat bone the shape of a chicken wishbone: "One informant said the black cat bone was 'made lak de breast of a chicken' (No.316, p.94), meaning the furculum or wishbone in front of but not a part of the chicken breast- bone. Similarly, another informant de- scribed black cat bone as 'gon'a have three forks [prongs or tines]...two long forks an' a little small fork' (No.299, p.88). I suggested this three-pronged fork could have been a 'devil's trident.' Actually the 'little small fork' could have been the hypocleidium - the end adhering to the winning half of the broken wishbone. Despite informants, wishbone appears only in most birds; it appears in black cats only by the grace of hoodoo merchants (Vol.1, No.1732, p.527, lines 15-23).]
[We now return to the preceding night-bone.]
(The ninth bone or the night?)
De night, n-i-g-h-t.
(The night bone?)
Yes, sir.
[It is called night bone because it makes you invisible.]
An' yo' keep dat in yuh pocket, an' wherevah yo' go de people don't [see you]. Yo' kin do anything dey want lak a majjint [magician].
(They can't see you?)
Dey can't see yuh.
Entry 10105
Well, you could take a cat - some people say a black cat, but it don't have to be a black cat. Take any kinda cat. Understand? Take this cat. You put you on some water - a big pot of water - boils it up good. When that water gets to boiling good, get you a can of lye. You empty about half of it in that water, as it boils, you see. You takes this cat and tie all four of his feet togeth- er like that, see [demon- strates]. Tie all four of his feet together, but don't kill him - let him be alive. You takes him - but you'll have to have a top over him, you understand. You takes him and you slams him down in that water while it's boilin', see. Set your top down good so he can't get out. You let him boil in there awhile. Well, it's natchal that lye is going to cut all the meat off the bones, you see. As soon as you've boiled all them bones clean and everything, it's a certain bone that you get. It comes from right under here [demonstrates].
(Right from the throat?)
Right under the throat chere.
(Right under the throat.)
It's a forked bone and it's got a piece cross it like that [demonstrates]. Lays jest like that right under his throat chere. You gits that bone out.
(Like the yoke of an ox, like a wishbone?)
Yes, sir. Yes, sir, it is. [A chicken-wishbone shape in a cat is impossi- ble.] You gets that bone out. After you take that bone out, you get you some salt.] Put it in some water. You soak that bone in there for nine mornings - about an hour every morning. That salt water will harden it. See. Then it will petrify, so it won't spoil. [This is curing the bone as you would a ham.] After you soaks it in that, then you take it and you lay it in the rays of the sun, for three mornings. Let the sun dry it, petrify it. After then, take you a piece of white silk linen [silk or linen?] and you sew it up in that, and wear that bone on you.
(What will that do then?)
Well, you'll be invisible then - can't see you.
Entry 10107
Kill black cat, remove collar bone, boil this until mid- night, "if they kin stand to see all the imps and stuff that ap- pear, '' kin wear it, do anything. [wilmington, N. Car., resumé, 91:12.]
Entry 10108
Heard dat yo' kin git a bone from a black cat's foot an' wear in yore- sew it up in some of yore wearin's yo' un'erstan', dat chew kin mostly be able tuh carry it ovah...
[I turned off machine too quickly and had to add:] (You win in gambling.) The bone from any foot.
Entry 10112
They claim you go into a graveyard about midnight. The first black cat that crosses in the graveyard, you ketch it and kill it and get the main bone. The main bone will be a knuckle bone called the black cat wishbone. [All black cat bones are wishbones but they never look like a chicken wishbone - see No.10104, p.3939.] [Fredericks- burg, Va., Ediphone cyl.47.
Entry 10113
You get hold of a cat to do different things with. You can use a - take a cat, a black cat. You take a black cat and you kill the black cat. And you kill this black cat, you boil it. And you take a bone from him after you boil 'em. You boil 'em until every bit of the meat [here, having heard this much many times, I stopped recording. The words "round bone" restarted machine].
(You get that round bone, you say?)
Yes, sir. (Any kind of a - you mean a bone like the tip of your finger, or it's round that way?)
[Here I may have demonstrated a circle.]
Yes, sir.
(Then do you do anything with that bone?)
I'll cut four corners in it.
[Informant must have gone through motions of filing.]
(Then you file those?)
I'd file the sides, make it good and round. I don't want no rough edges, no corners on it at all. (Oh, I see, you round each end of that round bone?) Yes, sir. (I see.) Then I... [pauses]. (Then what do you do?) Then I'm going to cut it. You see, I cut it [demon- strates] thisaway; cut it like that, and then disaway. (Make four notches in it?) Four notches on each end. Now, when I get them four notches in this bone, I take - well, I get me a piece of silk thread. See, I get silk thread and I'm going to wrap that bone thisaway nine times into them notches. (Now, this bone is like the little stick that you wrap your fishing cord around?) Yes, sir.
(You have the notches - the notches don't run round the [thickness of the]
bone, but it [the notch] goes out to the end [the length] of the bone.) My notches come on the end, you see, and my notches set like this [demon- strates]. See, I got four notches on each end.
(I see, go ahead.)
See, the notches cut in the bone cross the two ends thisaway, see [demon- strates]. Well, I'm using this bone different. I'm going to wrap this bone thisaway [demonstrates]. (You only have two notches in that bone, in the end of that round - it's like a cross [+] on each end of the bone?) Yes, sir.
(0r like grooves, one groove across the other one.)
Yes, sir. They cross.
(That makes four grooves?)
Yeah, four grooves.
(All right.)
Well, I'll take and use silk thread; see, blue or pink. I take and I cross it this way for nine times. I wrap it for nine times thataway and then I come back nine times thisaway. I gets me [I interrupt to annote]. (You wrap the thread nine times around one of those notches at each end and you turn around like that and wrap it nine times through the other notches in the opposite end?) You see, I'm wrapping it by the straight...
(I understand that.)
Jest come down straight thisaway, not thisaway.
(I understand.)
Thisaway. And I get me - after I wrap it around that bone, I get the thread around the bone thataway, I go and I get me some of this war powder. I'll get me war powder and with this powder that I'll scrape off of this bone, I'm going to mix that together, see. I lay this bone into a piece of silk paper.
(What kind of paper?)
Silk.
(Silk paper.)
Silk paper, see. And I lay that bone in there and I gets me one of these small candles. Small candles. You know them little bit of yellow candles. They are about three for a nickel.
(How high are they?)
They little bit of candles about this [high].
(Oh, just small candles. All right.)
Little small candles, about little bit bigger than a match stick. They about that long. Get you one of those - three, I mean. And I'm going to lay two - one on each side of this thing - this bone, you see. But I'm going to lay it in a Way, I'm going to put it in a frame-like, but it ain't going to burn, and I'm going to light them candles. Light all three of them, but I'm going to light two here and I'm going to light one on the top.
(You have these candles in a triangular form, and the bone's inside the form?)
In the center. I lights those and now when I lights these, I let 'em burn. I light 'em at twelve o'clock in the day. Every day for twelve o'clock - no more, no less. I light 'em at twelve an' let 'em burn 'till about twelve-thirty, see. Twelve- thirty, if the work ain't done, I put 'em out, an' the next day I light 'em at twelve-thirty. And then for about three or six days, whatsomever I'm after, it's got to come in the six days. In the sixth day I get whatsomever I'm after. (Here's your - now, let me talk. Here's your cat bone - it's round like that. [I should have given description!] You file off both ends and you make the both ends round. Then you make a groove, you put a cross on top of the groove. At each end make a groove. Then you wrap the thread nine times around this way and nine times around that way - just like you wrap fishing tackle.) That's right.
(All right.)
Entry 10114
Ah have heard dat yo' kin take - ah had a fellah tell me, he wuzn't goin' do it, but ah have known fellahs dat have done it. Yo' undahstan'. If yo' wants tuh be lucky in yuh life, jis' take yuh a black cat an' take 'im, carry 'im down to a rivah or any runnin' watah, yo' undahstan', an' take 'im an' hold 'im down in de pot. Hold 'im down in de pot until he die. An' take him an' hold 'im down tuh de bottom of de pot until he hollah 'fore he die. Turn 'im loose den - turn de pot loose, de lid on de pot loose. An' 'is body den will rise up, his body will be bobbin'. "Cos [of course] though, by an' by de things will be comin'. All kinds of things be comin' up dere; de devils an' cows an' hogs an' all kinda things lak dat will come up, see. But yo' jis' don't bothah. Let 'em go right on until yo' bile [boil] dis black cat up, yo' undahstand. An' when yo' bile 'in good, yo' take den de bones outa dere - de laig bones. An' take 'en tuh runnin' watah an' any bone dat go down stream, don' chew bothah wit it; but de bone whut [you] take, turn roun' an' roun'. All de rest of 'em no good dat go an down, but de bone whut chew want will turn roun' an' roun'. Well, yo' take dat bone, dat black cat bone. An' take it den an' tie it up in a piece of - black piece of cloth. When yo' gits de bone, tie it [in] black, den yo' tie it red. Git dat an' tote it in yuh pocket. An' dey tell me yo'll nevah have ooh vorry any mo' about livin'. Dat's whut ah know 'bout dat.
Entry 10116
There was a fellow who used to say - a long time ago a fellow was not so very lucky, and another man told him to go and git hisself a black cat bone. He told him to go over into the graveyard and find whatsoever he could of a bone from a person, and then come back and git a black cat bone, and keep them in his pocket. He told him to git the fore right-hand arm of the black cat and keep it and the other bone in his pocket and his luck would change.
Entry 10119
Ah've had a fren' of mine - ah've seen dat. Ah've had a frien' of mine kill a cat, black cat. Jis' taken an' put 'im in de watah live - jis' put in de watah live an' let 'im cook all tuh pieces. But dat's de devil [devil's work]. Let 'im cook all tuh pieces an' put a lid ovah 'im, [keep] dat down. Let 'im cook all tuh pieces when he's live. He took dat cat, when he cook all tuh pieces, he took de right hin' laig of 'is bone den an' throw it in de watah. Hit'll run up [stream]. It shore do. Hit'll run up an' den come back, an' stop an' turn aroun' [and surely bows to you!]. Dat's de lucky bone. But chew don' fin' [find] dat done evah day.
(The right hind leg.)
Dat bone by de j'int [joint].
Entry 10120
Ah heard dat yo' kin kill a black cat an' git de right han' back laig, an' suck de marrah out 'is back laig, an' go tuh five fo'k of de road nine mawn- in's, an' yo' kin do anything yo' wanta do wit anybody. Yo' kin turn any kinda nachure [nature] yo' kin turn tricks, yo' kin do things.
(You go to five what?)
Five fo'k of a road - jis' a road runnin' dis way an' a road dat way, jis' five fo'k.
(Five roads coming together?)
Yes sir, jis' lak five points out chere; yo' know, de Timl bleville highway, dat's a five fo'k road, see. Well, yo' go down dere nine mavn- in's at nine a'clock. (You can do anything then?) Yes sir.
Entry 10122
(After you boil this cat you do what?)
Yo' take de cat aftah yo' boil 'im - see, yo' boil all de bones dat comin', comin', joinin' tuhgethah, an' dere's one pahtic'- lah [particular] bone in dere yuh gits out an' tote it in yuh hip pock- et. Dat's de hin' lef' laig of de black cat.
Entry 10126
The way I heard of that, you get the lucky bone of a black cat. You get the bone out of his left hind leg. You have to kill him and skin him and get this out, and you wear that. [Fredericks- burg, Va., Ediphone 39.]
Entry 10128
Yo' see, yo' have tub take a black cat an' boil 'im at twelve a'clock in de night an' take de bone, one li'l bone out 'is back hin' laig. Ordabxtm' me. An' yo' take an' cg dat Ob a li'l stream of watah dat goin' tuhwards de sundown an' jis' let it float an off in dat watah a li'l piece. Den yo' ketch dat an' tote dat iny pocket. Dat's luck. Dat's whut ah heah 'bout it.
(You get the bone of either back leg?)
Jis' eithah one de back laig, yo' know, long as yo' kin git a bone out dem.
Entry 10131
Ah hear'd 'em say dat dey take a black ket wit not a white spot about it anywhere. An' take it an' put it in a pot alive, an' b'il it till de meat falls offa de bones. [Bones not thrown into running water.] An' take dose bones an' dat Zi'le roun' cur'ous bone dat's in de ket, take it an' weah it in yore pocket. Keep it in dere wrapped up from all dirt an' evah- thin' an' dat wuz good luck tuh yuh, couldn't nobody harm yo' or do nuthin tuh yuh.
Entry 10133
Boil black cat, third joint from his tail bone will float to top, only bone that comes to top. [Richmond, Va., 386:3.]
Entry 10135
Take a bone, the dead man's bone, and take a black cat bone. That's tvo bones; a certain bone in the black cat, a certain bone in the dead man. And you'll be... (You use them together?) Yes, sir. (I see. All right.) Listen. Take a: certain bone of the dead man and certain bone of the black cat, tying them across [in the form of a cross], wearing them in your pocket. After wearing them in your pocket, you'll be a mystery man at least. You'll do things that it look impossible to do. For instance, I would walk in here - come in and walk on out and I wouldn't see yoo aad you wouldn't see me. But it's a certain bone.
(What bone is that?)
That's a certain bone of that black cat you have to take, you see. They got a bone in that cat - it come from the shoulder, from the left shoulder, that bone. You take that bone, and after taking that bone, to find out if you have the right bone, you takes a mirror, see, passing those bones that way [demonstrates passing che through mouth]. And long as you see yourself in the mirror thar isg't the right one. The moment you get the right one, you don't see yourself my nore. gell, that's supposed to be that bone that you kin absolutely disappear. You'll be coming in the street there and you don't disappear, but anyhow the party you hope don't see you, won't see you. When they do see you again, you'll be a dis- tance off.
(What bone do they take out of the body? Out of that person's body?)
Out of a person body? That bone they got right here, it's a small bone near to your spine.
(At the end of the spine?)
Yes, sir.
(Where you sit down on?)
Absolutely! [Some place else in HOODOO I have another example of the "inde- structible bone, " but I cannot recall where it is.] Take that bone and that black cat bone from the left shoulder and tying them acrosst. But the bone of the cat, to be sure that you have the right one, you have to use a mirror.
Entry 10136
They say you must shoot a cat going right, a black cat crossing your road going right. Shoot him dead and then get that main bone what's called the thigh bone or femor bone of a cat, the right leg, front. And then get the bone right back of the head, and one of the right-foot bones also. Three bones. And put them to- gether and wear them in a sack around the waist, and a person can do anything he Wants to do that's devilish and tricky.
Entry 10140
They can get this hand by killing a black cat and boiling him. And after they had boiled the bones, they crush the bones up into a powder and sewed up in a bag.
Entry 10141
Dey go down an' take a black cat an' take an' boil 'im. Take him down side of a creek an' boil 'im. Boil 'im all tuh pieces an' take his bones out an' throw 'im intuh three streams of watah. (You throw these bones into three streams of water?) Yessuh, throw 'em in intuh three streams of watah an' de third bone dat come up tuh de top, an' yo' take dat third bone. Yo' take dat bone an' carry an' take it an' have it beat up, jes' groun' up lak yo' would shavin' somepin othah. Aftah dat, yo' take peppah an' take salt, an' yo' does dat way [sprinkles] ovah it fo' ten times. Den yo' take dat an' put it in a red flannel rag. Aftah yo' take dat red flannel rag an' put it [this mixture] in dat. den yo' take it an' tote it in yore Watch pocket al] de time. If yo' decide tuh gamble, yo' take it out chure watch pocket an' put it in de pocket where yo's money's in. Dat's lucky.
(That's lucky in gambling?)
Yes.
Entry 10145
For a lucky hand boil black cat, throw bones in running water. The bone that come on top will turn around...an' spins." You must have it dressed by someone. [For example of bone being dressed by professional work- er, see No.308, p.92, v.l; there are other examples.] [Wilmington, N. Car., resume, 119:9.]
Entry 10146
A root doctor wrapped up a black cat bone in cloth, put in sack with salt, put in pocket on right side, go to boss for job. [Wilmington, N. Car., resume, 109:2.]
Entry 10147
If dey fixin' to throw sompin down fer you to walk on, you can git you some dead cat bone an' bury it under your back step. [Wilmington, N. Car., resume, 185:5.]
Entry 10148
You kill a black cat, boil it, then dry the bones. Put it in a luck bag and carry it around your neck for good luck. [Fredericksburg, Va., Ediphone cyl.45.]
Entry 10151
(This black cat lucky bone?) Yes. Yo' take some sugah an' some salt an' put it on dis bone, an' let dis bone soak in it fo' an hour. An' den yo' take it an' yo' take dis bone an' put it in yore pocket. An' yo' kin go anywheah yo' wanta, an' do anythin' yo' wanta wit dat, tuh anybody yo' wanta, an' dis bone won' let nuthin hurt chew.
Entry 10152
Hold it [a black cat bone] in your hand, in the palm of your hand - until it sweat, and just smooth it [bone surely, not palm of hand] over your face; and anything that you undertake to do, that you'd be successful with.
[Vicksburg, Miss., resumé, 989:8.]
Entry 10153
(Tell me that again. What did you hear?)
Ah hear'd yuh could take a black cat bone an' give someone a stroke.
(Give them a stroke?)
Yes.
(Well, how would they do that?)
Take de bone an' it's some kinda 'gredient, turpentine, dey mix in wit de bone. Says, if yo' git a chance tuh rub de person, dat part of dere body'll ache dem. Dere's a lady out in Kings now, she suffahs from a black cat bone.
(It gives them a stroke?)
Uh huh. She has a stroke from 'er body on down. (All they do is to rub that bone on a person?) Dat bone an' grease an' turpentine, pure lard. (Pure lard and turpentine?) Yes. (I see. How would you get that black cat bone? Where would you get that?)
Entry 10154
Wha' choo may call witchcraft...take a cat, a black cat, and boil him down to get a black cat bone. An' jis' apply that bone to a certain part, to your body or the affected part of your body, why that will cure you. That'll have the power to drive those witches out, to drive that conditions out of your body. That's what I was told years ago by some of the old relatives. [Wilmington, N. Car., resume, 174:1.]
Entry 10410
"'They tell me witches have those [a black cat lucky bone] wit 'em an yo' kin go right where yo' wan'a an' not be seen a heap of times." [Here we have hag, witch and owner of black cat lucky bone grouped together. There is not too much material telling us how a witch or hag changes shape or disappears.]
Entry 10670
( Git de bone from a dead person an' it's lucky to yuh, 'cordin' tuh whut kinda luck yo' want. Jes' lak if yo' wanta, yo' gotta git a diff'ren' kind of bone, a certain part of bone from a person. Yo' kin use a person's teeth from de [dead] body fo' luck, but it's gotta be ground. Co'se [of course] doctors will grind 'em [bones from the dead] fo' yo' but yo' know dey kinda scared on 'counta de laws about dat, but chew kin git a bone from de wrist. Dat's whut dey call a article bone [article is obsolete word for a "joint of the body"]. Dey kin use dat an' wrap it up in flannel, but yo' gotta use all dese diff'ren' things. Wrap it up in flannel an' carry it around in yore pocket. Yo' don' use anything on dat [wristbone] fo' luck. An' den yo' kin git a bone from de laig. Dat's de smaller bone, de front bone. Yo' kin git a smaller bone from a person's laig an' use it an' it's fo' bad luck fo' yo' enemies things. [This should have been placed under BONES FROM THE DEAD pp.3407-3419, v.3.]
Entry 10878
Yo' take a black cat, de same cat yo' got de [lucly] bope [froa]. Yo take dat hair an' yo' tie it up. Yo' gotta tie it in a rag an' yo' wear it in yore shirttail. When yo' wear it in yore shirttail, yo' kin conker anybody. (You get the hair from the top of his tail?) Right from de top of his tail, right from de butt of his tail. (And the man will give you a job?) "Cause him tuh give yo' a job or yo' kin git anything that chew want.
Entry 11046
To keep dem [law] from de house? Now, if you Wanta a little liquor kept [for sale] in dis place heah and you don't want no man to come in on yuh nov. You go on your station house and git one of de man's name that you'll find out. Git one, two or three - if you kin [get] nine it's much better. De ore you get de stronger it is. If you can't git but one [name], den work on dat Bne one, but let it be de leading man dat you knows is asking about you - to yoar acn judgment. Work by your own judgment, de judgment of your ear. Git dat man nae and git you a brand-new piece of board and write his name. Put 'en cross de world. Write 'em cross de world to you and write 'em backwards.
(Backwards and forwards.)
And dey can't come in fer de devil. And nail dat onto your step and dey can't be seeing you. Not when you nail dat dere. Git you de heart of a chicken and it got to be a black chicken. Cut de heart out of it. Git dat wishin' bone of de chicken breast and you take dat heart wit your hand on dose letters. Put 'em dere so it can't be rub off - on dat board. (You rub this heart over those letters?) All over dose letters, all up and down like dat. And talk at de same time. Tell 'em dat [what] dat spirit is got- ta to do. You don't want no law to worry me. You wants to be up dere selling whiskey. Ah don't want dat law to worry me. Ah don't want no kin' of law. Ah don't even wants 'em to come heah fo' a drink of liquir or beer. Ah [wants] 'em to pass by and keep on passing by. Kin go right in next door but won't come in chere. Take dat wishing-bone, and be shore dat you go. down in de groun' to your shoul- der and turn it down -人. Don't turn it up -Y
(Turn the wishing bone down, the points down?)
[Here we have rite similar to the forked stick or "Y" in No.11032.]
Turn de two prongs down. And while you have - doin' it, you talk to 'em. An' if you know any de officer's names, don't let any come in dere, de fed'ral offi- cer back, de county man back, de city officer back, de state controller, back. Dat take in all 'em, ain't it? Go on over and over. And if you git dose three class of officers, you know why it is, don't you? De federal, de state control- ler, git de county and git de highway man. Den you go to work.
(Where do you bury that wishing bone?)
Under your step, right under your step. Be sure to go under your house. Den you put dat bone. If you ain't got no front, put it in de middleways of de house. [This center under the house and the 4 corners of the house make our rite a quin- cunx.] Dat almost stop people jack-jacking to the front.
Entry 11638
It's a bone in a fish called a lucky bone...right up against de back part of a fish's haid... It's made something lak dat [demonstrates]. It's made in a "v" lak... (Like a fork?) Yeah. [This "v" shape is merely another attempt, as with the frog and black cat, to find a chicken wishbone elsewhere; a matter I have discussed several times in the preceding text.]
Entry 11749
You can take graveyard dirt, you can run people crazy with it. You can keep a man and his wife together and you can separate them with it, because if they fuss and fight and almost kill one another, of qourse they have to separate. Now, you go to the graveyard and you get it [graveyard dirt in] a bucket, for a bucketful is all that you need at one time. And you try to find one of those skeleton bones, and take that skeleton bone and that basket of graveyard dirt, and catch them when they are away from home and wobody there. And bury that bone and that dirt under their step, if they have 3 dirt step; if not, they got bricks, and you can pry that brick up, but you got wo be sure where they pass in and out of their door all the time. And when you get that dirt down there, of course, you put it [soil or brick] back so they roa't detect it, see. It will cause them to fight and almost kill one another. They have to separate.
Entry 12560
I have taken the right-hand bone out of a 'possum foot - out of a 'possum laig - out of de front laig an' made a hand out of it, and it would [I interrupt]. (What would you use a hand like that for?) Use it for anything and everything for luck. Give you luck in everything you undertaking, the 'possum will, or muskrat, the zusk- rat right hand.
Entry 12571
(Well, what kind of a bone would they get from that man?)
Just any part of the body. Mostly they try to get that bone down in here, you know, right between your laigs. Mostly try to get that part that's kind of fork like that, you know. [This is the folkore penis bone of a man, supposed to be forklike.] Get one of those bones like that. That's mostly what they get [from a dead man of course]. Well, any part of that bone. Well, they take it and dry it up into a dust, or take a file and put it in your eats. That will cause a stroke.
(That will cause a stroke, I see.)
That [is] if your blood ain't good. If you got good blood, you understand, and your system's not constipated, it won't hurt you.
Entry 12771
Now, it's hard fer yo' to get de dead man's bone, but if yo' kin git de deadman's bones, yo' goin' to use dis thing out de woods what chew call de pickle [prickle] feet too. Wal yo' goin't' git dat deadman's bone out de [graveyard] an' yo'll take dat an' take it to yo' house. Yo' goin' scrape dat. Now yo've got sompin ag'in me. Yo've got sompin ag'in me. Yo' don't want nobody to git next to yo'. Yo' goin' to take one scrapin' of dat bone an' scrape it fer yo'self fust [first]. Yo' fust part in dat scrapin' yo' will bind 'em down to yo'. (Well, what do you do after you scrape that? What do you do with that scrap- ing?) De fust part of de scrapin', yo' keep dat.
(What do you do with the rest of it?)
When yo' want to scatter it, scatter it out do' de no't an' de so't. Dat to hold yo' enemy from yo'.
(What do you do with that prickle feet then?)
Dat prickle feet - dat prickle feet is de devil. Dat prickle feet hold yo' from start to finish. Yo' kin use dat prickle feet to de no't', to de s'ut', to de west - any way yo' wanta use it; but chew Wanta handle it wit care.
Entry 13254
You kin take gunpowder and sulphur, and if you kin get close enough to dem when dey go to sleep or lay down - yo' know where de' goin' to lay down - take and dust it. See, jis like de shett up, and dust de mattress and put it back where de' sleep - goin' lay down over it. And dat thing get in dere bones, see, and dey won't live 6 months.
Entry 13447
Take a horseshoe an' some sage leaves an' a black cat bone an' olive oil, an' yo' git some [whiskey].
(What do you do with that?)
Yo' jes' put it anywhere secretly aroun' yore place of business wherevah yo' at [and saturate it].
(You saturate it with what?)
Wit de whiskey, see. Dat supposed tuh keep it 'live an' tuh 'tract dere attention, of people. It's very attractive wit dat.
(If you want to bring in customers?) Yes.
Entry 13457
Dis pullin' bone in a chicken, yo' take dat bone an' yo' do a lotta different things wit dis bone. Yo' take dis pullin' bone an' keep it in yore pocket an' it gives yo' good luck. Sometimes yo' git a job or yo' find money. An' yo' take dis pullin' bone again an' break it an' stick it through de do' at de first man dat come in. Dat'll be yore husband.