Subject:Cat
Entries
Entry 262
Yo' take de black cat - ya' ketch him alive an' takes a crocus bag an' yo' puts him in it.
(What kind of bag?) Crocus sack - dey call it crocus bag in de North - sacks. (What do you put in that sack?)
Put de black cat in it after yo' ketch it. An' den yo' puts chure water on, see, an' yo' has yore water boilin' an' yo' put dis perfume - dere's a perfume dat chew git fer it - it's all in de book [hoodoo manual or catalogue]. Yo' drops seven drops in dere with that water jes' lak if yo' making anything an' put that in there to color it. An' yo' drop that cat in there an' all de meat will boil off dem bones until it gits to dat bone. When it gits to dat bone, dat bone gon'a whine, an' when dat bone whines, dat's de bone to git.
(That bone will what?)
Whine lak a cat.
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 328
Well, ah've heard of de black cat. Yo' take dat black cat - ah've heard of dis. Yo' take him whilst he's 'live, take him an' boil him. Ketch him an' put him in hot watah an' boil him. An' yo' take dat watah an' let it cook down an' yo' take an' mix it wit sugah an' oil of bergamot an' oil of cinnamon. Aftah yo' git dat lucky bone - ah'll tell yo' dis first. Yo' take that an' have yo' a pan of watah, aftah yo boil him all tuh pieces. Den yo' take an' put it all in dat watah an' dat lucky bone will stay on top an' de others will go to de bottom. Yo' take dat bone out an' den yo' kin go by polices or anybody else. Yo' take that black cat bone an put it ovah yore do', up ovah yore do', or either undah yore step: De polices ain't comin' no further den dat. Dat's de way yo' got'a git dat bone.
(After you boiled that black cat, what do you do?)
Take an' mop yo' flo' with it [demonstrates while I comment]. (After you put that black cat bone over your door, then you use this black cat water and this oil of bergamot, that's to mop with.) With the sugah an' the concentrated lye. Put a teaspoonful dat concentrated lye in dat watah an' yo' mop yore po'ch early in de mawnin' befo' sunup. Dat keeps de police away an' draws de luck to yore house. [This is one of many ways to bring in customers - see Scrubbing and Mopping in Index.]
Entry 552
I've know a woman to do that.
(What?)
Take a little girl's photograph - a little grow awful fast, you see. And she disliked her and she shoved her finger at her and told her, says, "I'll keep even with your daughter" [see Bad mouth in Index]. And she go into her mother's house and it was a friend of her mother's, you see, see, that had her photo on a tintype, and she'd taken this photo and she buried it with de face down. See. And buried it with de face down but before she buried it, she got her some feathers.
(What kind of feathers?)
Turkey feathers, just turkey feathers, and she got those turkey feathers and she cross-laid those turkey feathers.
(How do you mean cross-laid them?)
Just like my hand is laying 'cross my fingers there now [demonstrates].
(Made a sort of X?)
Yes, sir.
(All right.)
And she laid those things down there, and then she covered them, see.
(Well now, what did she do - lay them in the ground with the picture on that?)
The picture on that and then she put some over de picture, and covered 'em up and she stuck one right straight up in de center of it, after she covered it, in de shape of a grave - she stuck one right straight up in the center of it.
(One of what?) [I knew what, but I want a definite statement from her.]
One of those feathers.
(I see. All right.)
Right straight up and down in de center of it. Well, the girl then, she began in the next ten days lingering. They'd taken this girl to the doctor and they'd taken the girl to the doctor. The more they d taken her to the doctor, the more doctor medicine she take, the worse she get. Finally, it was a fellow come along and told 'um - old colored fellow, he come along and told this girl's mother that she was hurt and she never would get over it. See. And told her one of her friends did it, and told her to give him a dollar and he would cure her. So she done what he told her [gave him a dollar]. So when she done that the old man set something at the door like a black cat. See. Set that thing at the door and he went to saying magic and something, calling de Lord's name, and something just fell all out of that thing just like shots, running all over dat house. [In- formant now confuses logical order by giving conclusion before final details.] And that little girl got up and she walked - she hadn't been up walking - she got up and walked and she got all right. Well, this old man then, see - and he told her, "Now, the one what hurt your daughter will be here, but she'll be here before she [daughter] get out de bed."
[The culprit would soon appear but the victim would not become well until later.]
Shore enough she [culprit] walked in, and when she walked in, her husband [not the culprit's] took a wing of a chicken, with the bone in it, and hit her right in de forehead, and when he hit her in de forehead, it got de blood from her, and he taken some of her blood and give to dis man, and dis man throwed [daughter's] spell on hog he had out in the lot [cf. healing of demoniac in Mk.5:1, Mt.8:28, Lk.8:26; see Transference in Index.]
(On a hog?)
On a hog he had out in the lot - the hog went crazy - Just runned - just hollered and just went plumb crazy.
(Where did that happen?)
That was up here at Kings - right up here at Kings' Crossing.
(I see - right near Vicksburg?)
Yassuh.
(How long ago did it happen?)
Well, that's been about four years ago. (I see. Now, what do you mean something like a black cat? Was it something alive?) No, it wasn't alive, but it was in the shape of a black cat, you see, just cloth - showed up just like a black cat, just like you got on dat black coat dere [informants frequently mentioned my black coat - see Coat, my black, in Index], but he had it in the shape of a black cat and he set it on the floor. You see.
(And something fell out of it?)
Yes sir - something come out of it just like little balls - just like little shots, and run all around over de floor.
(I see. Well, did he find this thing that was buried or not?)
This woman brought it - this woman come and brought it - she come and brought it. See.
(I mean, did he find that stuff that this woman had buried?)
That this woman had buried on the girl? Well, she come,: see. Well, she come to visit dis woman dat morning before the child get up. She had it in her hand. She had went.and took it up. See, this man had been there, you see, he made her take it up, you see. And she took it and when her husband hit her, she dropped it out of her hand.
(What did that man hit her on the forehead for? Who told him to do that?)
This man what had cured the child.
(Told him to do that?)
Yassuh.
(Use the chicken wing?)
To use the chicken wing and hit her with the bone of it, so he could get her blood so he could throw the spell on a hog. (I see. Do you know how he put the spell on the hog?) [Fortunately she does not know, the story would have been too complete.] Well, I see the hog hollering and hootin' - never see do nothin' like that.
(I see.)
Entry 1121
( Coming ovah agin - ah goes on an' take some of de same stuff, some of dat oil. Ah rub mah wife nine mawnin's with it. De black cat oil - yes sir. Rubs her nine mawnin's with it an' ah give her several High John de Conker Tablets - several. (Where do you get those?) Ah orders dem from Chicago, from King Neverson [Neilson?]. Ah give her seven of dem. She been up goin' ever since. [Small- time root worker. For protective Black Cat Wishing-Bone see subsection Hands.]
Entry 1729
If you got a bootleggin' still out in de woods and if you don't want de law to come near it, you kin git a lot of black cats and you keep em tied round in diff'rent spots in dat woods only at night - dat law wouldn't even come round dere in night er day atall, dey'll come jest about dat far. It seem like dere's always a sort of a heavy black mist to keep 'em away from dere. But chew always have to keep dose cats fed offen nothin' but jest daid rotten catfish dat dey ketch in de ribah heah. If you don't keep 'em well-fed wit dat catfish, dey'll soon die right quick on yo'. But always keep 'em tied - nevah turn 'em loose, keep 'em tied dere all de time in diff'rent spots.
Entry 1730
[The well-known dead hand from a black cat, the Black Cat Lucky Bone, has been given (pp.74-97).] (How am I going to keep the law away?) Well, yo' kill him, de real black one - find one ain't got a [white hair on him], a black cat. Kill a black cat an' bury him under yore do'step, 'cept don't let nobody see yo'. When de law come by heah, dat'll banish him - keep him right on away.
Entry 1731
Tuh git a job. Well, now yo' git chew some lodestone an' yo' set down an' yo' git chew a screenin' wire - lak dat screen up dere. (The screen in the window.) [Hotel window.] Co'se it take yo' a long time tuh do it but yo' set down an' yo'rub it an' rub until dat lodestone come tuh dust an' yo git chew some cologne - yo' know dis heah Jockey Club. Yo' take it an' put it in a bottle lak ah got heah now. See, dat lodestone. [He shows a small bottle.]
(What is the liquid you have in there?)
That's that Jockey Club Perfume. And den yo' could put yo' - if yo' wanta, yo' kill you a black cat an' git his bone an' grind dat up jis' lak yo' do de lodestone. Put it in dere an' den yo' kin go to a man, talkin' to him, an' he'll git ovah tuh yo' - give yo' a job.
(You have that black cat dust in this bottle? Both of them together?)
Yessuh.
(Any bone from the cat?)
Any bone? Yo' see yo' gotta git a bone from roun' his shoulder - up heah, de left shoulder, from in front. Grind it to a powder an' take dis heah bone an' rub it on dis heah screenin' wire until it comes [to a powder]. It goin' take yo' a long time tuh do it. But hit'll do it. Ah use dis fo' luck in gamblin an' luck an' successful in meetin' mah fren's an' everythin'. Ah make fren's, ah don't make no enemies. [If this man had black cat powder in his hand, it was surely a talcum or similar powder with a label showing a black cat and reading Black Cat Powder (see No.1377, p.459).]
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 2421
You get the Black Cat Drawing Oil. Yes, sir. And you can start at the - you have to start at the back and come to the front, scrubbing with this oil.
(What will that do?)
It will draw customers. [See, Black Cat Oil, No. 1121, p.417.]
Entry 3423
Yo' git de wax outa de cat's ear an' git de wax outa de dog's ear an cut jes' a little piece of hair off de dog's tail an' den de half way of his back, an' den de back his neck [hair from 3 places], an' put it in dey shoes. Dey put in de woman's shoe. (What happens then?) Dey git stuck to 'em lak doge. Yah, de' [dey] put dat in dere shoe, de woman's shoe. (They don't get any hair from the cat then?) Git de cat hair an' de dog halr togethah.
Entry 3424
De halr from a dog an de hair from a ket [cat] an' dey duap it into de food of a person. Dat will cuz a tyin' between a man an' a run-aroun' woman, but not at home.
(Cause what?)
Tie 'em up jes' lak a dog tie up.
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 4579
On a dog's tail an' cat's. Three stran's of dog hair an' three stran's of cat hair an' put it in dat bow. [See later.]
(This bow on a man's hatband?) Yes. An' dat'll run 'im crazy. (What you do is let it stay on thebow?)
Yes, put it in de bow of de hat an' let it stay dere.
(Three strands from the dog's tail and three strands from the cat's?)
Three stran's.
(From where?)
From undah 'is tail. Yuh know dat an' kinda plat it tuhgethah-like an' put it right in dat little bow on de hat.
Entry 5744
Ah know about whut chew do wit de tracks. If yo' have a enemy or any- thin', anybody dislak yo' or anythin', an' dey wan' chew tuh leave town or sompin lak dat. Dey'll meet chew an' git chure track an' take it an' mix some dog hair an' cat hair. Yo' know cats an' dogs disagrees in anythin' lak dat. An' takes nine straight pins an' ben' dem tuhgethah, an' put dem in de fo'ks of de road, an' yo'll leave town. An' if it's a woman an' a man dat loved one anothah an' de' meet one 'nothah ag'in, dey be hatin' one 'nothah jis' lak cats an' dogs, be mad an' wanta fight an' kill up one 'nothah. No mattah how good dey is in love, dey git apart.
(This is to separate a man and his wife. Whose foot track do you take?)
Take his'n an' hers. Take his'n, yo' know, de lef' goin', an' bring it up ob yo' lak dis, an' take hers an' bring it up tuh yo'. An' mix it tuhgethah dt de hair out yore haid, if yo' kin git it. Eithah if yo' cain't git de hair oat dere haid, den git de dog's hair - yo' know, de bristles an' de cat's bris- tles, an' mix it tuhgethah wit nine straight [bent] pins.
(Wait a minute! You take the man's left foot, you say?)
De lef' foot track.
(And what about the woman's?)
Take de lef'. Uh-huh, take one goin' an' de othah one comin'. Dere's one aiie' one way an' de othah one comin' de othah way.
(Whose do you take going?)
Take de man's goin' or eithah de woman - it don' make no diff'rence, so dere's e goin' one way an' de othah one comin' de othah.
(And you bury this out at the forks of the road?)
At de fo'ks of de road, but chew mix dem cat bristles an' dog bristles wit dat track. Den take nine straight pins an' bend 'em. [Waycross, Ga., (093, 1760:6.]
Entry 5836
Take some of dere hair an' mix it wit some cat hair an' put it in a Boctle of vinegah an' shake it up an' bury it undah de do'step an' let chew walk ovah it. Dat will run yo crazy. (That is if you took my hair you would bury that under my doorstep? Under my own doorstep?) Tes sir.
(That would set me crazy?)
Yes sir.
Entry 5837
Dey kin take yo' head, dey take some hair right from de roots of yo' hair an' take dat an' burn it. An' den dey git some hair from a black cat an' burn along wit dat. An' dey take de ashes an' put in a tobacco sack. An' den dey take an' put it in a tin can an' throw de can right on straight out [into the water] and [so that it] don't come back in [with] tide. Well, dat will run 'em crazy inside of three months.
Entry 5838
Yo' kin take cat hair an' yo' kin make a person love yo'. Well, yo' kin take de cat hair but yo' firs' gotta git a plait of hair, a stran' of hair from de person who yo' Wanta love yo', an' yo' take, burn dem togeth- ah. An' den yo' take some hair grease - dey call it hair grease. Yo' mix dat up togethah, undahstan'. An' den aftah mixin' it up togethah, den yo' tryin' tuh make yore lady fren'. Yo' try tuh git holt of some of 'er sickness, some piece, if 'er clothes dirty, some of 'er sickness, an' tie it up an' wear dat in yore fob [watch] pocket. Dat will cause her tuh love yo'.
Entry 5891
Ah heard of 'em takin' table salt an' - if dey take de hair out of a person's haid an' git de dog an' cat bristles an' take table salt an' bury it in de fo'ks of de road, dey say dat will run a person crazy. (That's about the same as you told me at first?) Yes.
Entry 6544
Dey take cat hair an' dog hair an' place it intuh a man's food, an' if dat'll remain dere 'bout nine days, well, it'll turn, yo' know, lak hair worms. An' den it'll stay dere 'bout six or seven months, den it beginnin' tuh form snakes. Whenever dose things get live, yo' know, dey jis' crawl an' crawl about. Well, it's quite natchel [natural] den dat'll run yo' crazy.
Entry 6687
They tell me that if you can get a hold of dog's hair and cat hair, and fix it so that it can get into the food of an individual, that after they eat it, if it stays in 'em for nine days, it turns to worms. And those worms get in their body on the inside and they finally die from the effect of it. [Elizabeth City, N. Car., (182), 554:9.] [Readers will notice I have changed the title of this subsection from the one originally given in volume 3 under CONTENTS FOR VOLUMES 3 AND 4. This change perely returns to my original title CURE AND PROTECTION in volume 1, pages 410- 519, emphasizing once again, as in the introductory comment that folk medicine in hoodoo or witchcraft has a protective or preventive side (p.3077). A com- plete list of cures and prevention of ailments and disease cannot be known until the completion of the INDEX to occupy all of volume 5.]
Entry 6722
Black cat, a black chicken. An' if yo' git hurt, a snake bit chew or anythin', yo' cut dem open live an' put it on dere. It'll draw all de poison out.
Entry 6874
Dey kin take dat aftahbirth, or whutevah waste dat she have when dat baby wuz bo'n, an' give it tuh a dog an' [or] let a cat git holt tuh it, an' den she's nevah no mo' good. (What do you mean, she's never no more good? In what way?) Well, she'll live, yo' know, but she won't - huh periods will nevah be right any mo' an' she'll always be backward an' she'll nevah be any 'count [account]. She'll jis' be po' yo' know an' skinny until she dies. Dat's jis' suffahin' an' Zingahin'.
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 7613
They take a little graveyard dirt, gather it just like I explained an' [I interrupt].
(With the three pennies, you mean?)
Yes sir, and a little cat manure and they mix that up together and you put it anywheres around in de yard - where the're [they are] bound to step into it, and they will be in one of the worst lucks they'll ever Wanta be in all their life. They will always be desti- tute for everything.
Entry 7684
Yo' go tuh a - if somebody troublin' yo' an' yo' jis' want 'em tuh git in trouble, see. Yo' go tuh a sinnah - yo' gotta know somebody wuz a wicked sinnah an' got killed - yo' see, a gamblah. Yo' go tuh 'is haid an' dig down about wrist deep. An' put three pen- nies dere an' jis' tell it - jis' lak yo' talkin' tuh in - jis' lakyo' know'im, say, "so- an'-so-an'-so, ah wan' chew tuh go tuh Such-an'-such-a-one an' give dem hell, jis' give dem hell. Wham! Fight 'em, make 'em fight. Make 'em kill if it's necessary." An' yo' put de pennies dere. Kivah [cover] de hole up an' go off. Walk off an' nevah look back. Yo' take dat graveyard dirt an' yo' ketch yore dog an' cut some hair off de end of 'is tail, see. All right, yo' ketch chew a ket [cat]. Yo' cut some hair off 'is haid an' 'is tail. An' yo' take dat dog an' cut jis' a li'le bit of hair out 'is fo'haid. Yo' git some of dis urinate, see. All right yo' git yo' some red peppah, table salt, put wit dat. An' yo go by where dem people stay an' jis' tell 'em [dirt and its ingredients] what chew want 'em do wit it. An' throw it.] Don't evah look back, keep goin'. An yo' ain't goin' be a minute off fo' yo' see 'em raisin' Sam [Sam = devil]. Dey goin' move from dere. Aftah while dey goin' move from dat state.
(That is to run them out of there, run them away.)
Dat's tuh run 'em away. Dat's hard tuh ovahcome. Now ah heah'n [heard] a man tell dat an' ah seen it work. See, fo' a fact he used tuh git me tuh go by dere sometime an' throw it dere. Dis ole Doctor Bush.
Entry 7791
If yo' wanta break up anybody, if yo' kin git de black cat hair an' black dog hair an' gunpowdah, an' graveyard dirt, an' wasp nest an' dirt daubah nest, put it tuhgethah an' mix it, an' shoot it an' dat'll break 'em up. (Where do they shoot this stuff?) Jes' put it on a li'le shovel an' throw it up out- do' at night. [The preceding word shoot has been retained by present informant in the baseball sense: he shot the ball to second base, meaning he threw it as hard or as fast as he could. Shoot can mean to send swiftly along as to shoot guestions at someone. Here we have an example of how original rites can be changed: A person may not own a gun, es- pecially the old-fashioned muzzle-loader implied here. Besides, shooting a gun at any time could attract attention. By using a shovel we return to rites of letting the wind blow things away.]
(Where do you do this?)
At chure home or anywheres.
(If I were trying to break up somebody, I would do that at my home?)
No, at dere house.
Entry 8576
Take yo' a thread string an' put chew nine knots in it an', as ah would say, use a cat an' a dog, an' yo' git some hair from de back of dere neck, an' jes' make a bundle of it, yo' know, altogether an' put chew nine knots in de thread an' bury it right in dat do' there. An' yo'll nevah come inside chere. Yo'll always pass by, yo' wouldn't nevah have no visitors to stop heah.
(That's to keep somebody from coming in or to make them leave the house?)
Dat's if yo' heah, yo'll leave heah an' yo' won't nevah come back heah; or if: it's anybody yo' don't want tuh come in heah, yo' do dat an' dey won't come in heah. But yo' should have dey name, de person name in that. (Now you tie the nine knots in the thread after you have wrapped it in this bundle?) [That was not a sensible thing to say, even though informant's words about the knots are ambigious.] Yeah, yo' tie nine knots in de thread an' put it in de bundle wit de hair of de dog an' de cat.
Entry 8724
(Dog hair and cat hair, how do they use that?)
Well, yo' take dat dog hair an' dat cat hair together, an' yo." put maybe sompin, my name or yore name, anybody dat chew wanta call. Dey will fight lak cats an' dogs, man an' his wife. Yo' jes' put dere names together, an' yo' take dat cat an' dat dog hair an' yo' put it together, an yo' put red peppah an' sulphur wit dat an' yo' burn dat. Dat will cause 'em tuh fight lak cats an' dogs.
Entry 9003
[The following two remarkabie stories in numbers 9004 and 9005, both stories about a disappearing black cat, complement each other and should be read in the order listed here. The first story is a second-hand account, a valuable one, the one that was floating about in the air. Then by sheer luck I found the actual man, the man of the story, and persuaded him to relate his personal account of what hap- pened. For this, read following 9004.] Dere was boy heah [St. Petersburg, Fla.] killed a fellah 'bout fo' yeahs ago [1935], shot 'im peepin' in de window. He was peepin' in de window watching fo' somepin an' he shot through de window an' killed dis fellah an' put 'im in de car [automobile]. He didn't think he was dead. An' he carried 'im out heah on a lot an' throwed 'im off, aftah he found out he was dead. An' he went up heah to Charleston, S. Carolina. He may have went to dis same man mah uncle went tuh, ah don't know. But it was done about fo' yeahs ago, an' dey said he went dere. Ah did know de fellah's [killer's] name. Some of dese boys out heah [waiting to be interviewed] probably do know dat fellah's name. But anyhow, he went dere [to Charleston] an' he talked wit dis man [doctor] an' he tole 'im how it was. De man charged 'im five dollahs. Says, "Yo' gimme five dollahs an' yo' kin go right on back to St. Petersburg." He says, "Don't go an' give up but drive round wit yore car" - he had de same car an' ever'thing - "an' let de officah 'rest yo'." He [killer] said de man put a black cat in his [killer's] auto - a real black cat didn't have a white spot on 'im. He said, "When dis cat jump out, yo' jes' go 'head. Don' yo' put 'im out, let 'im jump out." Winnie Miles! Dat's de negro's name. He says - Winnie tole me, me an' Winnie is good frens, he says, "We driv 'bout 40 miles outa Columbia [Winnie was passing through Columbia, South Carolina, on his way home to St. Petersburg] an' dat cat layin' dere. An' directly ah looked round, de cat was gone." An' he come on to St. Petersburg. An' he druv all around an' dey 'rest 'im on [Something] Drive, dat was 'fore it was built up, up heah. An' dey 'rested 'im an' carried 'im down dere, an' dey carried 'im tuh Clear- Water an' he come clear. Dey turned 'im loose. He says dere's somepin to dat man [the doctor]. He didn't tell me de ole man's name but dat he he'ped [helped] 'im.
(Was his name Buzzard?)
Ah've heard of Dr. Buzzard but it wasn't Buzzard.
Entry 9005
Heard of 'em say yo' take a black cat, yo' know, an' kill 'im an' put 'im up on de do'. Say yo' cain't stay dere. Nail him up on de do', say yo can't stay dere. (Well, I would see them if they did that, wouldn't I?) No, dey fix so yo' couldn't see, yo' wouldn't know it wuz dere. Ovah de do' or on de do', ah disremembah.
Entry 9878
[This belief contains 2 parts, as the separate references indicate.]
Git dat green frog. Yo' ketch 'im out de swamps. Hang 'im up by his laigs until he dies. Let 'im hang right on dere until he dry up in good fashion, an' den yo'll pulverize 'im dat way. An' if yo' jis' wanta come in dis house, yo' don' have tuh do nuthin but put it on [in] a li'l' quill, yo' know, a li'l' pipe stem an' whuff [infor- mant blows]. De do' open an' yo' come on in an' do whut chew wanta do an' go on back out an' close de do'. But chew must have dat thing whut ah tell yo' 'bout on yore thumb so nobody can't see yo'. Yo' kin jis' go in anybody's do' yo' wanta go in in de night an' nobody can't keep yo' from goin' in dere. Yo' jis' - hit'll unlock.
(What do you blow that dust on?)
Blow it right through de keyhole an' yo' hear it [the lock] clack-clack. Yo' walk right on in an' do whut chew wanta do an' come on back an' close de do' an' go on 'bout chure business. But chew must git a green one. [Brunswick, Ga.,
(1223), 2079:6.]
[Here is what informant had previously told me about dat thing...on yore thumb so nobody can't see yo']: If yo' jis' [want to] pass by a crowd in de street or anywhere, git chew a real black cat dat ain't got no spots about 'im an' cut his ear off, an' boil it in a black cow's milk - jis' a li'l bit chew know - an' make a stole [a stall = covering or sheath for finger or thumb] lak yo' fingah stab an' put it on yore thumb. An' when yo' gits ready tuh go by dat crowd, slip dat ovah yore thumb an' nobody see yo' when yo' pass. [Several examples of this stole or stab from a black cat's ear are given elsewhere. I described this informant in note as a small-time R.D. = root doctor.] [Brunswick, Ga., (1223), 2076:2.]
Entry 10014
De way dey git de black cats lucky bone, kill de cat alive an' put 'im in a pot befo' he dies thoroughly dead - in a pota boilin' hot watah. All right. Let 'im boil till all de meat come off 'is bones, an' po' all de meat an' bones all in de [stream of] watah. An' de bone dat go upstream, take dat. Dat's de lucky bone, de black cats lucky bone. [Presumably cat is knocked senseless be- fore being dropped into hot water.]
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 10016
[In the preceding rites we are not told where the person boiling the cat finds his water. Since one cat is boiled in the woods, we must assume that water was near in a running stream, or a not too distant well, which is running water. Similarly another cat apparently, though not neces- sarily, was boiled near running water. We now come to what originally was prob- ably a fundamental requirement]: In boiling black cat you must use water from a rnning stream and throw the bones back into the same stream. [Wilmington, N. Car., resumé, 133: l+85.] [This rule is maintained in some of the following rites in which the black cat must be boiled on the bank of a running stream.]
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 10022
If yo' wanta hurt 'em without - yo' don' wanta hurt 'em. Ah tell yo' whut ah've experienced. Yo' take dat black cat an' yo' kill 'im an' yo' boil dat cat. An' when yo' boil 'im yo' git de bone. Yo' gotta git de right bone, but if yo' ain't nevah experienced it, gittin' de bone, yo' don' know which one tuh git. So, ah've done had dis one fo' li'le bettah den foah yeahs. Well, people mightn't know which one tuh git or not. An' ah keeps it in mah pocket, jis' as ah wuz tellin' yo' an' ah has it all de time fo' foah yeahg an' nevah seen a bum day: [Did he have the bone with him? Strange I do not ask about it. Unfortunately machine was turned off here and any comments were missed.] Yo' reach down, when yo' boil dis cat. Yo' wait till it gits cold an' yo' reach down dere an' yo' git de right bone. Yo' don' know if yo' gittin' de right one if yo' ain't nevah seen it befo'. Some people might tell yo' sompin 'bout a glass [mirror] or sompin yo' look it in [in it] an' disappeah. Well. dey doa kaow dat, but if yo' ain't nevah seen de bone, yo' won't know whut chew gittin'. So ah seed it befo' an' ah knowed whut ah wuz gittin'. So it took me a whole day tuh git dis bone.
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 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 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 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 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 10069
Kill a black cat an' take him away out in de graveyard, build a fire an' stew him down an' git 'is bones - out de lef' hind laig. An' wrap dat up an dat's what de' call de black cat bone. An' dat makes yuh husban' or yuh boy friend - jis', he's right wit chah. Nobody kin git 'im. [Evidently a woman must manage this rite, though I never heard of a woman attempting the ordeal. In theory the person who wants a black cat bone must obtain it himself, but I am certain a hoodoo person or shop could arrange the business.]
Entry 10070
You take a black cat and you kill it and pass with it through the graveyard.
(You pass it through the graveyard?)
Through the graveyard.
(How do you do that?)
Just like you go by a graveyard, when you'd have it; see, you is passing through the graveyard when you is going to a place for a job, and you pass it [cat] through there [graveyard] when you go there [for job]. And just like you got to go up to the office, right at his office, and you'd have some of that blood in a piece of paper, which you may call a little can. [The dead cat is not carried into office.] Well, you drop that blood on the [office] floor and you bury that cat right at his steps [steps of his house] overnight, what you may call "overnight" [is] at midnight. He'd be looking for you to give you a job.
(Just through that cat.)
[Informant having told story before recording began, I now start questions to check veracity. He is marked "ng" but here his tale held together.] (Now, what do you do? You take and catch [I am unknowingly using informant's ands] a black cat, don't you?) Yes, you ain't got to have no white one or brown one.
(Then you kill it. Then you carry him to the graveyard?)
Yes.
(Then you go and bury this cat under the boss's steps?)
Under his steps.
(That's all you have to do?)
That's all you have to do to him.
(To get a job?)
Yes, you get a job. (I thought you said something about cutting the hair off the cat's tail for something?) You cut the end, the end of his tail off - just like you see, the little tip end of his tail?
(Yes.)
Well, you would cut that off, and you would keep that with you.
(Oh! You keep that part.)
Keep that part with you. And the other, you bury it like that.
(I see, at the bottom of the step.)
At his step, and nobody can knock you from getting a job.
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 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 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 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 10106
Take de black cat an' git one of 'is eyes, his lef' eye, an' take it an' boil it an' yo' git dat bead. Yo' know it's a li'le white hard bead in it, dat's whut dey sight is. Yo' take dat an' mix it up wit - put some lodestone in it an' put some lucky oil, an' take dat an' weah it. (What do you wear that for?) Dat's fo' tuh keep any luck, a job or anythin' yuh wanta keep. Dat's fo' tuh be successful in mos' anythin' yo' want. [For eye of black cat and its hardness, see No.10046.]
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 10115
First you catch the cat, kill it, then you take the bone out of the front right leg. Take this bone and let it dry and tie it around your leg, either leg, and wear it all the time. That'll bring you luck.
[Fredericksburg, Va., Ediphone 50.]
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 10117
After a black cat gets killed anywhere, you pick the cat up and cut the right hind leg. The're [there are] three bones in there like a rabbit [like leg of rabbit]. Then you get the mid- dle bone out of that, then dry it, polish that, and put it in his purse and put it in his hip pocket. He don't think anybody can bother him then at all.] He will go into a dice game and put this pocketbook down, there's nothing in it at all, no money, just this bone, and he will keep his hand on it, and he will win all the money in the game.
Entry 10118
Get a black cat, cut the right hind leg and get a bone out...and carry that around your neck, and there won't be any evil spirit harm you, and it will keep cunjures away. [Fredericksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
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 10125
They say you catch a black cat and boil him alive. And you take the bone from the left hind leg and wrap it in a piece of rag, and always carry it wherever you go. That makes you lucky in gambling always. If you do that you've sold yourself to the devil. [Petersburg, Va., first collecting visit there, Ediphone 34.1
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 10127
Take a [black] cat and cut off its hind leg, either [one], and wear it in a bag for luck. [Fredericksburg, Va., Ediphone 60.]
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.]
terse printed instruction to boil a black cat with a claimed tail-bone result. Do not borrow neighboring leg-bone, pot, live-animal, running-water or road details. This entry supplies only its own brief claim. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
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 10137
You kin sell yourself to the devil with the black cat by killing a black cat and taking the heart out before she die and swallah it.
Entry 10138
" They take the heart out of black cat, like when her husband is a drunkard. Well, they take that heart out of the black cat, which is not much more bigger than an oyster. Well, they will take that and put it in an oyster, you see, and - like some women they feeds their husbands ~ and the husband likes for the woman to feed them. Well, the first thing she will stick in his mouth is that black cat heart, and after: he eats that black cat's heart down, he will soon go out somewhere and some man will kill him, because it makes him very mis- chievious and makes him meddlesome. Perhaps if he is colored, he will go and meddle with some white gentleman and the white people will kill him. Well, that is what she give him that for, because he loses his conscience the minute he swallows that and he will go and get rough with anybody and meddle with anybody and that is why he gets killed and that is why [what] she perhaps will want. That is what she does that for, to bring his death.
Entry 10139
I have heard of the scalp of a black cat being used. They take that and sew it in a bag and keep it for luck. [Ocean City, Md., Ediphone 14.]
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 10142
Git dat same oil whut ah wuz speakin' of jis' a minute ago. Ah did nah fathah dat-a-way when he left [this part of the country]. Ah took dat same oil an' rubbed 'im wit it, an' he spent de night in mah sis- ter's home. He walked right on out de street, an' de sher- iff wuz lookin' fo' 'im. He nevah did come back. Went tuh Texas an' nevah come back.
[I now repeat what informant had said before recording began.]
(You took some of this oil that came from the black cat when you boiled it. [Most black-cat oil comes from hoodoo shop!] You had to rub some all over him. Then he had to stay some night, 13 hours in one night, at some place before he vent?) Yes sir. It wuz jis' rubbed on 'is face. Yo' can't track dat. [For black axt oil see also No.1121, p.417, v.1.]
Entry 10143
All right, you turn right around again, and you buy you - you buy you siack cat powder. And you take that and you put it in your hat, the band of your hat. You can walk by the law out there and he turn his back on you. And he be looking for you and you walk by him and he turn his back on you. You get out of the way. That's the Black cat powder. [For black cat powder, see also vol.1, No.327, p.96; and No. 1731, p.526. Back in the late 1930's black cat powder was usually a brand of alcum powder displaying the picture of a black cat on the container. A similar Sles picture will be found in margin title LYE: RED DEVIL AND RED SEAL, No.1377, p.459.]
Entry 10144
Black cat ashes [surely a preparation sald by a hoodoo dealer!], left hind foot of rabbit.9 claws from rabbit. 9 needle points, 9 pin points, all in red flannel bag, which is fed with Jocley Clob per fe. Wear when gambling.
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 10856
Bury "blackcat ashes, " obtainable from a mail-order house in Memphis, Tenn., sprinkle where victim walks, saying "move, '' causes that person in mind to move. [All this was years ago. The label on the box did not read "Black Cat Ashes but "Ashes only - with the picture of a black cat on the box!] [Mobile, Ala., 882:2.]
Entry 10857
That I worked my ownself. I take - I worked it myself.
(Oh! All right. What do you do?)
I takes nine tacks. Listen, nine tacks, and then I would take me a [dead] black cat, and I would bury that cat underneath the steps. Understand? And after I bury that cat under- neath the steps, den anybody what live in dat house, they couldn't live in there, they would have to move; but you yourself that owned the place, even if you would ogve in there, you would have to go to work and take even that cat and dig it ap [Informant with one stroke of an imaginary shovel dig up imaginary cat and throws it away.]
(Throw it away, like that?)
Throw it away.
(Well, what do you do with those nine tacks?)
The nine tacks? If anybody move in, they would move in and move out.
(Well, where do you put those nine tacks?)
You put them at the front of the door.
(How do you mean, you tack them to the door?)
Nine - you make 'em crossed, that is, five one way and four the other. That would be nine, you see. (Under the door? Under... the steps or on the side of the steps?
[There they could not be seen.]
On the sill.
(I see, where you couldn't see them?)
Yassuh. Just when they coming inside there, put them on the sill like there - on the sill, there [points].
(I see. I understand.)
And quite naturally, when their feet would step there, why they couldn't see the tacks because the reason why, their feet would hit [rest] on the tacks and they couldn't see [them]. When they look down, they wouldn't see nothing but their feet.
Entry 10858
( Git de hairs from a black cat's neck, right back of de neck an' take a aig. Take a black hen's aig, hairs from a black cat's neck - dat's if yo' wanta draw a person - an' write dat per- son's name on dat aig. An' put dat hair in dere, wrop it up, an' bury it undah yo' do'steps, an' dat'll draw 'em.
(Do you put the hair on the inside of the egg or just on the outside?)
Write de name on dere an' put de hair right on top of where yo' write de name on it, an' jes' put chew a little cloth around it.
Entry 10859
I know they say if you start to get a job and a black cat crosses you [crosses your path], you might as well go back home be- cause you goin' have bad luck. The man doesn't goin' hire you. He'll turn you back.
Entry 10860
When I was gambling, I always would get me a jet black cat and I would stroke his tail seven times with the hand I was going to gamble with, before I went to the game. (The hand you use? Do you mean the little bag or your own hand?) My own hand, yes. (Oh, your own hand.) Yes, if I was going to use my left hand most in the game, I would stroke it seven times with my left hand, and if I was going to use my right hand, I'd use my right hand. But so far as me being fixed or anything, I never have been. Nothing Was wrong with me but once, and everbody said that I was fixed.
Entry 10861
Like if you want a cat, you take his hair and cut it off from his head, and bury it under your doorstep and he will always stay wit you.
(Always stay home.)
Entry 10863
Cut hair from black cat's tail, mix with black pepper, if un- desired visitor comes, burn this on stove, won't come back; also keeps law away. [Norfolk, Va., 476:6.]
Entry 10864
Git de hair offa cat. Dey say yo' kin put dat in de food where dey eat an' dat makes hair grow in 'em an' dat'll kill 'em.
Entry 10865
Take de hair from a cat - hair from a cat an' salt an' throw it in a room an' start fusses an' fights in a room, but yo' supposed tuh git it from undah his tail.
Entry 10866
(What do you do with that black cat?)
See, jis' lak he's in de house an' come where yo' is, yo' jis' ketch a little bunch of that hair with chure finger thataway [demonstrates]. Jis' snatch it out that way an' snatch it towards his haid. An' yo' put that in with yore luck piece of yore lode- stone, whatevah yo' got, an' yo' carry that in yore pocket fo' success.
Entry 10867
De luckiest animal dat ever made by God: a black cat, and a black hen, an' a frizzled chicken. Ef a frizzled chicken - if anybody put any- thing aroun' yo', a frizzled chicken and a black hen will sure go dere an' pick it up.
(Well, how is a black cat lucky?)
Ah couldn't tell!!!
(Just lucky.)
Entry 10868
See, ah kin be walkin' down de street. An' jes' lak ah walk down de street an' a black cat would cross de road to de right, ah'm goin' have good luck somewhere in mah travels 'fore ah git back home. Now, ah have been goin' tuh games tuh gamble an' didn't have but ten or fif- teen cents in mah pocket, an' a black cat would cross goin' to de right, 'fore ah go back home ah have $25 maybe or $30.
Entry 10869
You see, you take the cat's hair. (Where from?) Off her tail. (Off her tail, I see.) You take the cat hair off her ail and you see, you scrape this [demonstrates] but you scrape off four of 'en.
(Four corners of the table?) [The work table between us.]
Off the table. And you wrap it up in a little piece of [meat?] skin amd yoo yary that up under the back step. That's if you got a cat and done like it and nt it to stay home.
Entry 10870
Git a black cat an' git de hair. Git a strand of hair out of a black at an' - don't git as many as yo' kin, but yo' kin git 'bout one or tso scraods of hair out of a black cat. An' take somepin that kin float on de vatzh. Take at hair, sulphur, salt an' red peppah an' graveyard dirt, an'srite oo a piece of papah whut chew want done, an' put it with cat hair; all dat in a container dat will float on de watah. An' throw it in de watah, runnin' watah, whichevah watah yo' want it. An' whichevah yo' want done, it will be done. Ah've tried that.
Entry 10871
If yo' were asleep, a person kin take dat cat - pretend like yo' playing with de pet cat or somepin like dat. Well yo' [they] put dat cat hair in yo' food, see. An' yo' [someone] kin take a cat, if yo' sleeping, and lay dat cat right up dere aside of yo', and let dat cat inhale yo' breath an' yo' inhale de cat's breath. See, dat cat inhale yore breath, dat cat will draw yore breath jes' like yo' will draw anything else an' yo'll draw de cat. Jes' let him git close tuh yo' tuh inhale yore breath, jes' like anything else, an' den aftah he inhale yore breath yo'll nevah be de same. Jes' like yo' see a cat be, yo'll be jes' like dat.
Entry 10872
Take the fur. (Cut the fur?) From under the black cat's left leg or the left quarter. (From the front or behind?) Behind, and let it get right dry and you kin fix in a way. Clip it fine and you kin throw it over somebody, but you gotta make the black cat laugh. (I see, before you cut that hair. And then when you throw it over somebody, what will that do?) Well, that goes in your flesh - sticks in your flesh.
(I mean, what is it supposed to do to you?)
It works in your flesh, they say it'll work in you and it effect the flesh so that you taken with a certain disease in your skin and you'll die.
Entry 10873
Well, de hair from a black cat - a real black cat dat ain't got no white spot on him. Yo' know a black bone is lucky. Well, now, yo' tote dat in yore pocket in a gamblin' game. Git de hair from under de fo' laigs. (Under the four legs? Each one of the four. Each one of de fo' laigs.
(The hair from this black cat?)
Dat's right. An' dey tell me yo' go right behin' his ear an' pull it out, an pull it to yo', an' clip it from each one of his ears.
(Each one of his ears. Do you cut off the hair or the ears?)
Cut de hair.
(Cut the hair from each ear?)
From behin' each ear, an' de tip-end of his tail. An' dey tell me yo' kin do anythin' yo' wanta do.
(Well, what do you do with that hair after you fix it up?)
Fix it up, jes' keep it in yore pocket. Yo' wouldn't need to have no big bag, jes' a little small bag. Have it in yore pocketbook, jes' lak yo' goin' tuh git in a big poker game - a big gamblin' game.
Entry 10874
If yo' happen to see a cat - if it passes dat road, if it's a black cat, walk backwards, dey says, an' yo'll always succeed. But if he's a gray cat or a white cat, says step right on ovah it. (Over the cat.) Yeah, step right on ovah where he walks, but walk backwards if he's black an' yo' shore will have better luck.
Entry 10876
Ah heered people say tuh ketch a black cat, hold him back of his neck an' strip yore han' down de tail seven times an' count 'em, an' throw him from yo' an' cuss at him, an' don't look back at him. An' dat as good a luck fo' work as a man could do. (Well, after you have done this with the cat, then what do you do?) After ah throwed de cat away, yo' [ah] cuss at him. Why zh'd git out an' go an' ask some man fo' a job, an' ah would be lucky enough to git a job by dat.
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 10879
Now, yo' see dis heah - dis may sound crazy tuh yo'. Yo' kin ketch yo a cat an' git two of his whiskers, any kinda cat black or white. Yo' kin git two of his whiskers. Jis' lak i yo' mah husban' an' ah want chew fo' mah man. Jis' take 'em in de house an' have 'em crossed, an' jis' walk on de flo' lak dis, jis' lak yo' sittin', an' drop 'em down behin' [you], yo' know, an' walk on out. An' he'll strictly leave there. [Did she demonstrate this rite!] Ah'm tellin' yo' whut ah know. See, mah daddy befo' he died [told me things?]. He wuz kinda smart... Ah don't know things good enough but some things ah really knows. Yo' ketcha live cat an' pull 'em outa his whiskers; see, a live cat, an' drop 'em an' walk on outa dere. Drop 'em in there. They can't git along fo' quarrel- in' an' arguin'. Quite natural yo' cain't live with a person fo' quarrelin' an' arguin'. Yo' ain't goin' stay there no mo'. It'll sure break it up [the home].
Entry 10880
Heah's anothah instan' [instance]. Yo' kin take a black cat an' cut some of de hair from right undah his tail. Well, yo' take some Hearts Cologne or eithah whiskey. Well, yo' bury it. Yo' taked dat cat hair an' yo' sew it up, put it wit dat whiskey. But chew bettah, if yo' kin git any part of her undahweah, or if it's a man, any of his clothes, yo' kin make 'em go like dat. Jes' bring it right back dere an' jes' drop it right in de yard, any place dat he kin walk ovah it. Or eithah yo' kin git some of dere dirt. Jes' watch hin an' whenevah he come out - man or woman - git some of de dirt of one of de shoe where he track ovah an' mix dat. Mix it in wit dat hair. Yo' kin make 'em move out de house like dat. (This cat hair - suppose you are driving me away - you get some of my hair and the cat's hair and put this in some of my clothes and put it out where I can walk over it. That's to drive me away?) Dat's to drive you away. [Brunswick, Ga., (1188), 2002:8.]
[Two cylinders later informant returns to black cat hair:]
Ah always heah 'em say keep dat same black cat hair, keep it round yore place an' keep it wet in vinegah - ah mean in Hearts Cologne or good whiskey - dat black hair. Keep it round yore place. Tell me dat's lucky fo' yore business.
(How do you get that black cat hair?)
Why, yo' ketch a black cat, any black cat, an' jes' cut de hair from undah his tail or his belly part. [Brunswick, Ga., (1188), 2004:11.]
Entry 10881
Well, jes' lak dis, if ah wus de type of dis kind, dat ah wouldn't wanta see a woman an' a man gittin' along, see, an' ah wanted tuh part dem. Listen good - an' when dis dog an' ket. Yo' know kets an' dogs will quarrel some- time. Well, when dis dog make dis ket kinda angry, dis cat will bring up her fur on her back. Well, an' de same time yo' take a knife or scissors - shears, at least yo' should call 'em, an' cut a little piece of dat.
(Cut a little piece of what?)
De hair out de ket's back. Listen, an' a little of de dog, when dey in dat angry nood [mood] - jes' lak dey would be angry, yo' know. An' yo' take dat an' sew it up in piece of black cloth, whut chew would call broadcloth. An' bury it under de steps, an' dey couldn't git along nohow in de world.
Entry 10882
Well, if yo' livin' heah an' somebody want chew tuh move out, ah know whut dey kin do tuh make yo' move. Well, de way ah've heard it an' de way ah've seen it did, yo' git a black cat an' a dog an' make dem fight, an' git some of dat hair. Den yo' git some of whut dey do, de passage, an' dry it up tuhgether, an' put dat hair in it. While dey all growled up an bristeld up, yo' git some dat hair out dey back. Rub it tuhgether an' let it dry until it git plumb ontuh a powder. Put it in de stove an' parch it until it git tuh a powder. When it git tuh a powder, den yo' git somebody if yo' cain't go tuh de house, yo' git somebody else tuh go dere, yo' understan'. Dey go dere wit dat powder, have it hid, an' sprinkle it in de fo' corners of dat house. Dey'll move undah five days. Dey cain't stay dere. [I would call this a quasi- quincunx rite, the fifth point being the 5 days. At the moment I do not recall anything similar, though I am almost certain that there is.]
Entry 10883
If yo' wuz in dis house an' ah wuz in dis house an' ah wanted tuh make yo' move. Yo' know a cat an' a dog can't git 'long, if both stay at de same place, unless dey's raised tuhgethah, an' dey enemies against each othah anyway. Well, yo' take de dog hair an' de cat hair an' put it together. Take yo' some Red Devil Lye an' cuss 'em out. Tell 'em, "Go, yo'all can't stay tuhgethah, mus' go." Call his Dame. Jes' yo' wanted tuh move 'em an' cuss dem out. Sprinkle it down where dey gotta walk at, see. Cuss 'em out.
Entry 10886
Take a black cat hair, dog hair - don't make no difference whut kinda dog - an' nine grains of peppah an' some of dey urinate, an' put it in a bottle. An' if yo' wanta break up any- body, take dat nine grains of peppah, Heart Cologne, an' dat dog an' cat hair, an' bury it where dey walk, either one of 'em. Dey git so dey soon bust up.
Entry 10890
Take cat hairs an' dog hairs an' mix it together an' throw it around undah that house, an' nobody lives there. (Why won't they live there?) Why? Because when they git in there, it'll be confused so they cain't stay there. Dog and cats don' like each othah. Dat's whut chew call a black art trick.
Entry 10891
Yo' kin put cat hair in a person's whiskey or coffee or tea or somepin lak dat an' dey'll begin tuh have fits an' act lak a cat or somepin. Den too, yo' kin take dog hair an' do de same thing, an' de dog hair git in it [drink] an' it'll run yo' crazy.
Entry 10892
Well, the first thing that happened, this girl, other girl, was going with the woman's husband; and she [other girl] wanted the woman's husband for herself, and the woman wanted the husband at home. And she [other girl] told me that she was going to make them [husband and wife] get along bad. So she put some dog hair and some cat hair dat - you know, caught 'em fighting and cut the hair out of the dog and the cat, and put this hair together and put it in there, in his coat lining. And she say, whenever he go home that would cause he and his wife to get along bad, and they'd set up argue, fuss all the dune. Quite natural nobody wants to stay with anybody like that. After which, ohen they separated - the man and wife - den she wanted him back.
(The wife wanted him back?)
The wife wanted him back. And to get him back, she decided to get to him and soft talk, you know, love and talk to get him back home to have intercourse with hin, and then she was going to take part of his and keep it at home. She say she tie it in a rag and put a silver dime in the corner of the rag, and she stick it under her bed mattress, and that would make him to come back to where be left froa.
(Well, then, did he come back?)
Yes, he came back.
(Oh, he came back all right.)
Entry 10893
Take some of yore hair an' wrap it up wit some of your dfscharge an' put it on a dog's back or either a cat. Jis' take a strand of thread an' take yore hair an' tie it in a little knot right to their [the dog's] hair. (Tie to them in the back and the back of a dog?) Yessuh. (Well, what is going to ' happen then?) Well, the dog runs - he goes about an' dat puts chew tuh walkin' an' den yo' jis' wander on away.
(And the cat the same way?)
Yes. (That is all you have to do, use this hair and this discharge and tie it. What do you mean by discharge?) [I have discussed this problem elsewhere.] Yes. Well, it's jis' lak yo' know, yo' know if yo' have a interco'se, yo' see. (You do that if you want to get rid of the person? Who does this, the woman to the man or the man to the woman?) They both kin do it - de either one de same way.
Entry 10894
Any kind of cat hair and a he dog and a she cat to run a person away - break 'em up.
(How do you do that?)
You take this hair and you mix it all up together like that - the hair of the dog and the cat. The dog and cat don't mate together. Call this man John. Jis' say, Mary, you and John can't stay together. Well, then you get this gunpowder and you get nine pods of red pepper, and you put that all together. Don't burn it in de house. Make a fire out in de yard and burn it, and make your wishes and they gone apart.
Entry 10895
He cat hair, she dog hair, make man and woman love each other; tie them [their] hairs together, put urine and Hearts Cologne on, wrap in red flannel, wrap to you. At each wrap, wish. Wrap 9 times. At each wrap wish: "I'm tying my head and your heart together etc." Choose light or dark shade of Hearts Cologne [here Hearts Powder, box with hearts on outside and several shades mentioned] as near color of person [man] as possible.
Entry 10897
I've heard of dey usin' cat hair or dog hair or - I'll tell you. You kin take a dog and you git some hair right from her rear end, you understand; right near where at she do busi- ness, you understand. All right. You take dat hair and you swinge [singe] it, you see. You gits enough [hair] so you kin swinge it, where you kin find it after you done it. You put it on a piece of clot'. Why you jes' set a match to it and swinge it, see. "Fore [before] it burn too much, why you put it out, you smother it you see. After you smother it, de clot' you burn it on, why you don't take it off dat cloth. You jes' tie it up right in dat same cloth, you see. All right, you put nine knots in dat. After you tie it up you put nine knots in it, and perhaps you tie it around your waist, or you could make a sling and put it around your neck, or you could sew it up in your weskit [vest] lining, or sompin like dat, or coat linin', or dere's several ways to tote it. See. Why dat's de way you do wit dat [cat] hair proposition.
(What good will it do you to carry that hair?)
That stand fer a lotta things: dey kin pass poison [you] and it won't hurt you. You can do anything you want with it.
Entry 10898
[Here are two versions of the same rite by the same informant, an excellent professional worker, they being on separate cylinders:] Version (l) Ketch you a black cat that's a rambler an'... (That's a what?) Tha's wha' choo call a rambus, that's wha' choo [call] rambler, or black cat, he's the luckiest thing you kin do. Pull out vha' choo got an let him lick right - jis' lick it right well.
(What do you pull out?)
You know, wha' choo got between your legs.
(A man?)
Or either a woman. Let her lick it [instead of the cat]. Then she wet in this bottle. Yo' want to cross de house up don' choo? Well, yo' get the persod's Dame whoever in the house. Yo' got to know the name, yo' see. Write it down an put it in this bottle. Yo' see, take it right out them back doorstep an' bury it chere. Yo' wan'a cross the house, yo' wan'a start disturb[ment] in the house don' choo? [Memphis, Tenn., (967), 1562:7.] Version (2) A similar version: If you want to have luck in the house you git choo a black cat, they call that a rmbler. An' every morning before the sun rise for nine mornings, take it. if it's a woman, let him lick dat, an' if it's a man let him lick it. Nov he ain't gon'a bite choo. An' turn him loose and luck you wana git hold of sill be right dere in that house. Yo' won't have a bit of trouble. [This woman. born in Borth Carolina, able, excentric, tough, gave an excellent and long interview. a transcriber missed all these cylinders. I transcribed a feu rites by band - dese scattered through HOODOO - intending to return to them. Similarly I lost another informant in Memphis, and my best one in Jacksonville.] [Memphis, Tenn.,
(967).1563:3.]
Entry 10899
[Here is another person whose cylinders were missed, an excellent pro- fessional worker:] Cat and dog, mix hair after making mad, put salt and pepper with, sprinkle across yard saying, "Niggers and whites don't agree, and cats and dogs can't agree, move."
Entry 10900
Say, for instance, if you was mah husband and you was living with another woman and ah didn't want chew to live with this woman, and I could get familiar enough with this woman to get in her house, or get someone to go to her house. I would cut the hair from under the chin of a dog, right under here [dem- onstrates], and under the chin of a cat, and under their tails, and wrap it up into a cigarette paper. And when I go to their house, have occasion to smoke or do something, if they have fire in the grate, I throw that hair in the fire. Put a little pepper in it - red pepper. And they positively will fight, [even] if they haven't been used to it. They will continue to fight and be in confusion all the time.
Entry 10901
Well, you see you gotta ketch a bulldog when he is mad...a real furious dog - gotta ketch a bad dog, and you ketch a cat and take the hair off his [cat's] back and the hair off the dog's back and you mix them together and you will put gunpowder in that and you burn them down.
(Where do you burn that?)
Burn dat in your stove. If you got a fireplace in the stones.
(What are you supposed to do then?)
That supposed to make anger, fuss, the one who you want to break up. (Well, how do you know which one to do that to? Do you do anything about that?) Well, like if I know you and I wanted to break your home up, I'll take your name and put it down and write, you have to write your name practically with most of the witchcraft work. (Oh! I see, you have to burn that with the name then? This paper and this hair together.) All in there and the gunpowder. Makes them fighting and fussing. Just like the cat and dog will fight, dat's de way you will do. Well, one or the other of you going get tired and leave.
Entry 10902
You clip de hair off de dog W'ere he bris'led up, a bad dog, an' a he cat. An' yo' mix that hair together jis' like yo'd mix up salt an' peppah. Then mix that wit de person name. You kin use like that an' yo' kin make a per- son move. You take de dog hair an' cat hair, an' yo' mix it jis' like yo' do salt an' peppah, an' yo' put this red ciyine [cayenne] peppah wit it. Yo' git bitter aloes, Yo' git yo' some John de Conkah root; not the powder, yo' git de root, yo' boil that. Yo' mix this dog hair an' cat hair together, an' yo' have that in a big bucket with hot peppah [pepper sauce] in there and war watah. An' whosomevah it is you want to move you take it to de house an' sprinkle de porch, chuck it back under de steps. An' de next day they cross over it, de next mornin', comin' out. It jis' make 'em move.
Entry 10907
Git de cat hair an' de dog hair an' mix it together, an'( den when yo' mix it toget- her, den yo' git chew some dis same brimstone; an' burn anywhere outdo's, an' it will 'sturb a community, 'cause confusion.
Entry 10908
An' den, too, ag'in, if yo' want 'em tuh move, if yo' wanta upset peoples an' have confusion, yo' git chew a small little [young] cat an' a [young] dog: Yo' know, when a cat an a dog git tuhgethah, his bris- tles raises. Well, yo' takes dat cat an' put him tuh where a dog kin see 'em; an' when dey bristles raise up, clip de bristles off de cat an' offa de dog an' mix it tuhget- hah. An' if yo' kin git in dey house, why yo' carry it in dere an' throw it about in de house an' walk on out. Well, dat breaks 'em up an' keeps 'em always stirred up, confused tuh death.
Entry 10910
Used for back luck, too. They take a dog's hair and a cat's hair and put it together, and the person's name with it, and sew it up together an' bury it close to that person's house. And they'll want to kill everybody in that house. They get together like cats and dogs and they're fighting and killing one another and scratching and biting going on something terrible.
Entry 10911
Dog manure an' dog hair - see, dey gotta git dat dog an' cat tuh fightin'; see, if yo' Wanta separate a man an' a woman. See, yo' git - lak mah, ah have two little white dogs now. Well, yo' git a cat an' git dem tuh fightin' an' clip de hair right quick while dey both mad. Yo' put dat tuhgethah, dat cat hair 'de dog hair, an' dog manure an' cat manure, an' rat manure. Well, yo' ba de three things don' git along, don't chew? Yo' know de cat hates de rat 'de dog hates de cat. So yo' throw dat in dere. It really separate any man wife an' it will make 'em move. Throw it in de room, jis' lak ah come in ah. Fo' instance, ah wanta have sompin in mah han'. Ah could be sittin' heah 'd coald be jis' sprinklin' it aroun'. [I replaced the original four-letter odd by amure.]
Entry 10913
Jes' lak if yo' got a dog an' a cat - ain't chew seen two dogs and two cats meet, an' de cat make up his bristles an' de dog make up his bristles? An' while dey got dere bristles made up, yo'll git de hair behin' both of 'em's neck, see; an' put it in a piece of cloth an' fold up de cloth, an' pin nine straight pins in it - one each way. See [demonstrates] pin one in it [cloth] dat way - an' one in it dat way [heads and points, alternated] an' dat jes' will make 'em fuss an' fight. (Well, now what do they do with that cloth after they pin it up? Where do they put that?) Yo' tote dat in yore pocket, see. When dey git together jes' lak dat dog an' cat fight yo' see; jes' fuss an' fight, be mad [every] time dey see one 'nother. Do dat wit de hair. (But they have to get near one another.) [Here without suggesting an answer, I am asking informant how all these concerns the two victims. Do they walk over Package? Is it thrown into their house? Does he name pins them? Without some such device all this is done by informant's intention.]
Entry 10914
I know what they do with that. Just like if you has a sweetheart and she done left you and is living with someone else, well you take this dog hair and cat hair and you mix it to- gether, see. And you get you a lemon. (A lemon?) Yes, and you cut this lemon open and you stick this dog hair and cat hair in there with their name - their full name. Put it in there and mix it together with cayenne pepper - in the lemon - and bury it and they never get along.
Entry 10915
Like if I got a woman and she living with another man and I want her to break up with him. Well, I take some hair from a dog and from a cat and I gets me a lemon. I cuts this lemon open and I put them two party's names in there - this woman and this man - names down in this lemon and this dog [and cat] hair. And I takes a candle and I light it, and I close it back up [see later] you know, so they won't fall from it. Close it right up and I bury it. On the dark of the moon, I do that. And they won't get along.
(Where do you bury that?)
I just take and bury it anywhere in my yard.
(I see. You seal that lemon back up with this wax from the candle?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 10930
A cat or a dog, when yo' see 'em round in yore yard, it's either a sign of death or sickness. [At the moment I do not recall ever having heard this rite before. It shows the fear or awe of strange animals, the unusual of any kind!]
Entry 13411
Well, in case ah wuz makin' love or had made love with a woman, ah kin tell dat ah guess. Ah starts at de house an' ah stump mah left foot befo' ah git dere. Ah'll go right on an' ah says, "Why do ah stump mah left foot?" Ah say dat in mah Mind. See. When ah git dere ah find othah troubles. Ah find some othah man is seekin' tuh cut off mah progress an' probably he will be dere when ah git dere, an' ah can't git tuh carry out mah aims, an' so on. Dat's de sign of stumpin' mah left foot 'fore ah git dere. An' now if ah stump mah right foot in de same direction, everything is in de cleah. Or, in going tuh a place in de mannah... [I interrupt].
(If you are going to see a woman?)
Yessuh, in de same mannah, ah meets a cat an' dat cat runs out from dat side of de road from de left going tuh de right, an' ah cut him off before he git clean cross de street or de road an' he turns back. Now, dat mah greatest enemy if ah wuz right-handed. Dese are experiences ah'm tellin' yo' now, suh. Well, ah go an' ah find mah success great.
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 11307
Take cat or dog hair an' take a piece of wood an' split de Wood. Stick de hair in dis wood an' nail it down at chure back steps, an' de dog will nevah leave home 'lessen someone taken dat away.
Entry 216
This story that I am about to tell happened in New York [City] about two years ago [1934]. There was a black cat came to a lady and followed her home. She tried to keep him out. He followed her on into the house. To begin with she intended to get rid of him, but after he stayed for a day and a night, she liked him and she kept him. He was there about four weeks. The woman went away to Chicago to the big fair that was there and she took the cat, she carried it over, to another woman's house to spend the ten days she was away. They took care of him over there. When she came back home, she sent and got this cat and brought it back. This woman's house she carried it to, her brother-in-law was living with her. Three days after the cat was carried back, this woman's brother-in-law - he had heart trouble - that had kept it ten days, started upstairs. He got to the third floor, he lived on the fourth, dropped down with his cigarette in his mouth and died right there. People came up the stairs and found him with the cigarette still in his mouth and had to take it out to keep it from burning him. They took him back up to the apartment and he was buried from there. One week after, the woman that the cat had followed home, she went to work. She didn't work all the time, but this was a special day she went out to do some- thing. She kissed everybody goodby, went downtown to do some little housework. She did what she had to do on the first floor, went up the stairs, got to the top of the stairs, gave one little sigh. Someone came to her and when they got there she could not speak. She died. The black cat was still at her house. They huddled him out from there because no one wanted to see that cat because some people was watching the effects wherever he had been. They took him to another apartment on Grant Avenue. That family was demolished. Trouble came up and they separated. So they got someone to take the cat out in the country and I heard no more of him.
Entry 217
I remember a story of a cat. This was a man who went to a hotel. He put his horse up. Going in the hotel the man told him that, "You go over yonder and stay." He said, "What am I going to pay for the night?" He said, "I'll go to work and give it to you free, if you'll just only stand there for one night." He says, "Well, I'll try it." So he goes over to this house. He had a lantern. He sits it down, set back and commence smoking. In walked a big cat. He walked up along side of him and looked in his face and said, "John, '' he says, "look, John, there's nobody in here but you and I." John looked at the cat. The cat was as large as a young calf. John said, "Listen, in a few minutes there won't be anybody in here but you."
Entry 257
" The old people always say you ketch a black cat about midnight and run him around the house three times, cut his tail off and put it under the doorstep. The next night run the black cat around the house three times, kill the cat and take him to the swamp and bury him. Let him stay three nights. Go back and take the cat and put him in boiling water and the lucky bone of the cat will come to the top at midnight. You have to be dere sharp at midnight to get this bone. That's called the good luck bone of a black cat. I hear that about twelve miles from here [in Spotsylvania Co., Va.] from the old people.
Entry 269
Ah used to gamble - co'se ah got to be a ole man now - ah don't gamble - ah 'way up in age - de eighties. But now, if a man wants to be a lucky gambler - ah did dis mahself. Yo' kin ketch a black cat an' stroke his tail seven times - ketch his tail an' pull it seven times [see No. 2771, counting it each time dat chew pull it, an' yo' kiss dat cat once in de mouth, no matter how he rears. Grab his four foots an' hold it an' yo' kiss it an' den chunk dat black cat as fer as yo' kin send him an' blaspheme at 'im. Jest lak dis, say, "Go, God damn yo' an' whirl yore back on him. An' yo' be successful in all yore evil doin's. Ah did dat an' ah was lucky.
(In gambling?)
In gambling.
Entry 273
A little humpbacked man, he spent ever' cent he got for to win girls. I didn't see him do it but seen the finger. It was told me he went to the grave- yard and cut off a woman's right [index] finger - I seen the finger - cut that off and was carrying it around in his pocket. He went to the graveyard, so I was told, but he says so hisself. He went to the graveyard and carried a black cat and cut this black cat's head off. He's to go back to the graveyard nine days and he meet the devil there. He'd have to go back [each time] after dark and carry de black cat's head with him. And the ninth time the devil met him. Well, I know one thing. He was drawed up, the ugliest thing - his back had been broke. He couldn't take amongst girls, I was satisfied of that, but he could do some peculiar things. [Deal Island, Md., (108), 22:1; at Deal Island,1896.]
Entry 275
They go out to the graveyard at midnight and they ketch a black cat and boil him good in a kettle of water. They suck the tail of the cat until they git to the last bone [joint at rectum]. Then they say the Lord's Prayer backwards. Then they're supposed to have a hand to do anything they want to do.
Entry 277
You kin take a black cat an' carry him to de fo'ks of de road an' strip his tail down seven times [see No. 269], an' yo' throw 'em - jest turn [whirl] him round three times ovah yore haid an' throw him - let him go through de woods - don't cook hit, yo' see - an' let him go through de woods an' yo' go on back home. Don't look back. An' anything in de world dat yo' wanta do yo' kin do it. [Informant not knowing stroke uses strip - from stripping a cow at milktime; pulling, compressing down- ward on the tits.]
Entry 288
Well, dey take an' dey boil a black cat. An' dey takes de black cat bone from between his laigs dere - let it be a bull cat, a boy cat.
(Which bone between his legs - what do you mean by the bone between his legs?)
Well - dat little this heah when it runs out.
(His tool? That bone in there?)
Yassuh - git that bone an' yo' go tuh de fo'k of de road.
(What do you do out there at the forks of the road?)
Yo' turn yore back tuh the fo'ks of de road an' throw it ovah yore right shoulder an go on whare yo' goin an' nevah look back.
(What will that do?)
Well, that will keep yore enemies from ovahtakin' yo' - dat cat bone will take care of yo'.
(You don't keep that bone at all?)
No sir.
Entry 316
Fo' luck, if it's a woman or man - a man, he kin take de bone from a black cat. It's a bone made lak de breast of a chicken bone an' it lie somewhere between his - think it's somewhere through his side, ah think it is. It's a forked bone jes' lak dat [like a chicken wishbone - no such bone in a cat]. Dey git dat cat an' kill dat cat an' boil him; jes' let him boil all to pieces an' take dat cat jes' as he is an' put it into a pail of watah, an' in dat watah, let it be high enough fo' it tuh come tuh pieces. Yo' know, jes' git all de meat offa dem bones. Put 'em into a tub an' dat lucky bone of dat cat, it will come up to de top an' de rest of dem bones will stay in de bottom. Well, he gits dat bone an' he gits him a bottle of Jockey Club perfume. Take dat bone an' keep it in his pocket an' when he goin' anywhere he goin' to gamble, why he takes dat bone an' he rubs it thoroughly while it got dat perfume - dat perfume will be all in his han's. An' quite natural, it goin' bring his luck to him until he let somebody else know he got it in his pocket. Well, if he go tell somebody else about it, it ain't goin' do him no good.
Entry 352
Yo' kin go to de fo'k of de road an' ever'body's mad wit chew. Yo' go dere a rainy bitter night an' set down, an' jes' lak ah lak a dead man - if yo' know any murderer, yo' call his name. Well, heah will come a cat sweepin' aroun' an' aroun', talkin' cat, and - yo' take peppah an' salt with yuh, an' [while] dat cat turn aroun', throw dat salt on him. An' says, "Yo' son of a bitch, yo' come out heah." But yo' go out dere agin de nex' night, an' dis man will be settin' right dere. Yo' goin' kill him or do whut chew please with him. He be right dere to de crossroads.
(You throw this salt on the cat?)
On de cat.
Entry 368
Go out to de fo'ks of de road an' stand when yo' git to the fo'ks of de road. Yo' goes out there an' meets - somepin comes to 'im. Dey say somepin comes tuh yo' an' tells yo' to come to de fo'ks of de road fo' nine mawnin's an' meet jes' whatevah he wants done. Jes' lak if he wants tuh be a musician. Well, yo' take an' go to de fo'ks of de road fo' nine mawnin's, if yo' wants tuh be a piano player or guitar player, yo' take that guitar an' go to the road fo'ks fo' nine mawnin's. When yo' git there then start tuh playin'. Well, dere somepin comes up 'cross de field behin' yo' lookin' jes' lak a cow. Well, maybe it have great big eyes when it git there. Why heah come snakes - a snake will come up there. Heah'll come a cat up. Heah'll come a dog up. Heah come a lion. Heah come a beah. Maybe a big smoke drop down ovah yo - drop right down ovah yo' an' yo' stand there an' meet that fo' nine mawnin's an' aftah de nine mawnin's, yo' supposed tuh leave an' go play any kind of music dat chew wanta.[ Fayetteville, N. Car., (1422), 2562:5.]
Entry 473
I can tell you one thing in my childhood days about a witch. There was a cat and it used to come and set right down on the hearth. And the cook would be cooking. She did that for weeks in and weeks out. She said, "I wonder why that old cat hangs around here every morning? I can't get rid of her." She said, "Never mind, I'm going to get rid of her. Some morning I'm going to have the poker and set it right here and I'm going to cut her feet out from under her." That went on maybe for a month or so. The cat came in, set down right in the corner, it was cool weather, very, just sat there. And the cook had that fire iron setting off there. The first time she got that cat's eye on her she grabbed that poker and swung it like that [in a sweep] and cut one foot off. It wasn't a foot no longer, it was a hand. It had real beautiful rings on it and she knew it was madam's hand that had the rings. I heard that told when I was a child [about 1866 near Elizabeth City, North Carolina]. That was in the morning. Then she took the breakfast from the kitchen and carried it on to the great house and served it there. After putting it on the table the boss [the master] came in and madam didn't come. The cook said, "Where's Miz Sarah?" He said, "She doesn't feel well this morning." So we went in to speak to her. In the meantime she had her hand all covered and wrapped over. She was never able to see that hand. The cat went on about its business. They never saw that cat come back. The cat went on. I can't remember just how long she stayed there, the cook, but they got rid of the cook. She was too smart. They claim she [the madam] turned into a witch. This cook knew about it and she said, "If there's any such thing as witches, I am going to find out." So that was the morning she found out.
Entry 476
There was a man annoyed every night by being rid by a witch. He thought it was a certain woman who hated him through jealousy and worried every night. He did everything he could to prevent this witch from riding him. Finally one night he was ridden by this witch. He looked and he saw a woman sitting on the side of his bed, whom he knew very well, the same woman whom he had suspected. He struck at her with a pair of scissors and cut the end of her finger off. She then turned into a cat and went out the door with one of her paws cut off. Next morning a daughter of this lady's came over to the house and said her mother had one of her fingers cut off and she didn't know what happened. There's no doubt this Woman Was a witch in the form of a cat. [Fredericksburg, Va., (35), Ed.; happened (!) at White Oak,7 miles from Fredericksburg.]
Entry 8016
If sompin [project?] dat ah wuz behin', or some money or sompin dat ah wanta put dere, ah go tuh one of dose trees, de 'simmon [persimmon] tree or juni- per, jes' eithah one ah choose tuh put it dere, an' ah'll take a dog or a cat an' bury dis money in a cat or a dog, evah which one ah choose. Hold 'im up dere an' ah'll kill 'im, an' den ah'll bury 'im right dere on top of dis money. An' ah'll bury 'im wit 'is right feet up an' 'is left foot down, of de front ones, an' de two hin' foots stickin' straight up. Bury 'im flat on 'is back, [feet] stickin' up straight right dere. An' tell 'em, "Ah puts chew heah in ordah tuh stay till dey come an' dig." Den ah bury roun' on de top of dat, an' when ah bury dat right up dere, if yo' don' come an' git it, cain't nobody else come an' git it. (How do you have this dog set up with one foot up and one foot down? How do you do that?) Well, yo' know, if a dog dies, he dies tuh de right [whatever that means: on his right side?]. Well, yo' kin bend one of 'is feet lak dat [demonstrates] an' let de othah one jes' lak he be's standin' up dere. An' dem two hin' ones, let dem two be stickin' up. An' when yo' covah dem, put 'im deep enough tuh covah dem all up. An' yo' bury him wit dat right feet at a angle, an' de lef' one straight up.
(That is the two front feet?)
Yes.
Entry 10025
Jis' say fo' instance yo' kidnap yuh black cat. Yo'll have tuh kidnap 'im. Yo'll take dat cat an' skin 'em. Yo' kill [stun?] 'im an' skin 'im 'live, jis' lak yo' would a rabbit or anything else. Well, yo' take dat cat an' yo' cook it. Yo' boil dat meat, jis' cook it so it'll fall tuh pieces. An' yo'll git dat bone. Yo' have tuh take it den an' yo' sterilize it. Yo' scrape it, scrape dat bone an' git it white, white-lak.
(How do you know that you have got the right bone?)
Well, it's a certain bone intuh 'is [left?] hip.
Entry 10033
Well, now, ah tell yuh whut de' [they] say fo' runnin' watah. In case yo' wants anybody confused aroun', a disagreeable neighbah see, dat is terrifyin' yuh. An' yo' wanta git rid of 'em, want 'em tuh leave de community or leave de home or somepin lak dat. It's got a bad story but den ah got it. Yo' git a black cat. Put dat black cat intuh a pot of boilin' watah alive an' covah de pot up. An' let 'im stay in dere until all de flesh drop offa his bones. Den yo' git dat bone. Ah don' know jis' zactly whut bone, but jis' git a bone - ah'd imagine mos' any bone - an' carry it. Well, in othah words, tuh make it cleah, plain, yo' might take a collection of dese bones aftah dey are boiled, cleahed of de meat, an' den yo' carry 'em tuh a runnin' stream of watah. An' de bone dat will float down de stream - de most of 'em will sink - an' it ain't but one of 'em float, dat bone dat will float down de stream. Take dat bone an' carry it an' bury it somewheah neah dat dis- agreeable neighbah. Dat will drive 'em off. [An unusual use for a black cat bone!]
Entry 10036
Ah hear'd tell of 'em usin' a black cat. Yo' kin take a black cat an' yo' put 'em in a pot of watah, an' let 'im cook till all de meat cook off 'is bones - come off 'is bones. Well, aftah all de meat is off 'is bones, yo' go an' git dem bones. Yo' carry dem bones tuh some runnin' watah an' de bone whut run back up de stream - not where de watah runnin', goin' dat way - yo' git dat bone. Dat's de luckiest thing a man kin git on earth.
Entry 10042
Yo' take a jet-black cat an' yo' go tuh a forks of de road, see. Take yo' a pot an' put 'em in dere 'live an' shet 'im up, tight where he can't git out. Cook it - ooot all de meat off de bones; see, if yo' Hn stay dere an' smell it. Den gdt all dose bones. Listen good. Den yo' go down tuh a stream-a watah, see, an' tiroo all dem bones in a stream-a watah. An' de bone, dey tell me, dat gpess ap de stream, dat's de bone tuh git.
(What will that bone do for you then?)
Well, dey tells me yo' sells yo'self tuh de devil. Yo' kin do anything.
Entry 10103
Yo' git chew a black cat an' takes 'im - ah done done dat. Yo' takes yo' a black cat at twelve a'clock in de night. Don' chew kill 'im. Let someone else do dat. [This is rare.] Let someone else kill 'im. Don' chew kill 'im, undahstan', but dat chew git 'im. An' take 'im twelve a'clock in de night an' put 'im on in some kinda ole pot or somepin an' boil 'im. Aftah yo' git 'im boiled, den yo' take 'im up. Dere's 52 bones in 'im [one bone for each card in a deck of playing cards]. An' outa dem 52 dere ain't but three yo' takes out. Yo' take dis bone chere. [This man must have brought a cat with him! A black one?] (You take the left. Front paw or the back one?) De left front. [Demonstration continues.] (From the elbow up to the shoulder.) Yo' takes dat now. An' yo' takes from 'is knee on de back - down. (From the knee down to the ankle.) Dat's right. An' takes out one of de ribs - take out de left rib. Take hit out. An' anybody troublin' yo' lak yo' a farmah, bothah yo' wit chure stuff, well yo' take dat an' take dat lef' rib an' git chew a black spool of thread an' tie it. Jis' go roun' dit twice an' say lak dis: "No tramp! No tramp! No tramp." An' tie it. Yo' done say whilst yuh turnin' it yo' undahstan', turnin' it 'way from yuh. It don' come tuh yuh no time, no sir. "No tramp! No tramp! No tramp!" Now, ah'm fixed [ready to proceed]. Put chure han' down jis' anywhere yo' wanta lay it down, an' put chure han' up dere, say, "Lord, de most Heavenly Father, dis is mah undahtakin'. Whut come befo' de devil, dat chew kin take it off." Take dat same thing an' turn it. Yo' won' have no mo' trouble, not a bit. Git 'long jis' fine. [I now explain informant's demonstration:] (You hold that cat bone down on the ground and your right hand over your heart and you say that prayer.) Yes sir.
(Who did you say did that, a farmer?)
Any farmer, or in yore place. Jis' lak mah place, jis' lak anybody intah- ferin' wit chew.
(What would you do with the rest of the [three] cat bones?)
Take eithah one of dose an' use 'em fo' de same thing. Dis elbow joint, yo' gits dat all out dere. Dat's de high [highest] Jomoo dere is in existence. Dat's bad.
Entry 10929
Yo' kin take the right ear of a black cat an' boil it in a black cow's milk and dry it, an' make a thumb pad out of it an' wear it on yore thumb. Dat's mighty good luck in gamblin'.
Entry 270
I heard a fellow say once, you go to the cemetery at twelve o'clock at night, you take the black cat; you're supposed to put him in the pot alive, you boil him in the cemetery. When the meat comes off, you pour the bones down in a pot of milk. When they come up to the top, you grab the bone that comes to the top. When you go to grab it, you see like a lot of hands and everything coming up at you. If you're lucky enough you'll get the bone. But you have to be quick. And don't get scared. You get that black cat bone and anything you want you get it. If you see somebody with eatens and you want it, you say, "Bring that tray to me," and that man will bring that tray right to you.
Entry 310
Sho' yo' git at the drug sto'.
(You get the black cat lucky bone at the drug store?)
Pantages Drug Sto', yessuh, right heah in Pantages, yo' kin buy the black cat lucky bone.
Entry 253
Well, de tell me dat chew kin go out in de woods an' git chew a black cat, solid black cat, an' yo' kill him. An' yo' boil him till yo' boil all de bones - boil all de meat off de bones. Take to a runnin' branch an' po' dem bones in dat watah, an' de lucky bone will swim, an' de bone dat no good - de bones whut no good will stay on de bottom of de watah. An' yo' take dat bone an' bring it on back home, an' yo' say three words an' de Lord's Prayer. Den yo' take an' sew it up in yo' sack an' tote it - wear it [this hand] in de right hand of yore pocket an' yo'll have all de luck in de world dat chew want.
(You say three words - what are those words?)
"Lord have Mercy."
(And then you say the Lord's Prayer after that?)
Yes sir.
Entry 260
A fellah he was born way back in slavery times. Well, yo' know, he's sittin' down talkin' to me an' so he tole me, say, once when he sold hisself to de devil. Say he went out an' got him a real black cat an' after he got dis real black cat, den he'd taken 'im an' he'd boiled 'im till he come tuh boil all tuh pieces. He'd taken him down to a branch where it was runnin' water an' throwed that ovah in dat water an' say an' den a bone, if hit went up de stream - said an' de one dat went up de stream he got dat an' kept it in his pocket an' then he come tuh be whut chew call a half-a-devil - yo' know, a witchcraft. An' says then he went out an' went tuh doin' things yo' know an' says stuff lak dat, so finally one day he tole a fellah, says, "Yo' bettah not leave home." says, "if yo' leave home today yo' gon'a git killed." He says, "Well, why yo' know it?" He says, "Ah jes' seen dat yo' gon'a git killed." An' so - he say dis fellah didn't pay him no 'tention. So he went on an' left home an' said he went out to a picnic. An' when he went out to this picnic, well then - see, him an' a gurl went out to have some intercourse with her an' so he layed down an' so a rattlesnake bit dis couple. An' when de rattlesnake bit him, said, den it killed him. Says den all de people told her dat he's de one dat told him dat he's gon'a git killed if he'd a-went out to dis picnic. So den dey locked him up in jail an' when dey locked him up in jail, why den says dems wanta know why he knowed it. He tole 'em, says, "Well," it jest come to him "jest in a dream dat he's gon'a git killed." "[They] say, "Well, if yo' go home tonight an' if yo' dream anything heah in dis town gon'a happen tomorrow,"' says, "well, we'll let chew loose." So he went on home dat night an' says, when he went back he tole 'em, he says, "Well, de high sheriff in dis town is gon'a git killed tomorrow." An' says - well, dey locked him up 'bout dat an' so when dey locked him up about dat, well, den - said de high sheriff went out to make arrest an' when he went out to make arrest on one brother, said the other brother shot him, says. An' it happened so dey loosed him. So dat's all ah know 'bout dat.
Entry 264
Ketch yo' a black cat an' yo' boil 'im. Put 'im in a pot, he be alive, an' while dat cat cookin' until he dies, why yo' has to be cursin' him, saying ever'thing till he die. Well, after he die, why a lot'a things - well, a certain time yo' has tuh cook, when it's at night. Do it at twelve a'clock at night an' cook it. After yo' git him cooked, why yo' take it an' strip all de meat offa his bones. Take him down to de branch or any running stream where de water's running - if de water's goin' south [correction later], an' yo' po' all dem bones, yo' has 'em in a pan, an' po' all dem in dere. An' de bone dat goes up de stream, why dat's de bone tuh git - git dat bone. Yo' git a piece of lodestone an' keep near yo' a bottle of hearts cologne. Wear dat bone undah yore left arm all de time. An' yo' kin have any kind - all kinda luck. [This bone, here a hand, is periodically anointed with the hearts cologne; this anointing being called feeding - see Feeding in Index.]
(This stream in which you throw that bone, must the water be running south?)
No sir, de water be running north - de water supposed to be running north, an' if de water goin' north, de bone will go south.
(Any particular stream or any kind of stream?)
Any kind of stream if de water goin' north.
(If the water is going north the bone will go south.)
De bone will go south.
(If the water was going east or west you couldn't throw the bones in there.)
Yo' could throw 'em in dere but it wouldn't work. (You said you came from up around Beaufort. What do they call doing this sort of thing?) Why they call it hoodoo - witchcraft.
Entry 265
Ah heard about if anybody wanta Work roots or somepin othah lak dat. Take a black cat an' carry him in de woods an' boil him an' don' let nobody be out dere late in de night but jes' him by hisself. An' say yo' boil dat cat till dat bone come up on top of de watah, an' dey say de first bone dat come up on top of de watah, say yo' take dat bone an' chunk it in de runnin' watah an' let it go on down de stream an' den cuss. An' dey say when yo' cuss all kinda animals an' things - lion an' all kinda diff'rent things will come roun' - see, an' yo' can't git scared. An' dey say if yo' don' git scared den yo' kin do any kinda hoodoo work yo' wanta do. (Well, when you put that bone in the water and it runs on down the stream, how are you going to get it back again?) Yo' don't git it back, yo' see, after hit done boil. Yo' see, after de cat done boil, dat bone come up on top of de boilin' watah. Well, yo' take that out an' throw it down de stream an' make a cuss. An' den yo' see, when yo' cuss, all dem things will come to yo'. When dem things come to yo', if yo' don' git scared of 'em, den yo' kin do any kind of work yo' wanta do.
(You don't get any bone at all then - you don't use the bone?)
No, no.
(You let it go on down the stream?)
Yes.
Entry 267
One time mah father did dis an' made him real lucky. Ah don't know how he done it, but he went tuh work and he took a black cat. Ah didn't believe in it. He went an' boiled it; put him in de pot live - if you don't do dat yo' ain't going be successful. Yo' put a top over it. Dash him in dere and put a top over it. Hol' him in dere and let him boil down. Den yo' take dem bones whut's in dere and carry 'em down to a running stream, not no great big stream - jes' a running stream of water passing through a little road like, yo' know, a little ditch or something. Well, yo' put all dem bones in dere, an' when yo' put dem bones in dere, dat stream, all dem bones whut ain't goin' do - yo' know, do de way you want 'em - dey goin' down de stream an' de lucky bone coming up, see hit comes up. Well, yo' git dat bone, and den when yo' git dat bone, yo' turn round three times and cuss, an' when yo' cuss, well yo' got de luck. When yo make dat oath, yo' already fixed dat. Den yo' take dat bone an' covered it wit yo' know, sew it up in a bag and put it in yore left pocket an' den yo's lucky. Den yo' done sold yo'self to de devil fo' luck. An' den yo' lucky in any kind of business, any kind of gambling game - any kind of game in de world yo' want, anything.
Entry 276
Well, yo' git chure cat an' yo' stew him up an' git the bones.
(What bone do you get?)
Ah wouldn't know, but it towards heah somewhere up heah in de front part of his body. But anyway, tuh git that bone you have tuh try them all.
(How do you do that?)
Jis' brush 'em [like a toothbrush] in yore mouth an' yo' contin'lly lookin' in the glass, until yo' disappeah. An' when yo' git to that bone yo'll disappeah an' yo' take it to the fo'ks of the road an' turn roun' three times. Yo' do that fo' nine evenin's or mawnin's. An' then yo' take it to a cemetery an' yo' make a crossmark on someone's grave.
(What do you make the crossmark with?)
With that bone. An' then yo' take yore bone back an' yo' wrap it up with some silver money an' lodestone, an' yo' put chew a flannen rag aroun' it an' wear it in yore pocket. That's fo' luck an' that's tuh keep anybody from bothering roun yuh, an' yo' kin do most anything that yo' want tuh do.
Entry 279
I heerd mah mother tell this here. I remember I was right good size. The ole fellah claimed he wanted to be a root worker. You hear 'em talk of root workers. So a fellah told him - he paid a fellah five dollar to learn him. The fellah told him, he said, "Now, I'll tell you whut choo kin do." He says, "You git choo a black cat, take him to the house, put him on, boil him, boil him till he come all to pieces, all de meat come off his bones. After all the meat come off his bones," he says, "you git" - I think t'was the left hip bone - "you git his left hip bone, the back, an' take it down to the crossroad." He says, "You make nine wushes [wishes]," he said, "an' break dat bone half in two." He said, "You go to a crossroad where's one goin' dat-a-way an' one goin' so." So he went on down there. He got down there an' he looked an' he looked, an' he stood there an' looked. Didn't see nobody. He broke de bone in half in two. An' he said, "Well, I'm goin' back dis-a-way." He come dat-a-way, but he said, "I'm goin' dis-a-way." So he took the bone, jis' broke it choo know an' threw it away.
[Informant demonstrates.]
(Facing the direction he intends to take, he throws one-half bone to the right and the other half to the left, at right angles to the intended road. In other words, the bones are thrown down the two forks that form the bisecting line of the crossroad.) "After you git sich a distant [distance] from there," he said, "don't choo look back," he said, "you keep a-goin'. After you git sich a distant down the road an' you don't see nobody, well, you stop an' pick up you nine pinches of dirt," he said, "an' ev'ry pinch of dirt you pick up" - he told him whut to say [informant could not remember the words] - "put it in a red han'kerchef an' tie it up" - he told how many knots to tie, I think it was nine knots - "an' tie it up an' care [carry] it to the runnin' water an' throw it overboard in the river an' let it go on down the river," he said, "an' you kin do anything you want."
The informant recounts a mother's story of a learner paying another person, a black-cat bone broken and thrown at a crossroads, then roadside dirt tied in a handkerchief and cast into running water. Direct instructions are nested reported speech; the informant cannot remember the required words and only thinks there were nine knots. Hyatt separately interprets the demonstrated directions.
Entry 285
Dey says yo'll go an' yo'll ketch a black cat an' yo' take him an' yo' put him in a pot of water, live. Git one dese pots whut's got a neck to it, yol know, where yo' kin put his nose right in de neck where he won't die - where he won't drown.
(Sort of - like a teakettle? His nose is sticking in that spout?)
That's right - right whare his nose will stick in dere where he won't drown. An' then, say yo'll start - put him in cold water an' build yo' a fire after yo' put him in dere. Build yore fire an' den, dey say - den yo' boil him an' yo' boil him to pieces. Boil him till all his bones, hair, everything jes' turns loose - jes' be's a liquor - jes' be's afloatin' in dat liquor. An' dey say, den yo' take that then an' go to a runnin' stream of water an' yo' stand wit chure back to it - de left shoulder to it, an' yo' po' dis ovah yore left shoulder but don't look back at it. An' dey say whilst yore [you're] standin' dere right by it - wit chure left shoulder to it an' throw it over yore left shoulder an' po' it out - de bone dat goes - comes up de stream - whut yo' see comin' up, yo' git that bone but nevah look back. An' dey say yo' take that bone an' den yo' go den an' yo' go to a road dat's got fo' forks. Go to a crossroads dats got fo' forks to it. Yo' go dere in de mornin' - yo' go dere fo' nine mornin's. Dey say, yo' go dere an' yo' come to all de forks, go jes' right where them forks at - right in dat block [square], an' den yo' go backwards up one of 'em. Says, yo' got'a cuss God, den all yo' kin think of - jes' anything yo' kin say agin Him. Dat's fo'de firs' mornin'.
(You go into any one of those forks?)
Either one of those forks - go backwards. (When you cuss God do you stand right in the center, right where all these roads are?) Dat's where yo' starts at, yes sir. Den yo' goes backwards. Dat's de fust mornin'. Well, when yo' cusses Him de firs' mornin' dey says on de second mornin' de devil meet chew dere. He meet choo an' he'll talk wit choo, an' then he'll tell yo' - he'll show yo' then de glitter of de world - jis' whu' de world [is] an' what's in de world, an' jis' how yo' kin come to git to it - richness - jis' git rich. But still, yo' ain't not through den until yo' go to all fo' of de forks ev'ry mornin' - go up each one. De one yo' went up dis morning don't go up it de nex' mornin'. An' de second morning yo' come down dis road yo' cusses Him agin - yo' cusses Him fo' all yo' knows dat morning, an' de devil'll meet chew dere dat morning an' he promise yo' dat morning - he tells yo' tuh cuss Him an' whatever yo' promise - yo' got'a tuh make the devil a faithful promise dat chure soul is his'n when yo' cursin' God. Well, yo' go there for all nine mornin's, but de last morning - when yo' git to the ninth morning, yo' go back there, but don't run out on de fork of the road, yo' go back to the first fork where yo' started - yo' go back down that fork an' yo' curses Him agin. Well, devil dere an' yo' promise him dat chure soul is his'n. Well, dey says tha' chew take that bone an' yo' put it on a string an' tie it around yore neck an' let hang down in yore bosom heah an' yo' goes ahead on. Dey tell me yo' kin go to a lock an' jis' (puff) [demonstrates by blowing] - blow dat lock an' it'll come open. Yo' kin take dat bone then an' after yo' git everything whut chew want in dat building an' got out, yo' kin jes' take dat bone an' stick it in yore mouth an' walk out, cain't nobody see yo'. (Now while you are going down to this crossroad those nine mornings, where is this bone all that time?) Yo've got dis bone - yes sir, yo' got this bone then but dis bone won't begin to work until yo' curse God.
Entry 329
I knows of several gamblers aroun' here who carries one of those bones. They say [that] whut it is an' that's why they so lucky. They said take a hot pot of boilin' water an' sit it up there on the range, an' put it to boilin'. Grab a black cat right off de floah, you might say, an' dash him right in there an' have somepin to hold 'im in there. An' he gits in there an' let him boil all to pieces while he's alive. Then take the cat an' carry him down to a runnin' stream of water, after this water is boil down to a quart. An' you got to drink this quart of water. An' take the cat an' carry him down to a runnin' stream of water an' pick those bone. That stream be runnin' from you to the left. An' try to git as near sunrise as you know an' as you pick those bones you repeat the 'Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.' An' after you fin' tha' choo got this right bone - an' fer you to know tha' choo got it, it's the third bone tha' choo pick an' throw in that stream - will go from you an' you got the right one. An' when you git the right one it'll turn aroun' an' Come back to you. Then you will - you repeats another verse tha' says, "Three dead men looked out of a windah - one was deaf an' the other was blin' and the third one could not see. In the Name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen." Then your luck's on you right then. [Three dead men is used in a variety of rites.]
Entry 348
Dere wus mah ole granddaddy, ah used tuh hear him tell it de way he had a uncle doin' it - dat he wanted to be good wit his boss. He would go out to a road-crossin' [crossroad] befo' day in de mawnin' at fo' 'clock - well, when it is winter in de fall of de yeah. An' he'd go dere fo' so many mawnin's an' stan' in dat road-crossin' an' make his wishes. He'd go dere de first mawnin' an' he'd make his wish an' he would go back fo' de second mawnin' an' make his wish; he went back dere de third mawnin' an' he made his wish an' he didn't see anything. He went back de fo'th mawnin' an' made his wish an' he wus tole tuh turn aroun'. When he turn aroun' he seed a man, a great big black man, an' dat man ast him whut did he want. Said he tole him dat he wanted luck. He said, "Well, go back, an' come back fo' nine mawnin's. An' he went back an' de ninth mawnin' he met dis man dere agin an' he ast, "Whut chew come fo'?" He said, "Well, ah come fo' luck." He said, "Well, it's one thing yo' will have tuh do." Said, "Yo' will have to not serve nobody but me." An' he ast him, he says, "Kin yo' say, God isn't all?" An' he tole, says, "Well, ah will serve yo'." Dat whut wus called sellin' yo'self to de devil. Well, de devil ast him, says, "Do yo' believe in God?" He says, "Yes." He says, "Yo' cain't serve me." Den he went back an' ast him agin. He says, "No, ah believe in yo'." An' he tole him den, says, "Ah'm goin' make yo' a part ruler ovah de whole earth as long as yo' serve me, an' yo' must cuss God three times." Say he cuss God three times. An' he tole him tuh go then an' git a black cat an' throw dat black cat into boilin' watah. He tuk dat black cat an' throw it in boilin' watah, an' de bone dat come on top, he took it. An' he says, "Now, when's [when it's] de time tuh git ready fo' a piece of money, git where it is, an' says yo' jes' take dis piece [bone] an' put it in yore mouth an' go an' git de money an' walk on out." An' said, dis uncle [went] down dere [a bank?] one day an' dey all wus sittin' in dere countin' out money, he put it [bone] in his mouth an' walked in dere an' git de money an' walked on out. An' well, ah 'member de time - lota people used tuh tell it dat he used tuh go down to de sto's an' git things in de name of G. Berry. His name was G. Berry. Said G. Berry would go down to de sto's an' git shoes or anything he wanted an' come on out an' de wouldn't see him till he take dat bone out his mouth. See. Dey git atter him an' put de houn's on him, de dogs on him. An' he'd ran an' ran an' put dat thing in his mouth an' de dogs turn roun', dey nevah could run him back. He'd run an' de dogs couldn't see him. De dogs jes' runnin' an' howlin' an' jes' goin' on. An' one time dey put him in jail - dat wus in mah days when ah wus a boy. An' dey put him in jail an' when dey come out - dey locked him up an' come outa jail, dere G. Berry sittin' right on de steps.
(Where did he live?)
He lived in Tifton, Georgia.
Entry 413
Or some people say yo' put de money in de ground an' yo' bury a chicken or bury a cat or somepin - whatever dey bury, ah don't know what. Why, dis thing will come back wit chure money. Or bury dis Negro - why dis Negro will be so strong, somepin to make yo' 'fraid an' keep yo' 'way. (Is there any way that a fellow can go there at all and prevent that and get the money?) Well, dey say if yo' git chew a Bible an' go to dis place readin' yo' Bible, when dis stuff start - yo' got chure gang an' yore shovel wit chew - go ahead an' dig de money up. Don't pay any 'tention, jes' go ahead an' yo' see de stuff fall, jes' walk right on lak yo' don't see it; reads yo' Bible - readin' God's word, yo' see. An' dey said, when yo' git to dis place, why yo' got an idea how much room it might take, yo' know, to dig dis money up - yo' know, yo' all stand round in a ring round dere an' keep on reading de Bible. Say, den one man will walk around dere dragging his foot chew know, an' mark de place out, while dey be reading de Bible. Why den when dey git through reading dis Bible, take dis Bible an' lay it down on de line, puts it de way dey came - come dis way an' lay it right down on dere where he came in; on dat land marked round dere, lay de Bible, an' dey say yo' git right down dere an' dig. As long as dey didn't talk - don't talk an' don't, yo' know, make a fuss. Git right down dere an' dig. Say all kind of animals - all kinds of mess will come right up dere live, but pay no 'tenshun to 'em. Yo' dig right dere, jes' don't make no fuss, yo'll git chure money. Git dat money an' sit right on de - all kind of animals will come right to dat line, but co'se dey wouldn't come in 'cause dat's de Bible - see, wouldn't come ovah dat Bible.
Entry 467
They said there was some men traveling and they had no place to stay: They came to this house. This man told them there was a house there and there couldn't nobody stay in it. He give them some matches to make them a fire, he give them some potatoes and said they could roast them if they Wanted to. They made a fire and roasted these potatoes. Something came down the chimley and scratched the fire out. They had nerve enough to make the fire again. They scratched the fire out again. They decided they Wouldn't make the fire again. They blowed the light out. They lit the lamp and they blowed that out. They said they wouldn't light the lamp again. So they laid down to go to sleep. One man watched. After awhile a whole lot of people came in and began to dance. Then they went out and brought the card table in and began to play cards. Then they went out. And after awhile - this man was still watching - the door flew open. He fastened the door and the door flew open a second time. He fastened it a third time and the door blew open again. Then he happened to look up and this cat had her paw through the door. He said, "Now, I'm going to get that." He got up and goes around the side of the house and taken his knife and whacked off the paw. The ring dropped on the floor. He taken the ring up and put it in his pocket. So the next morning he walks on up to the house and this man says, "Well, you made a night of it." He says, "Yes sir." He said, "Well, did you see anything?" He said, "A plenty. There's one thing I want to tell you. Look what I got," and he held the ring up. He said, "Let me see that. Do you mind if I show this to my wife?" 'Not at all if you bring it back." So he went upstairs. And his wife was in bed. He said, "Haven't you got up yet?" She said, "Go away, I don't feel well." He said, "Look, I got something to show you." "Go on away from here, I don't want to see nothing." He pulled her over and took her by her hand and her finger was gone. That was his wife's ring. He said, "Well, if that's what you are, I'm going." So he left her. I heard that story ever since I was a little girl [in Orange County, Virginia,1886].
Entry 475
Well, I know once, a witch used to ride a woman - a man, it was. You would like for to hear dis story'
(No, I never heard it - yes, yes, I'd like to hear it.)
Once dere was a boy he was traveling through de country and he went to a rich farmer's home and he asked him, said, "Mister, could you give me a place to stay tonight?" He says to him, said, "Yes, I got a big place over yonder," he said, "if you kin stay over dere," he say, "I'll give you dat place - you kin have it." He said, "Well, I'll go over dere and see kin I stay." He said, "It's really ha'nted, '' he say, "I never knowed no one to go there and stay." He say, "Well, I'll go try." So he cut up some wood dat day what he carried in to her and she fixed supper for him, and den she give him an old lamp and a little oil to go tc make him a fire, or so he could have a little lamp burning sittin' up dere by himself. Sittin' up dere by himself he started to burn dis old lamp. And after while, he had him some beans an' he ete up all dem beans. And after while he looked and he saw five black cats was coming down de stairs - looked to him they had a coffin totin' of it, and he'd taken his [New] Testament and begin to read it upside downwards. And the next thing walked in was five chickens. He's still reading - still reading. And the next thing he looked and saw a cat dipping his paw in de wash basin tryin' to put de light out.
(He what?)
The cat had his paw - putting it in de water, trying to slap de light out - splashing de water trying to put de light out - he still reading. And after while he looked and saw dis cat and he seed a ring on de cat's paw and he grabbed de hatchet, you know, and chopped de paw off and had taken it up and put it in his pocket with de ring on it. Well, de next morning he went up to de boss' house and spoke to him. De boss say, "Well, I'm surprised to see you here alive." He say, "Yes," say, "well, I made out all right but I had a hard time - [he's ahead of his story] - but jest before he gets: dere [to the boss], a little low-sided, gray-headed man walked in, which was a ghost. Well, dis boy -
(What kind of a man?)
A little short gray-headed man - about three foot high with beard hanging down to his shoe-top. Dis boy say, "What in the Name of the Lord, the Father, and the Son do you want here?" And dis ghost says, "You follow me," said, "I've got a fortune for you." Well, de boy went on down in a old out-house way down into de basement and he [ghost] put a mark down and he say, "You dig down here and you'll find a fortune." Well, de boy, he marked dis place and after he marks it, he waited till the moon got right - on the growing of de moon, he started to plan for to dig at dis place. Den he goes up to de house and the old man [the boss] says, "I'm surprised to see you livin'." He says, "Well, I had a hard time but I made it all right." Well, he told de boy he could have the place, which he gave de place to him, and de boy he run his hand in his pocket and passed him dis ring. De old man lqoked at the ring and says, "Seem lak I know dis ring." His wife was in bed very sick. Well, he got de doctor for her. When de doctor rech for her hand, she 'fused to pass him her right hand and give him de left hand. Well, why she give him de left hand? "Cause de right hand was chopped, you see, which had de finger cut off in de shape of a cat, for she was a witch, you see, but dis man didn't know she was a witch. Well, he made her hand her right hand and he happen to see de finger all chopped up dere and the hand being bloody. He wanted to know what was de trouble. He happen to look at de ring and he found it was de ring dat boy give him, and dey found out she to be a hag. Well, de old man got a little troubled den and got to worryin' over it. An ole riddle says, "He sent 'er out jes' as fur as men an' water could take 'er" - he got rid of 'er. An' dis boy he begin to dig down dere and he find a whole lot of silver and gold, what de spirit had give him.
(Where did you hear that story?)
Well, I heard dis story in North Carolina, down in Bertie County.[ Norfolk, Va., (466), 463:10; Doctor Paul Bowes.]
Entry 859
[Some doctors live in delapidated houses. I have described my finding on a public dump the tin-can-covered hut of Doctor Dog Face - see Introduction. But delapidated house, isolation, queer looks, while occasionally true - these are part of the hoodoo mythology:] Well, de story about de black cat bone - well, people say dat's de bone yo nevah git. Yo' often hear folks say dey got a black cat bone [see pp.74-97 and Index]. Well, now, a ole lady - ah wus reared in her yard, she lived nex' do' tuh me. If yo' had de time tuh go tuh see these things yo' could appreciate it mo'. Any time yo' kin find a person that kin work roots, dey say de root-workin'. Dey always lives in a ole delapidated house with beasts an' cats an' ev'rything imaginable but tuh modern civilization. An' de ole lady she re'lly would - ev'ry time Friday came on de 13th, she killed de cats. She killed three cats. She nevah killed a cat till Friday come on de 13th. An' she killed those cats, skin 'em an' dry 'em, an' she gi' me a bone an' tole me dat ah have luck off it, say, "Slong [so long] as yo' keep dis bone, yo'll have luck." An' says, "Yo' won't have luck when yo lose [it] an' ah'll fall out wit chew." An' she fell out wit me because ah sol' her some hay. Mah daddy runned de hay farm an' ah sol' her some hay one week an' she wus tuh pay me Satiday an' didn't pay me an' that Friday she wanted some mo' hay. She lived de third do' from me [the preceding she lived nex' do' tuh me is one of those elastic expressions like I had every doctor in town] an' tole me tuh throw off six bales, an' say's she'll pay me tuhmorro'. Ah said, "Yo' haven't paid fo' dis hay an' ah'm not goin' let chew have no mo'." An' ah put it on de wagon an' ah wouldn't let her have any mo'. An' she tole me from dat day to dis yo' goin' have bad luck. Well, she give me a black cat bone. She give me de black cat bone an' she Wrapped it up an' she say, "Any time a person goin' do somepin fo' yo' an' can't let yo' see whut dey do, dey ain't no good." She put salt, peppah an' vinegar on it an' wrapped it up, an' went in de corner an' spit in de corner three times an' took it an' put it in de bottom of her shoe, an' did her han' lak dat fo' or five times an' rubbed herself, an' took it back out of her shoe an' rubbed it an' give it to me.
[My question is lost by turning machine off accidentally or too quickly.]
No suh, rubbed her fingahs lak dat an' did lak that, an' lift up her arm [cf. No. 264, p.77] an' did lak dat, an' den give it back to me. (Well, she got this bone right out of the cat? Some bone of the cat when she killed these cats?) See, she had a lot of 'em [bones] an' see she dries 'em an' keep 'em up dere an' when people come she sells 'em.
Entry 1976
Well, I bought one in Washington [D. C.] from a ole lady, she was blind in one eye, and I'd been gambling you see, had been losing everything dat I could beg, bahrry and steal. Now, this is jis' as true as I'm sitting here. And so I heard about this ole lady but I never had no confidence in her. So when I went to her, you understand, she told me, she says, "Uh huh," she says, "you lost everything you has and now you come here to me." She says, "No use me giving you nothing, cus you ain't gon'a believe in me nohow." Well, that jis' was mah min' when I walked in de house. I told her, "Oh yes, Miss Sarah, I believe in you." So. "Well, I can't fix you up today, she say, "you have to come back a couple few days from now." [Magic delay.] So I went back again and she wasn't fixed up then. I went back again. The next time I went back she was fixed up. She give me a little pale-blue book jest about dat square, jest like a square block, jest as wide as it was long. She told me, she says, "You go ahead and you wear that in your right-hand pocket," she says, "and whenever you go to gamble," she says, "ever once in awhile you put your hand in your pocket," she says, "den when your pocket begins to sweat," she says, "you bet everything dat joo can beg, bahrry and steal." Well now, whurther dat dis was right or whurther it wasn't, anyhow, I pays ten dollars for the Hand. Well, it was about a week before I could git hold any money, much together. Course I could gamble with a little game, but I was always wanting to git in a big game. So I gits in de game dis Sunday evening - de boys was shooting craps, plenty of money. So I gits in there. And I didn't have but a dollar and a half, all the money I had. So I gits in there. And de boys was shooting fer fifty cents. Well, you know my dollar and a half wouldn't lass long in that. Some boy shoots fifty cents worth, two or three of them faded in, you understand, and he hit 'em. I don't know whurther to fade dis dollar and a half or whurther to wait and shoot it. I didn't know what to do. I rubbed my hand in my pocket and it sweat. I take it out. So I gets some quarter bits, a couple of quarter bits, lost them. I lost them right out. "Guess I'd better stop now." So when de dice got to me I taken de dice, I don't know whurther to shoot a quarter or what to shoot. A mind comes to me shoot a dollah. Now dat's all I've got. So I says, "I'll shoot fifty cents." A fellah says, "You'll loose for a dollah." Oh, de game was bigl Money backed up you know for goodl And I wanted some of it so bad. I thought I'd shoot de dollah. And I roll de dice out. But dey got a fashion of gauging dem, you understan', ketching dem when dey come out. So I throwed de dice out and de fellah caught it. I throwed de dice out again, de fellah caught it. He caught 'em three times. With mah hand in mah pocket, my hand begin to git moist, after she told me my hand begin to sweat, I shot de dollah. I throwed a 'leven, I shot de two, I throwed a seven. I said [to myself], "I guess I'd better take down this time." So I taken down three dollahs. And shot de one, come out wid a ten. A fellah says to me, he says, "I'll bet two to one you don't ten." I says to myself, "Now dat'll bring me two dollahs." I drop right down, right straight back, jest as straight wid de ten as I could come, and I got ten for four shots and made one right after de other. Then my hand was jes' as wet inside dat ev'ry time I take hold de dice, you understand, dey'd be wet. I taken dat game. And when I come out dat night I had a hundred and forty-three dollahs. Now, whurther it was de hand or whurther it was just luck, my luck come to me, or what it was. That's right. Dat was de first hand I ever bought. De second hand I bought I was in Baltimore. I bought it from a blind man. This is a little bag, a little red flannel bag. He told me, he says when he give me this bag, he told me, he says, "Now you get some whiskey. And don't throw de whiskey on this, but put it in your mouth and spit it on it," he says, "and don't gamble with this, don't put no money much on this bag until you keep it a day or so." All right. That cost me ten dollars. Dat's in a place in Baltimore called Hollandtown. And I goes in a game in Hollandtown that night and breaks it. And the next one I bought was in Norfolk [Virginia]. Dat was a black cat's paw, de paw of a black cat. And I lost dat somewhere. I don't know where I lost dat.
(How do you carry that?)
In your pocket where your money is.
(What did you pay for the third hand?)
Ten dollars.
Entry 10046
Well, dey tell me if yo' wanta have good luck, git chew a coal-black cat an' take him out tuh whah de roads crossin' some ole faraway road an' take yuh a pot an' take dis cat an' cook 'im, evahthin' but 'is eyes. Dose is de two thin's dat chew have yuh a [some- thing?] right wheah yo' put chure fiah, jis' enough tuh not burn de eyes. [See comment later about these eyes.1 Cook it tuh wheah it'll be hard, an' cook dat cat. Dey claim dat diff'ren thin's [spirits] come up out de pot but dat ain't true. (These things [appearance of spir- its] really don't come about?) Dey don' come about, but it is true tuh mah knowledge about de cat. An' yo' cook dis cat tull [till] he's per- fek done; ev'ry stran' of de meat's offa de bone. An' go tuh some spot-a watah where de watah is standin' perfekly [perfectly] still an' yo' drop dose bones in dere. An' dere's one li'le certain bone, dat's jis' a small bone, dat'll stay on topa de watah, an' de resta de bones dey goes down tuh de bottom. Dat bone yo' kin take it an' keep it fo' maybe ten or twelve days, an' take it tuh some place tuh where yo' kin dress it wit strong alkihol tuh wheah it has a strong scent. Have it wheah yuh kin smell dat scent. Den yuh kin keep it in yuh pock- et, lak yuh's a gamblah or some kinda card playah, an' it re'lly brings luck tuh yuh.
(What would you do with those eyes of the cat?)
Aftah yo' dress yore bone yuh git dose eyes an' place dem somewhah whah yuh's, in yuh residence whah yuh live at, whah dey kin stay whah nuthin'll bothah 'em. An' dose eyes - yuh know he [cat] has a gray eye. Dey'll begin tuh turn green. An' de whole thin'll git jis' as green as a gourd. Den yuh keep dose fo' yuh- self; not fo' nobody else but chureself. [Those preceding cat eyes are interesting! At the moment I do not recall anything quite similar in HOODOO. The fact that these natural eyes turn hard and then gradually change color from gray to green, shows we are concerned here with two cat's-eyes: gems exhibiting a chatoyant [[reflecting a single streak of light ohen cut in a cobochon]] luster, especially a variety of chrysoberyl, the ori ertal or precious cat's-eye. Though this is my only example - compare following rite - could present rite be an attempt to sell glass cat's-eyes as devil stones? Years ago at the turn of the century a cat's-eye shooting marble was alast a Superstition with some marble shooters. Perhaps an antiquarian could infona us.]
[For another example of black cat's eyes, see No. .]
Entry 10065
Dey go out tuh de forks of de road an' some do's one thing an' some anothah, see. Some will take a half a bushel [basket] see, an' dey puts dat in de forks of de road. An' aftah dey put dat in de forks of de road, dey git a black cat an' put undah dat bushel - half bushel. See. An' dey'll use de word: God, de Fathah - God, de Son - God, de Holy Ghost. Three times, see, an' de storm will rise... (Remainder of this story cannot be secured because of bad spot on cylinder.) [Comment by transcriber.] [What happened? Did the cat escape? Did the devil appear? I hope someone has preserved this story. For a similar story see one in which the devil demands you cuss God three times, No.348, p.103, vol.1.]
Entry 10078
Well, yo' ketch a cat - a black cat - an' yo' take 'im tuh a runnin' stream somewhere off in some desolated place, an' yo' build yuh a fiah an' yo' heat watah an' yo' boil dis cat. Yo' boil all de bones off dis cat. An' aftah dis cat boiled an' all de meat fall off 'is bones, den yo' take dese bones an' yo' put dese bones in a bag, an' po' dese bones in dis stream of runnin' watah. An' den yo' sit dere. Dey say dat sev'ral things supposed tuh happen uhile yo' doin' dis. Various horrible apparitions will appear trying to fright- en you.] An' all dese bones will go downstream in swift watah, an' dis one bone come back up against de stream, dat's de bone yo' git. Den yo' git dat bone an yo' carry dat bone. Yo' carry dat bone diff'ren' places. Yo' suck it in yuh zouth when yo' wanta do things, an' carry it in yore pocket in yuh han'. Dat bone supposed tuh do sev'ral things; sech make a man invisible or any othah things dat yo' wanta do.
Entry 10085
Dat black cat - takin' de black cat, pure black, no white spot, no nuthin, an' puttin' 'im in a pot of watah alive an' boilin' 'im. Aftah he is boiled, tuh find de right bone, yo' must take a lookin'-glass an' passin' each bone through de mouth. When yuh git tuh de right bone, yuh don' see yuhself in de glass at all. Well, dat's de bone dat chew use in yuh pocket. An' whensom- evah yo' use dat bone in yore pocket, yuh walks intuh any place - yo' may be comin' up along de street an' ah see yo' comin', an' befo' yo' git tuh me yuh'll disappeah an' ah don' see yuh. See. Yo' done git invisible wit de black cat bone. But it's only one certain bone dat it kin be done wit.
Entry 10086
Yo' go tuh work an' take a black cat wit no spots on 'im atall. An' yo' takes 'im an' yo' puts 'im in a washpot an' fill it up [with water]. Yo' don' fill it clean up, jis' let it [fill] so's [so his] haid kin be stickin' up [out of water] so he won't drown befo' he git chance tuh burn or anythin'. An' yo' jis' make a fiah an' put de lid on it [pot] so he can't git out. Make a fiah an' boil 'im right dere uatil all de meat come off 'is bones. Den yo' take dem bones den an' put 'em in a sack. An' carry 'em an' go tuh where de watah is runnin', an' jis' po' evah one dem bones in dere. An' dere'll be one bone out dere dat'll float up de stream. All de rest of 'em goin' down de stream, de way de watah runnin'. An' de one dat come up de stream, yo' gits dat one. Take dat one an' yo' kin dry it out fo' yo' ownself. Yo' walk up befo' de glass dere an' yo' put it in yuh mouth an' yo' cain't see yo' ownself. An' yo' kin go anywhere dat yo' wanta go an' put dat bone in yore mouth, why dey cain't see yuh.
Entry 10129
I have heard the old people say you get the two hind bones of a black cat's leg, both legs, they should be dried, and sew up into a woolen rag and they should be carried all the time. And you use these bones as your guard against evil spirits.
Entry 10156
A black ket, yo' take him tuh a place from yuh home at twelve o'clock at night an' would cook 'im alive. Jis' put 'im in a pota hot watah an' cook 'im alive. An' at twelve o'clock de nex' night, in twenty-fo' hours time, go back an' git 'im an' bring 'im back. An' what he [black cat] be tellin' yo' along [the way], which ah don' know, yo' keep dat tuh yuhself. An' dey say, yo' take dose bones an' suck 'em all, each one of 'em, until yo' git tuh a certain bone. An' when yo' git tuh dat bone yo' look in de glass, an' when yo' can't see yuh- self, well, which dat is de right bone.
(Then what do you do with that bone?)
Well, yo' take dat bone an' tote it aroun' jis' lak it's magic - disappeahin'.
(You can't see him?)
Yes. [Vicksburg, Miss., (744), 1014:1.] [Previous candle rites will be found principally in volume 1, pages 744-888, der division called ALTARS - CANDLES - SAINTS. Similiar material occurs among rhe interviews of volume 2 pages 933-1843, and volume 3 pages 1859-2339. The falogig beliefs have been divided into 5 subsections:]
Entry 10919
Mix cat and dog hair with seven ingredients: pepper, bluestone, sulphur, salt, asafetida, etc., put at door; people living there will fight like cats and dogs. [Richmond, Va., 303:10.]
Entry 70
I heard of a ghost coming in once - there was an old house - my mother tole me this. They was a family that owned the home and they couldn't rent it to anyone because people had gone there to live and wasn't able to stay on account of ghosts. The last family that had any trouble, when they went to stay there, the first night, a dog came in and walked around the room. They tried to chase him out and struck at him and he turned into a cat. And they struck at it again and it turned into a hand, a human hand. The next time they took a knife and cut at it and actually cut it then [drew blood] and then it disappeared and they never seen the ghost in the house evermore.
Entry 215
I'll tell you what I have seen - twenty-eight years ago [1908] a cat behind a young woman and the young woman was kin'a intoxicated. There were two sisters. They lived together. One sister had gone out to a party and the other one was all ready to go out. And this one, that hadd't gone yet, waited for her sister to come in. She waited until eleven o'clock. And it was in the summertime. So she said, "Mrs. Duke, will you take my key." - I said, "Yes' - "to give to my sister when she comes, because I have been waiting for her. She hasn't got here yet." So I said "Very well, sure, I'll do that for you." I took the key. And her sister came in about one o'clock at nighttime and was rapping on her sister's door. I was in bed so I holler to her and say, "Emma, '' I said, "I have your key, your sister is out." She said, "Very well." I got right up and opened my door and passed her the key. Meantime, the cat got in behind her. I was trying to move back. I couldn't move [the reason is given later]. She was trying to unlock the door but couldn't. She had a little too much drink in her. I said, "Emma, come on in my house." She said, "No, I am going on in home. The door is a little hard to unlock." She unlocked it and went in. And she said, "Cordelia, there's a cat over here. Is it your cat?" I said, "No, not my cat." She said, "Yes." I said, "No, Emma," like that. I said, "Well, come on in my place." She said, "No, no, I can't do that." So in the meantime she says, "Here goes the cat. It's going out." But I am a little ahead of my story. During the time she was unlocking to get in, this cat got very tired awaiting. And it turned three different colors while she was trying to get in; one was yellow, the other was grey, the other was black - black and white. It didn't worry me about being a spirit. What came over me, I couldn't move. I said, "Couldn't it be the moonshine" - it was nighttime - looking for the moon to see if it was reflecting on the cat. Had it of been the moon I wouldn't have been frightened. After I couldn't get a sight of the moon and couldn't move, I was terribly frightened. And I never moved, couldn't move, until she unlocked the door and the cat went in behind her. Then I went and got into my bed. This was on 115th Street [New York City] where I used to live. I never had the nerve to ask her; but one thing I do know, she never came to her sister's any more. In six months she never came to her sister's house. She stayed around other people's houses further downtown. I said to her sister about the cat, "There's a meaning to that." Her sister said, "Don't mind that. That's only the devil after Emma." That was one sister speaking about the other. I knew is must have been a token. I asked a minister. The minister said, "That cat was the devil shown to you because Emma has all the faith in the world in you. She is not a Christian. It was shown to you for you talk to her because she has lots of faith in you." Six months after that she died.
Entry 218
One time a fellow was frying some eggs. He was setting down there cook- ing and looking things over. He heard a voice. He looked around to see where it was at and couldn't find it. So he goes to the stove and something up on top of the chimley said, "I'm gon'a drop." He said, "You can drop all you want, so you don't drop in my pan of slop." Finally, a cat leg fell down the chimley, went in the corner and set down. The fellow looked at it, then at the pan, and something on top of the house said, "I'm gon'a drop." Another leg fell down the chimley and went over there and both got together. When the two legs commenced to get- ting together he said, "It's getting kin'a tight in here. The legs said, "That's nothing. Wait till my body comes down." Something on top of the chimley said, "I'm gon'a drop." That cat's body fell down the chimley. It went over and got with them legs. The fellow look at them again and the pan of slop and said, "It's getting kin'a tight in here." Then they said, "Wait until them front legs get down here." Something said, "I'm gon'a drop." He said, "You can drop all you want to just so you don't drop in the slop." The front legs dropped and went over there and got together. He said, "It's tight in here now sure enough." Then it said, "Yes, but you wait until the head comes down." The man said, "The back legs is here, the body is here, the front legs is here, but when that head gets down I'm gon'a be gone."
Entry 220
A girl was always crazy for fixing her hair. Her mother was going to a party. Her mother was hurrying her." And she told her mother she'd rather go to hell than to go to this party without time for fixing her hair. And she died and they laid her out in the coffin. They couldn't move the coffin. They open it and a black cat jumped out. The hair was fixed as good as anybody ever could fix it. They said the cat must of fixed it. [For girl 'fixing her hair, '' cat, and heavy coffin, see FACI,2ed., Pp.710-711, Nos.15372-15373.]
Entry 221
I heard one time that a woman died and the day - they got ready to bury her and the pallbearers had taken her out of the house and put her in the hearse. And they had four horses and they couldn't pull it. So they got two more and they couldn't pull it. And they said they got two more horses and they couldn't pull it. So then they decided to open it and see what was in it. And when they opened it there was a cat in there combing her hair. So they got the cat out and the two horses could pull it.
Entry 222
I did hear one time that there was two girls which was partners, used to go to and fro together. So at last one day, one Sunday, they decided to go to church. And they went to Sunday school in the morning, also to eleven o'clock service, and that night one of the girls decided she Wanted to go to the night service. So when the one girl got to the other girl's house, the other girl was combing her hair. She told the other girl, "Leave us go to church." The other girl said to her in reply, "Before I go to church I'd rather go to hell with both eyes open without my hair being combed." After then they went. The next day, which was Monday, this girl was taken sick. Tuesday she died. On Thursday they were getting ready for her funeral. They had taken the corpse to the church. And after carrying it to the church they opened it so everybody could review. And after doing so, they went to pick up the coffin to put it to the hearse and they couldn't nobody move it. Then at last a gang of men put this coffin in the hearse. After the coffin got in the hearse they had four horses pulling the coffin. All four of those horses could not move it. It was an awful thing to see the great excitment. Then they decided to take this coffin out of the hearse and open it to see what was the trouble. So when they open this coffin there was a black cat in there combing this girl's hair with its paw.
Entry 223
That's the reason I don't plat my hair to this day. If a woman dies and her hair be platted, they said, "She's gone to torment [hell]." The horses could not pull the coffin it would be so heavy. A black cat would be in that coffin unplatting the hair. You open the coffin and run that cat out and go on to the grave. They say never plat your hair. I never platted my hair in my life. They Say it's a bad sign. [Informant a large girl near Woodville, Miss., when Civil War began.]
Entry 254
I git me a black cat. I'll take this black cat. I'll put dis cat on alive. I boil this black cat an' whutevah bone comes to the top of dat, that's called, they say, sellin' yerself to the devil. All right. I kin take that bone but I got to go to a house by mahself. An' in boilin' that cat I got to put a top on that cat an' boil this cat alive. An' I got to stand zamination between de devil an' his imps. It'll come a great many things. They come a whole gang of little people in there to dance with me. I've got to do this in the dahk. But when they git in they'll bring their own light, de own music an' ever'thing An' if I kin go through that zamination, an' that cat gits done - the meat boil offen that cat bone, the very bone that I want, the black cat's bone, is comin' to the top. Well, I kin git that an' tote it. Jis' as long as I kin tote it, I can go in your house or I kin walk up to you, take money out of yer pocket; or I kin go in amongs' a sto'keeper an' go behind the counter an' git the money out. They kin't see me come out. They may shoot at me an' can't hit me a' [or] nothin' as long as I keep that black cat's bone. I've sold mahself to the devil.
Entry 255
De way ah know it or de way ah've heard it - ah have nevah had any personal experience about it, but de way ah've heard it is dat yo' ketch de cat an' keep the cat nine days. An' in de ninth day yo' throw de cat into it - jis' as he is, life an' all - into a boilin' pot of watah, an' de bone dat bristles up out of his back aftah de boilin' is de bone which yo' want.
(Then what do you do with that bone?)
Yo' wear that bone on yore person. Dat's de lucky bone.
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 258
Dey claim dat a person yo' know could take a black cat, see, without havin' any spots on him atall - let him be a solid black cat, yo' see. An' put chew on a pot of water yo' see, an' dump dat cat in dere alive yo' see, an' scald 'im dat way. An' dey tell me dere's a certain bone yo' know is in dat cat. Yo' see, yo' take all dem bones yo' know, an' yo' go to a runnin' stream yo' know, where it's good an' clear - yo' know, where yo' kin see yo' know, de surface of de bottom. An' throw all dem bones in dere an' watch 'em, an' dey tell me de swiftest one yo' know, dat moves about, say if yo' kin git aholt of dat, dey tell me yo' kin do all kind of witch- craft dat way, yo' know. Yo' take dat bone yo' know an' git outa sight of people yo' see, an' go in any kind of places dat chew wanta go in.[ Waycross, Ga.,
(1069), 1730:1.]
Entry 259
Yo' take a black cat - a real black cat, ain't got nary a spot on him nowhere. Yo' take him outside of [beside] a stream of runnin' water, an' yo' git a iron pot an' put this cat in that iron pot, an' fill it up wit water an' boil de cat - boil him till all de meat come off his bones, till every bone come apart. An' take dis pot an' jest throw de whole pot of bones all ovah in de watah. An' de bone dat goes up de stream - dat's de bone. An' it will make yo' invisible. Yo' use dat bone. Ah've heard of people havin' black cat bones an they could walk in banks - jest like walkin' in dis house heah an' yo' couldn't see'em.
Entry 261
You take a black cat on a dark stormy night an' go in a swamp an' take this cat, an' let the water be boilin', an' drops this cat in there. Then you gits all his bones togethah an' take 'em - after you finish boilin' - take the bones an' go down to a stream of watah an' drops these bones in the watah. An' when you do that, they say the devil will raise up from the other side of de rivah an' shake your hand. An' they say you then have sold yourself to de devil an' you cannot be harmed by no human person.
Entry 268
If ah wus goin' tuh have a black cat bone an' had to use it fo' mahself, ah would take an' git me a black cat with not a white spot on him an' ah [would] take an' cook him real done. Ah would take that cat to the runnin' watah an' throw him in dere an' all de rest of de bones dat sink dey ain't no good. De one dat stays on de top is perfect. Ah take dat bone in mah han's an' carry it cross mah face an' cuss God an' say, "Ah don' believe it's a God."
(Show me how you do that.)
Supposed to carry it cross lak dat, backwards an' forwards an' cuss God, "Ah don' wanta be saved. Ah don' believest in God. Ah wants dis tuh command me. Ah've sold mahself to de devil."
(Then what do you do with that bone?)
Well, take dat bone an' do anything wit it.
Entry 271
They tell me you take a black cat alive an' put 'im in a boilin' pot of water till he boil all to pieces - jis' like you were cookin' meal or somepin - an' the bone that come to the top, that stand on top of the water, dat's the bone fer you to use. Dat's de witchcraft bone. After you git dat bone, you suppose to go to the graveyard fer nine nights. Said the first night you just zern a little imp come an' dance up to you. [Each succeeding night additional imps appear] - then the ninth, the whole devil family, his wife an' the son, a whole bunch of 'em. If you kin stand fer whut you see, you'll be able to witch- craft in anything you want to.
Entry 274
Whenevah he be goin' tuh gamble, he jes' go an' ketch him a black cat - anybody's an' throw him in de fiah 'live an' burn him up. Jes' keep him right in de heat ever'where dey is an' burn him up. An' den dey takes dis bone dat isn't burn all de way up, jes' kinda yo' know ashes, an' take an' go tuh de mirror an' if he kin stand tuh carry it cross his mouth lak dat yo' know, if he's got dat much nerve, after dat den at night, or wait until night an' go in de graveyard. Keep de bone with him an' if he's got nerve, stay in dere all de remain of de night, an' if any animals or any spirits, an' he's ain't scared, why dat bone will work fo' him, but if he gits scared an' come out why it ain't no good to him.
Entry 278
Well, dey goes out to de fo'k of de road, but yo' gotta go at twelve a'clock in de night - a dark night at twelve a'clock. Yo' goes out dere to dat fo'k an' yo' stan' up - yo' be's talkin' to de devil - de devil have tuh come up dere an' jes' whut chew want, yo'd ask de devil fo' it. Tell de devil whut chew wanted an' whut chew wanta do wit it - tell de devil yo' want him tuh go wit chew tuh do these things. An' den yo'll make a cross mark there an' yo' git some of dat dirt from dose fo'ks. Yo' take dat dirt den an' yo' carry it on back home wit chew. Then yo' git chew - yo' have tuh git chew a black cat, an' yo' put dat black cat in a pot of watah, hot boilin' watah an' let all de meat boil off him. Den yo' take it all an' yo' carry it to a stream of watah runnin' an' yo' empty all dem down dat stream. De one dat stay dere, dat de one yo' git, but de one whut float away you let dat go. Den yo' carry it right on back home an' put it in yore pocket an' tote it. Keep dat wit chew an' dat's lucky to yo'.
(What do you do with that dirt you bring back from the forks of the road?)
Yo' puts dat wit dat - wit de bone - tote dat wit chew. Put it in a little sack an' tote wit chew. That'll he'p yo' - yo' kin do most anything.
Entry 280
Dey tell me yo' kin take a black cat an' put him in a pot 'live, see, an' boil him. Now, when all de flesh boil offa him, yo' takes him to a branch. See, take dose bones to a branch. De lucky bone hit comes to de top; it doesn't leave - it circle right round. Yo' gits that yo' see an' after that then yo' comes back to de fork of the road fo' fo' nights, an' those fo' nights yo' sees one of fo' diff'rent men - fo' [for] each night yo' come, a man tuh each night. See. An' he will give yo' somepin, speak to yo' plainly an' tell yo' whut that are, to keep yore enemies away from yo' - to keep anybody from doin' yo' any harm or whatevah.
(Four different men - what do you do with that black cat bone then?)
Well, on dat black cat bone yo' kin git money, go to stores an' things - nobody can't see yo' when yo' goin'. Ah've seen dat.
Entry 281
Ah heard dat chew could ketch a black cat an' take him an' boil him - dat's black all ovah - take him an' boil him in water. An' dere's a crossbone dat come out of him, but chew got'a take him to a stream somewhere an' let it wash off, an' den dere's a crossbone come out of him. Ah heard that chew could take an' go to a forks of de road fo' nine mawnin's an' den de ninth mawnin' whenevah yo' go there, why den yore luck'll change. Yo' jes' keep dat same bone if yo' go to de forks of de road nine mawnin's an' then whenevah yo' come back, why take that bone in de place yo' want de luck in. An' yo' wrap it up an' jes' put it in yore pocket an' tote it an' that will bring yo' luck an' success for many years. (You go to this crossroads after you get that black cat bone? Do you carry the bone with you there?) Yes - yo' carry de bone wit yo' fo' nine mawnin's after yo' done cook him to pieces and git dat bone. Dat brings yo' luck.
Entry 282
Yo' kin take a black cat - yo' boil him alive an' go to a stream of watah an' de first bone dat wash down de stream, dat's de bone fo' yo' tuh git. An' take an' go to de fo'ks of de road nine mawnin's an' chew dat bone, an' de last mawnin' yo' go dere, everything will turn dark an' different things will come to yo'. Then yo' kin do anything - yo' be's sold yo'self to the devil. Yo' kin be de ruler of anything an' git out of it.
The informant describes a black-cat bone taken to road forks on nine mornings and chewed, with a final darkening and encounters, followed by claims of broad powers and selling oneself to the devil. These are historical source reports; the neighboring accounts' different bone-selection methods and visit counts are not imported.
Entry 283
The way I heard it was this - that he takes a black cat that's black all over and throw him in boiling water and let all de meat boil off the bones. And suck one of them bones each morning for nine mornings and go to the forks of the road and make a wish for whatever you wanted. And at the ninth morning, the council of the devil would meet him there and make him ruler over black arts - the way I heard that, make him a ruler over black arts. He could go into a place and couldn't be seen and take what he wanted and go out and do anything of that kind.
The informant explicitly reports hearsay about a black-cat bone, nine mornings at road forks and wishes, followed by a claimed meeting with the devil's council, powers and invisibility. The neighboring accounts' different selection methods remain separate.
Entry 284
They claim you go to the fork of the road fo' nine mornin' straight. You walk backward. You curse the day you were born. You curse the sun, the moon. You curse God. Then they'll sell theirself to the devil. The ninth mornin' they'll take a black cat to de fork of that road an' they'll git a tea- kettle of water boilin'. They'll take dat cat an' they'll t'row him down in dat water an' let him cook to pieces. An' then they'll take a - somepin, an' they'll fin' one of them bones. an' they'll call that the black qat bone. An' they sell theirself to the devil an' they be able to do all kin' of matter.
The informant reports nine mornings at a road fork, walking backwards and cursing, with a black cat brought on the ninth morning and a bone sought. Selling oneself to the devil and gaining powers remain attributed claims; this sequence is not combined with different neighboring cat-bone accounts.
Entry 286
Ah could tell yo' dat story but not knownin' whether all of it's 'zactly true or not - about de cat. Ah hear dem say dey kin - dat chew boil a black cat an' yo' put de black cat in runnin' watah after yo' boil it an' yo' git de bones dat come towards yo'. An' den fo' nine mawnin's yo' go to five points - fo'ks of de road, an' when yo' go there, dey say yo' hear de wind, stormy like, an' on de ninth mawnin' if yo' kin stand an' hear an' see whut chew see, why den - after yo' done boiled dis cat an' go through this process, why yo've sold yore soul to de devil an' yo' kin do most anything.
(You take those bones to that road?)
Yes - yo' carry them with you. In de first place yo' carry dem to the runnin' watah, an' then yo' take 'em out. See, there'll be so many come to yo' an' so many go from yo', but de ones fo' yo' is de ones dat come towards yo'. An' then yo' go to those fo'ks of de road nine mawnin's.
(You just carry those bones with you when you go to the fork of the road?)
Yes - but then those three bones dat come towards yo', you supposed to keep dem bones with you always. That's fo' yo'. De othahs is fo' de othah fellah - providin' if it's a person sellin' dat kind of work.
The informant explicitly doubts whether the black-cat story is wholly true, describing bones moving toward the collector and nine mornings at 'five points' or road forks. The follow-up specifies three bones to retain, with others for another person if the work is sold. Claimed encounters and powers stay qualified by that uncertainty.
Entry 287
Well, de way ah've heard yo' have to do dat, yo' have tuh git a black cat an' put him in - git some real hot watah an' git chure watah tuh boilin' an' don't kill de cat. From whut ah heard about it, yo' don't kill de cat. Yo' takes de cat alive wit'out any white spots atall on him - no place atall, an' throw him in dat hot boilin' watah an' let him boil until all de meat boil off his bones. Aftah de meat boil offa his bones, den yo' take de bones - takes all his bones, all de laig bones - take all his bones an' carry him to a stream of runnin' watah. Yo' take dem bones an' throw 'em in runnin' watah an' den dere's one of de bones goin' go upstream. Well, yo' take dis bone dat goes upstream - one of 'em will run up de stream. Yo' take de bone dat runs up de stream an' yo' take it an' put it in yore left-han' pocket an' yo' goes back. When yo' go back, yo' start goin' to de fo'ks of de road every mawnin' - every Sunday mawnin' an' be dere at nine 'clock. An' yo' go dere fo' nine mawnin's, an' wear dat bone in yore pocket every mawnin' an' de last mawnin' yo' go dere, dey tells me, say, practi'ly ev'rything - all kinda animals an' ev'rything dat yo' kin think of will mostly come to yo', jes' come natchral right up befo' yo' face, an' if yo' don't git scared, if yo' kin stay dere an' make it out until de las' thing come, dey tell me dat de last thing come is de devil. But if he come an' yo' kin 'ford tuh see all dat, den yo' take dis bone an' dere prob'ly some marrow in dat bone an' yo' have tuh suck it out - yo' don' have tuh swallow it, spit it out. An' then yo' kin prob'ly do anything yo' wanta do - disappeah an' all dat stuff.
The informant reports a black-cat bone selected by upstream movement, carried in the left pocket to road forks for nine Sunday mornings at nine o'clock, and a succession of beings ending with the devil. Staying without fear and sucking then spitting marrow are described conditionally; powers and invisibility remain hearsay.
Entry 289
Well, tuh git a black cat lucky bone is to take a cat an' - don't put him in de watah no sooner den yo' kill him an' don't throw him in dere alive. Yo' take a cat an' walk by him three times 'fore yo' kill him, an' say, "Ah kill dis cat in de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost," an' on de last word kill him - mash his haid an' then throw him in de pot an' let him boil thoroughly. Den aftah dis cat is boiled, yo' see de first bone dat sticks up, yo' reach in dat pot of hot watah an' snatch it up an' spit on it an' rub it in yore hands - rub it all ovah yuh.
(Rub it in your hand and rub it all over you?)
All ovah yo' - jes' rub it in yore han' an' rub it all ovah yo'. An' let de cat boil dere fo' a few minutes. An' den take dat cat an' go to a rivah or a creek, anything [where water runs] an' chunk him in dere an' yo' jes' stand in de one place right where yo' are - jes' stand dere. One of those bones will settle right back to the bank of the watah. Ah don' care how fast de watah is runnin', dat bone's comin' back to de bank. Well, den, co'se yo' jes' reach right in de watah an' pick it up. Yo' take dat - dem two bones yo' got from dat black cat. That will give yo' all de luck in de worl' - all de luck yo' want - it runs contin'lly - dat will give yo' all de luck in de world. Yo'll git in trouble but chew'll git out.
(That's the lucky bone?)
Dat's right.
Entry 290
They tell me the most lucky thing a person can get to guide him for one's life or luck or love is to take the bones from the carcass of a black cat. Now, the way to find this bone is simply to get a solid black cat, a cat that hasn't a particle of white about it, not even a strand of white hair. Take a boiling pot of water and put the cat in alive until all the flesh is boiled off the bones. Then take the bones and carry them in front of a mirror and look in that mirror, and put a bone in your mouth until it comes that you are invisible in the mirror, then you put that bone aside. Then you put all the bones back and start to putting them in your mouth again until you can see yourself again reflected in the mirror. Then take those two bones and carry them to a stream of running Water, and throw them over your left shoulder and run down the stream and catch them. Just where you catch them you take them and mark them, and carry them to a clear pool of deep water. And when you see yourself reflected in the Water, you put the bone in your mouth until you can't see yourself. Put that bone in one pocket - either pocket. And put the other bone in your mouth, and when you come back visible again, you have the two lucky bones. And you can do anything you want with them. You can walk right into a bank and they can't see you and you can take the money out. I know a boy that tried that at home and they put him in jail. I don't think he waited long enough until he found the bones.
Entry 291
Ah heah talk of 'em sellin' deyself to de devil. Well, dey take a black cat an' dey carries him - dey builds a fiah to de pot an' dey boils de cat 'live. Dey boils him till all de meat comes off his bones: Den dey take all dem bones out an' carry dem tuh runnin' watah. See, de two bones dat go up de stream, dey gits dem two an' dey worries 'em in dey mouth, an' dey go tuh de lookin' glass an' stan' befo' de glass an' try demselves, an' whenevah dey go out of sight dey knows dey's workin' den. An' dey goes on de ninth mawnin' aftah dey do dat an' dey meets de devil - to de fo'k of de road jes' at sunrise, an' dey meet de devil an' he tell 'em whatso- mevah art dey wanta take, he tells 'em whut tuh do.
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 293
Ah heard where yo' kin disappear - yo' disappear. Yo' git a black cat wit not a white speck on him nowhere, an' yo' make a fire in yore fireplace - wherevah yo' might make yore fire at, chew know. An' when that water git hot, yo' put dat cat in dere an' yo' put some bricks on top or any weight tuh hold it down, an' boil him alive. An' when dat cat git done, de meat will slip off de bone. An' git chew a mirror-glass, an' don't look in de pot - reach down like dis - don't tetch yore mouth - jes' came across [demonstrates] - "No, that ain't the one." Keep a-doin' till yo' git de right bone, an' yore face will disappear out de glass. An' then yo' jes' keep dat bone - yo' go anywhere yo' want. If yo' wanta disappear, yo' can't be caught by a officer or nuthin' - yo' kin disappear.
Entry 294
[My informant thinks my asking about the black cat bone means that I am going to try the rite.] But chew ain't goin' do dat - yo' ain't goin' even do that. Yo' got'a git a black cat an' put him in de pot 'live an' boil him, see. An' after yo' boil dat cat an' he git done good, yo' ain't got done - well, yo' got'a tuh eat dat. An' when yo' git to de right bone - an' yo' got'a stan' in front of a mirror, understan', whilst yo' eatin' it. An' when yo' strike dat right bone, den yo' kin see yo'self in a dark room in de glass - see yo'self in de glass. But yo' got'a git a jet black cat.
(You have to be in a dark room when you are doing that?)
Have to be in a dark room - all de shades, an' everything. Let it be as black as it kin be. Yo' got'a eat dat cat - eat it after yo' boil it. Yo' put him in de pot an' shet him up where he can't jump out, an' put him in de pot of watah an' boil him - have him, yo' know, done good.
(What do you do with that bone after you get it, then?)
Yo' keep de bone an' yo' kin do anything yo' wanta do - anything yo' wanta do.
Entry 295
Well, the way you sell yourself to the devil, you get you a black, black cat, you see. And after you get you a black cat, you take that black cat and you boil it - you boil that black cat 'till it get real done. After'the cat boil and you get done, you take that left hind leg, you see, and get that left bone out of it. Get that bone out of it, out of his left leg and you get in front of a glass and you pass this 'cross your teeth three times, you see. And the third time you pass it across your teeth, if you got the right bone it will blind you, you see. And after it blind you, well you got the right bone. You can - you are so you can go anywhere and get anything you want. You can do something and as long as you got that bone in your hand, they won't see you.
Entry 296
Ah had two uncles an' dey wus lak dat. Now, dey had whut chew call a black cat bone an' John de Conker root. Mah uncle Sam said dey had taken a black cat an' tied him an' had a pot of boilin' watah in a dark house, an' dropped de cat in de pot an' let de meat boil off his bones. Den dey git befo' de lookin' glass an' when dey git befo' de glass, dey pull dese bones across dey mouth an' dey know when dey git to de last, dey - when dey git near to de last, it come tuh gittin' dark an' thunderin' an' lightnin' an' snakes an' everything - chains, bells, an' everything. An' den he stood dere until he got dat. Den he taken de John de Conker root an' put dis in dere mouth an' den dey go out an' take dat black cat bone an' put it in yore right han' an' hold it, an' say no one will see yo' disappeah. An' yo' kin unlock any kinda lock dat wus locked.
(They had to cook this cat in a dark room?)
Yes, they had tuh cook him in a dark room - cook him 'live, don' kill him. Dey's lucky - dat's high luck. Dey say dat's de smallest bone in him. An' it will stick to de lips when yo' git to it, stick right to yore lips - yo' cain't git rid of it. An' aftah it stick to it, den it come a-lightnin' up, den yo' see.
Entry 297
Now, fo' gamblin', it's a black cat yo' must git - a jet black cat, de only thing white on him should be his teeth. Yo' ketch dis cat but have him penned up fo' six days. Fo' instance, have a little cage or somepin lak yo' have fo' birds. Keep him penned dat he must git mo' fury - yo' know, tuh git angry, mad, angry fo' human bein's. Git him dat-a-way. Now, de seventh day, dat mawnin' yo' git up at dawn dat seventh day an' put on a boilin' pot of watah - a large, large pot. Keep dat watah boilin'. Let it boil dere till yo' see it bubblin' an' dere's a foam ovah it. Git dis cat. Event'ly [eventually] yo'll have tuh have someone tuh work with yo', 'cause quite natchral yo' couldn't handle a cat in a wild fury - take him outa dere an' put him in dere. Have some- body dere tuh take dat lid off dis pot yo' got. Have dem take it off, unpen an' dump him down in dere in dat pot an' put dat lid on it, but chew must have a lid heavy enough to keep him down, 'cause yo' know if a person - say, if a person is in a fury an' are bein' killed or somepin, dey have super-strength. Yo' know whut ah mean - dey be evah so strong. Now, yo' put de top on dat pot an' let him boil dere fo' three hours. Aftah he's boiled there fo' those three hours, let him cool off. Soon as it da'k, whut we call dusk heah - don' know how yo' call it up dere [in the North] - aftah it's da'k, yo' take an' yo' separate all those bones. Be somewhere where yo' kin reach, but be in a dark room befo' a mirror. An' standin' befo' dis mirror, yo' take bone fo' bone an' hol' yore teeth dat-a-way. [Demonstrates, baring teeth.] Jes' pass it - now, it's one of those bones in there dat's goin' sparkle an' yo'll see it befo' de glass. Now, dat bone is de bone yo' must wear, an' there's no special place tuh wear it, but secure it in a place dat yo' won't misplace it. An' yo'll have all de luck in de world fo' gamblin'. Dat's all it is to dis black cat.
Entry 298
Ah heard chew git a black cat an' yo' take dis cat an' put him in de pot - put dis cat in de pot an' put dis pot on de fiah an' yo' gits a Bible an' in Revelation, dat's where yo' read it, ovah there. An' yo' git the Bible an' yo' read the Bible the whole time that cat is in that pot boilin' an' that cat will - yo' know, yo' will pray in yore mind. An' den when dat cat's got done, yo' take that cat an' git chew - yo' take dat bone when dat cat cook all tuh pieces an' yo' take dat black cat bone - jis' a solid black cat, nuthin', no white about it or nuthin' - and when he gits done yo' bring dat pot dere an' yo' put dat pot an' ever' time you take out a bone - git chew a glass an' yo' sit an' look in dat lookin' glass an' put a bone in yore mouth, an' when yo' git de right bone yo' cain't see yo'self in dat glass. See. An' den yo' kin do any- thing, cain't nobody see. Yo' kin go tuh de bank an' git money out de bank but cain't nobody see yo', 'long as yo' got dat black cat bone in yore mouth. Well, yo' have sold yo'self to de devil, becuz' dat's mo' fo' evil. (Do you know in what part of Revelations they read, or just any part of Revelations?) No, jis' read any part of Revelations, but 'stid readin' it farwards, read it backwards - read it backwards.
Entry 300
Now, there was a man at my home whose name was Philip Williams.
(Where was your home?)
Mackey's Ferry, North Carolina.
(What county is that in?)
Dat's in North Carolina.
(What county?)
Oh, Pasquotank County. [On Albermarle Sound; county seat, Elizabeth City, a place where I collected.] Now, dis fellow - I was talking to him once about de world's gift - he could take a piece of paper and turn it to a dollar bill [bank note] or a twenty-dollar bill, or anything that he wanted to turn it to. So, well, he told me to get me a black cat and find me a stream of water runnin' off in two brothers' land. Well, I did that. Well, you take this old black cat and you stick -
(A stream of water that runs off in two brothers' land.)
And you boil dis cat till - let it be about eleven-thirty when you put him in there. Well, you put him in there and put a top on him, and while dis cat is cooking and begin to die - a wind will rise, it will begin to rain and it will thunder and lightnin' around there a little bit. And if you kin stand de test when dis cat gets done, so you kin take him up it and shake - the meat will fall off de bones. You wants to get you a looking glass. After you get your looking glass, take dis cat to a stream of water.
(The stream of water that runs on the two brothers' land?)
Yes - that runs off the two brothers' land. Kind of always, when you doing that, you must try to locate two brothers' property that joins so the water be coming offen both of 'em like - where dis bone will work. And you take dem to the stream of water an' drag de bones cross your mouth and - [but first] throw dem in the stream of water, but you want to ketch dese bones. When you come to de right bone, dis right bone will hang up in your mouth and you will disappear in this looking glass - you can't see yourself in dis looking glass. When you do that, you got the right bone. Den, the devil, he gon'a appear in front of you and ask you what you want, and you'll tell him that you wants the world's gift, and if you kin stand to get the world's gift, then you kin do anything that you want to do. You kin disappear before people and talk to 'em and they can't see you. That's what you say when you walk about wit a black cat.
(I see - that is why they say you walk with a black cat.)
That's the onliest thing you kin say.
Entry 301
Dey takes a black cat an' gits his bone out dere tuh de fo'ks of de road. Dat make yo' become wise to anything. (Do you know what they do to get that bone?) Yessuh, dey draw each bone 'cross dere mouth till dey become blind, an' de right bone will natchly run yo' blind. An' yo' be wise tuh doin' anything; jis' lak ah wanta take dis suit- case, yo' nevah will discover ah'm takin' until ah'd be gone - see, out de way wit it. [This may be the only recorded reference to my specially-made suitcase for carrying fifty cylinders - see Introduction.
Entry 303
Jes' lak yo' spot a cat, yo' know, a black cat in yore neighborhood. Perhaps, at twelve a'clock in de night, yo' go git dat cat. Yo'd have yore watah boilin' an' yo'd set down aftah it boil an' den git him 'mersed down. Yo'd first repeat de Lord's Prayer. Close yore eyes an' repeat the Lord's Prayers ovah that hot kittle of watah. Den yo' would take it off an' let it cool. Put it in some watah, yo' know, an' git it cool. Then yo'd set down an' right near dat pan. Yo' might say yo'd have a - yo'd set there aftah yo' repeat de Lord's Prayer an' yo' take bone by bone an' draw it across yore mouth an' yo' lay it down, bone by bone. Well, when yo' git to de right bone, yo'd lose sight on [of] 'em, an' den dat'd be de right bone. Yo' would take that bone then an' put it in yore han' or pocket, an' go in any othah place an' the people that are in there, they would lose sight on yo' as yo' are sighted.
Entry 304
Why yo' kin take a cat an' kill him yo' know an' cook him whole an' take all de bones out. (You said the bones of that black cat will do what? After you boil him you do what with them?) You put everyone dem little piece of bone in yore mouth until yo' find one fit yore mouth, yes.
(Like what - you said like what?)
Jes' like a false teeth - yo' understand, jes' somepin fit round dere like dat. An' dat's de bone fo' yo' tuh keep tuh puts across whatsomevah yo' wanta go ovah.
Entry 305
Ah heerd mah people talk about a black cat. Dey said if yo' wanta be lucky, yo' go ahead an' yo' cook dis cat, see. An' yo' would take ev'ry bone an' pull it through yore mouth until yo' git to de right one an' when yo' git to de right one, dat right one would drop out chure mouth - dis black cat bone. Yo' would have to pull ev'ry one through dere till yo' git to de right - den de right one, when yo' git to de right one, dat right one would fall out chure mouth.
(Well, you would be holding it - how could it drop if you are holding it?)
Well, yo' draw it through see - one will go one way and de other ones will go de other, an' dat main bone would fall out. Dat s de way yo' finds de luckiest. [This is the magic rite of alternation - draw a bone right to left across your mouth, then the next bone left to right, and keep repeating this alternate process.]
Entry 308
Jes' take a black cat in de house an' jes' have a hot pot of water on de stove an' jes' stick him in dere. An' dey say when he boil up, say yo' jes' take it out an' go to de water an' throw de bones in - in runnin' water. De one float up de stream, dey say yo' git dat out an' dey say have it dressed an' dey say - yo' know, was luck. (How do they dress it?) Say, well, yo' take it to a root man an' have him to dress dis bone fo' yo'.
Entry 312
Ah heared dat yo' kill nine black cats an' yo' put 'em in a pot an' yo' boil 'em an' till dey drop off de bone. Den yo' take dese bones an' throw 'em in runnin' watah an' de lucky bone will come to de top. An' yo' take that an' tote it in yore right hip pocket - yo' carry it an' have it dressed - tote it in yore right hip pocket. An' then yo' kin do anything yo' want to.
(How would you dress that bone?)
Well, ah don' know.
(You get nine cats?)
Yessuh - nine cats.
Entry 313
Yo' take a live black cat an' throw 'im in a hot oven - yo' know he'll soon be daid. Let him cook down. It's a certain bone, ah disremember now - ah have heard all about that. It's a certain bone dey pickin' out dere an' dey git red flannen an' dey wrop dat bone. When dey wrop dat bone, they wrop it to 'em this way - coming to them [demonstrates].
(Coming to them.)
Now, they had that fo' luck way back in those days, if they had hard luck.
(Did they use the black cat bone back in slavery times?)
Yes sir.
(Did you hear about it as a young boy?)
Yes sir - dat's why ah knows.
(I see, you were born in '58 [1858].)
Entry 317
Take a black cat an' take a pot of hot boilin' watah an' take dis cat alive. Yo' mus'n't kill 'im - yo' take him alive an' put him in dat hot boilin' watah live an' let him boil all to pieces. An' take dem bones an' hold dem 'fore de mirror an' de one dat shake in de mirror dat's, yo' know, dat's de right bone. Or yo' either take it to runnin' water an' de bone dat go down de stream dat's not de right bone, but de bone dat go up de stream an' de water running dat's de right bone. Take it an' put it in a black bag - sew it up in a real black bag an' jes' when yo' wanta do a trick or anything, put on a real black shirt an' yo' kin go in a store or anywhere an' git anything yo' want - nobody will nevah see yo', yo' disappear. (Now when you hold that bone in front of the mirror - what happens to that bone when you hold it in front of the mirror?) It will shake in front of de mirror.
(Oh, the bone will shake.)
De right bone will jes' shake in front of de mirror. (You do either one - you either hold it before the mirror or you go to running water.) Yo' do either one of those an' yo' git de right bone.
Entry 318
Yo' kin take a black cat - ketch a black cat an' kill dis black cat an' git her right foot bone, de front foot. Git this bone an' put dis bone in a sack an' wear it roun' yore neck. Yo'll be lucky in jobs, lucky in anything yo' go fer. Jes' wear dat black cat foot bone - de right foot bone, de front bone.
Entry 322
You kill a black cat, you get the rectum bones, dry them, put them in a towel, mash them up into a powder, put them in soup, anything with vegetables a woman wants to eat. Then in the spring of the year when the sap begins to rise and the she cat meows for the tom cat, the woman will do the same thing - they [a cat] goes in heat twice a year - and want you.
Entry 323
This is a peculiar thing, I must say humorous thing, what chew may call witchcraft. Of course I don't have - I don't know anything about it, but I've heard about it. And so they said that if you take a cat, a black cat, and boil him down to get a black cat bone and just apply that bone to a certain part to your body or the affected part of your body, why that'll cure you. I've heard that.
(What do you mean by apply?)
Well, apply meant - I guess it means to massage the place where you're hurt, affected, your arm swollen I guess or your leg is swollen, why you just take this black cat bone and that'll have the power to drive those witches out, to drive -that condition out of your body. That's what I was told years ago by some of the old relatives.
Entry 324
Ah heard dat yo' could take a black cat at fo' a'clock on a Sunday mawnin' an' carry him at de fo'k of a road - carry a pot 'long wit chew or have yore pot dere. An' dey tells me now - ah don' know - dat yo' take dat cat an' put him in dat pot alive an' kiver him up airtight - boil him. An' after he's done, take dat pot an' go set down by a stream of runnin' watah an' yo' commence pullin' out bones from dat cat an' yo' pull dem till yo' git to de ninth bone. Yo' take dat ninth bone an' take keer of it.
(That ninth bone?)
Yes. Now, yo' got take ca' of it. Yo' take dat bone an' yo' carry it an' git good whiskey an' put it in a bottle an' drop dat bone down in dere, an' dat bone or dat whiskey offa dat bone, if a person is sick or poisoned, a teaspoonful of dat whiskey - sometimes, if he gwine git cured dey comes near tuh killin' him - give a teaspoonful of dat if he's poisoned.
Entry 449
It was suppose to happen there home in the country. She was suppose to be a witch. That was years ago. My father used to tell us about it to scare us. I used to be a-scared to look out of the door at night, thought I would see her standing there out of her skin. At a certain time in the evening she would go about what they called witch-riding. Dem days witch-riding is what we call these days stagnation of the blood. Why I said that - when I came out of a operation in the hospital I saw about one thousand cats. The cats just clawed me. I woke up trying to get away from them cats. This witch would get out of her skin and go to somebody's place at night when they were asleep and ride dem. They would see things, just lak dem cats I told you about. She did that every night. Some- body said to find out where she lived and go where she lived and put salt in their skin. They leave their skin behind when dey go out, get right out of it. I don't know how they found out where she lived. When she came back to go into this skin she couldn't get in it. They must never let the light [dawn] catch dem without being in their skin - they will die sure. She couldn't get into the skin and dey say she went down [to the river] and jumped overboard.
Entry 468
I remember one time about a shoemaker. He had a wife and three children. And one night this shoemaker was at his work late. So another woman went to the shoemaker's wife's home and began to talk to her, and as they began to talk, one says to the other, "Leave us transform ourselves." And they did so. And they turned to cats and went down to the shoe shop where her husband was working. And after they got there they set and watched him work on the shoes. And one of the cats pawed at this man, and while she did it, he grabbed a shoe knife and hacked at this cat with the knife and cut one of the cat's forefeet off. He left it standing there and the cats went away and he didn't see them any more. While he Was at his Work, the foot being lying on the floor, he got ready to go home. He picked up the foot and looked at it. And while he had it in his hand the foot turned to a natural hand. And on this hand was a ring. It was the engagement ring he had gave his wife before he married her, not knowing that he had married a hag.
Entry 469
"I heard a story of a man who had a mill. The miller died that owned the mill. There couldn't nobody work in that mill. They could go there all right in the day but at night there couldn't nobody stay there. This woman that owned the mill was a witch and turned into a cat. This cat would just dance around and all at once she would light on whoever was staying at the mill at night. So nobody couldn't stay there. One man said, "I'll stay there." He went to the mill. He had a very sharp knife. And when this cat commenced to dancing around and around he watched her. She lit on him and he cut her front paw off. It was the man's
[dead miller] wife's hand with a gold ring on.
Entry 470
An old witch used to worry the miller. He sat one night for to catch her. She came in the form of a cat. She put her paw through the hole to raise the latch up and he took a knife and chopped it off. She had her gold ring on her finger. He took the ring and carried it to her husband next morning and this finger. And he looked at the ring and knowed the ring, and he said, "This is my wife's ring." And he went upstairs and she was in the bed with her hand wrapped up. And he asked her what was the matter and she told him, "Nothing." He told her, "There is something the matter, '' and showed her the ring and said, "Ain't this your ring?" She tried to deny it but he wouldn't let her. I heard that he killed her.
Entry 471
I have heard that a miller was at his mill one night grinding corn. There was a big cat came in and put its paws upon him. He was setting down. So he took his knife and cut this cat's paw off. After awhile he began to examine it, and instead of seeing a cat's paw, it was a woman's hand. So when he goes home next morning he found his wife in bed. He asked her what was the matter. And she said she didn't feel very good. So he goes and turns the cover down and looks. And he had cut her finger off that had her engagement ring on. So his wife was a witch. That was down in Culpeper [County, Virginia] some place. They say it was done there.
Entry 472
Well, they tell me a man once lived by himself and there must have been a woman who had something against him for she turned herself into a witch and the form she taken was a cat, a black cat. So the man when he come in from work, he set down to eat, and the cat would grab at his food. He would just shoo the cat away. Finally the cat continued to do so and he kinda got angry and took his knife and when the cat grabbed at him again he chopped off his paw. When he chopped off the paw the cat disappeared. He was holding the paw of the cat and it turned into a woman's hand. So he decided to investigate. Next day he heard of this woman being sick who he knew. So he decided to visit her. So he went there to enquire of her what was the trouble. And she said, "Oh, nothing." And he said, "What's the matter with your hand?" She had it covered. She said, "Nothing." Then he pulled the cover back and found her hand was missing.
Entry 1080
Take de graveyard dirt an' carry it an' git de black cat's bone an' carry it fo' luck.
(For gambling?)
For gambling. Ah sells stuff dey call lodestone an' ah sell another one call High John de Conker, an' each satisfies 'em. Ah explains it so dey jes got faith in it.
(How do you prepare that? How do you fix it up then?)
How yo' prepare de High John de Conker? Well, yo' wear dat chew know. It's a root somepin 'bout dat long an' yo' put it in yore pocket an' wear it wit chure money. An' de lodestone yo' puts dat in a purse. Yo' know dere's a purse goes with it. Den ah has anothah stone dat comes in de oil called de holy oil. When yo' go in at night, lak if ah wanted to have luck, yo' uncork dis. It's in a little jar lak dat an' set it up ovah de mantelpiece an' when ah'm goin' out, take de lode- stone out an' wrap it up an' put it in mah pocket. When ah come back in at night, ah go to de jar an' drop it back in de holy oil. [Informant is a small- time curio products salesman: "Wilson, N. C., Fri., June 16, 1939...1468 - man 50 - sells articles - ng [[= no good, meaning he knew his own work but little about hoodooll" - Numbers Book 1291-1515. For an expert seller of curios, woman in Jacksonville, Fla., see Agent for Curios in Interviews Section.]
Entry 1156
Go to a buzzard. Well, now ah have heard of a lotta people dat seen it but ah have nevah seen it done yet. Dey tell me dat chew kin go to a buzzard nest when dis hen is on her nest layin' - ready fo' hatchin'. Dey tell me dat a buzzard nest is made on de ground, not built up high in de trees. Yo' go to dis nest an' yo' takes yo' a stick - a long stick dat chew kin stand about five feet from dis nest - an' yo' push de aigs out dis nest. An' she has one big aig in de middle - a large aig in de middle. See, yo' take dat stick an' yo' rake dat aig to you, an' yo' puts dat aig in yore pocket. Den yo' takes dose othah aigs an' yo' takes yore han' an' put 'em back in dere. Don't put 'em back with de stick, jes' put 'em back wit chure han'. Now when she come to git on dis nest, yo' see, she ain't gon'a git on dis nest 'fore she know dat somethin' wrong 'cause dat big aig not dere. An' after she git on de nest, [if she doesn't see the big aig], she gon'a git off an' she gon'a fly away, an' when she come back she gon'a bring whut dey call a male or man buzzard back with her. An' after she bring him back he gon'a have a root. Dey tell me he gon'a have a root in his mouth an' he gon'a test de aigs by dis root. Now, if anybody put dey hands on dose aigs, dat root is to let him know and he ain't gon'a let 'er git on de nest. Well, now dey tell me if yo' kin git a chance to hit 'im hard enough to git dat root dat he put down dere, dey says dat root's good fo' diff rent othah things. But ah don't see how it could be good fo' somethin'- - yo' don't put nuthin with it, jest a lucky root. Jt jes' lak a person use a black cat bone or lak dat - if yo' don't put nuthin on it, dey tell it's better luck wit hit.
Entry 2388
Always some old man or some old woman, they would study what they call cunjuration and, taking a cat's tail, the bone of a cat, or a snake bone, roll it up and put it in your pocket and [you] keep it. Then you are sup- posed to go anywhere and nobody will bother you. They call that a Witch hand. An old man back yonder [years ago] he would make that for his [your] reg'lar steady [companion or guide] and you pay him something.
[Informant born before Civil War.]
Entry 3422
Yo' kin take de hair from a dog or a cat when dey proudin' an' yo' singe it, burn it yo' know, parch it an' git it in dey food where dey kin eat it. an' when dey eat it, it will make 'em hitch up. An' a drop of dat blood, dat dog's blood - a drop of dat in dey food, yo' see. An' if dey runnin' aroun', de husban' or wife, an' yo' ketch 'em doin' dat, dey'll hitch up. Not till nine days dey come apart deyself.
(After nine days.)
Can't loose 'em. Stay dat way nine days.
Entry 10013
I've heard of that but I've never committed that sin. My grandmother has spoke of it several times in front of me, how you sells yourself to the devil, that you go in the woods and get you a black cat and kill it. And you get a boiling pot of hot water and you throu this cat in that water. And if yon can stand there and watch that cat cook to death, that you will be lucky and success- ful. Take the bones and throw them in a creek and the bone that float8 upstream, that's the bone that you take. And long as you wear that bone you slll be lucky.
(I see.) [Boiling cat in the woods is rare.]
Entry 10021
Some people say yo' could take a black cat an' burn 'im, an' git his bone an' yo' keep dat bone in yore pocket. An' say yo' nevah lose nuthin, yo' always win [when gambling].
Entry 10028
(What do they say about getting that black cat lucky bone?)
Yo' take dat black cat. Ketch 'im alive, don' kill 'im. An' have yore watah on hot. Chunk 'im right in de pot wit'out killin' 'im. Yo' chunk [him] down in de pot 'thout killin' 'im. Put on de lid an' boil 'im. Boil 'im until prakly [practically] all de meat will leave de bones. Take de bones an' drop 'em in runnin' watah, see. De' [they] claim dat de bones will sink. In othah words dat [bone] come back up tuh de top, take it. Say dat's de lucky bone.
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 10049
Put a black cat in a pot of water and boil it until all the flesh comes off and the lucky bone comes to the top. Then take that lucky bone and go to the forks of the road and there you'll meet the devil. If you can stand him you can do anything you want.
Entry 10050
I have heard that you take a black cat at two o'clock and carry him to a crossroad and there you will see evil spirits. Evil spirits are walking every night at two o'clock. [Hampton, Va., Ediphone cyl.24.]
Entry 10051
Now, yo' goes an' gits yuhself a straight-off black cat. Go right now an' git a straight-out black cat, yo' undahstand. Ah mean a real jet-black cat. An' take a pot an' put a big fiah undah it, an' take dat cat while he's alive an' put - throw 'im down in dat watah. An' jis' let 'im boil tuh pieces until all de j'ints come apart. An' carry it tuh a stream of runnin' watah an' yo' take all dose bones. one at a time, an' part it away [separate itl. An' yo' kin take it an dump it in dat runnin' watah, an' jis' what bone should happen tuh go off by it- self, well yo' git dat bone. But it must be jis' about midnight. An' yo' take dat b.one wot float by itself an' yo' walk tuh de fo'k of de road. An' when yo git at de fo'k of de road, why yo'll meet de devil. Den yo'll give yuh testimony tuh 'im. Den yo'll confess dat yo' sell yuh soul tuh 'im fer five yeahs. An' so yo' already sold yuhself tuh 'im, so dat's why yo' servin' de devil. Yo' workin' fer de devil an' yo' jis' have dat black cat bone an' yo' kin do anythin' dat yo' wanta do.
Entry 10067
Tell me dey go down in de graveyard 'bout twelve a'clock in de night an' carry dat black cat out dere. An' have mah watah boilin' at twelve a'clock, an' jis' at twelve a'clock throw dat cat, dat black cat, in dat boilin' watah alive. Throw 'im in dere 'live an' let 'em boil till all de meat come off all de bones. An' care [carry] de bones tuh a runnin' stream an' put 'em in dere. An' de bone dat comes tuh de top, pick dat up an' tote on 'em. Dat bring a person luck.
Entry 10068
Yo' kin go tuh a graveyard. Git chew a black cat an' go tuh a grave- yard an' stay out dere till twelve 'clock in de night. An' boil dat black cat in de graveyard. An' aftah yo' boil 'im good an' hot, why run tuh a li'l stream an' po' 'im in de stream; an' de bone dat comes up de stream, git dat an' dat's good luck.
Entry 10084
Dat black cat bone - well, yo' ketch a real black cat, see. All right. Aftah yo' ketch dat cat - he have tuh be alive, yo' see, an' yo' take 'im an' put 'im in boilin' watah. Put 'im in a big ole pot, chew know, an' boil 'im. An' when yo' done boil 'im down, well den yo' pick de bones, an' den yo' have tuh have a lookin'-glass an' fin' de right bone. Den, when yo' hit de right bone an' yo' git de right bone, dat glass gits smokey an' yo' cain't see yo'self in dat glass. Well, den dat'll be de bone dat yo' must git. (When you pick these bones - do you do anything to them when you pick these bones? What do you do with the bones when you pick them?) Well, when yo' be pickin' 'em, yo' jes' continue pickin' de bones an' lookin' in de glass, don't chew undahstan'.
(You are just picking up the bones?)
Yes, lookin' tuh see whut kind a bone yo' must git, an' den when yo' git de right bone, well, den de glass - yo' cain't see yo'self in de glass any mo'.
Entry 10095
Dey take de cat an' boil it till all de bones come apart, an' yo' take an' git dat lil' bone. An' yo' take an' cross it an' wrap it up in flannel. An' dey take dat bone an' sell it tuh somebody, an' whatsom- evah dey got intuh...
[Here I turn off machine not expecting much, then start it again.]
(You say the person who buys this bone puts it in a red flannel bag. Then ohatdotheydo?) He takes it an' - lak if de law gits aftah dem or sompin lak dat, he takes dat bone an' gits befo' a mirror; an' rubs it cross his teeth an' goes on off 'bout his business. An' walk all roun' de law an' dey don' seem tuh know 'im or don' bothah 'em [him].
Entry 10097
Now, ef ah wanted tuh sell mahself tuh de devil, so ah kin be a hoodoo ' do all kinds of tricks, ah would go tuh de fo'ks of de road at tvelve 'clock Inight - on a Sat'day night. An' dere [at forks] ah'd stay an' leann dese tricks an' git a black cat bone. Boil de black cat chew undahstan', an' git 'is bone. An' when ah see dat bone through a looking ' glass until ah turns dark, ah git dat bone in dere. An' ah'd do whut dat bone tell me to. An' ah kin do anythin' ah wanta do, an' go anywhere ah wanta go.
(What do you mean about turning dark in the glass?)
When yo' see yuh got a certain bone an' yo' pull it through yore mouth, dat glass turn dahk, yo' undahstan'. Makes 'im know dat he's got de right bone.
(Makes what turn dark, the man?)
De glass will turn dahk [everything disappears!].
The informant presents a hypothetical Saturday-midnight road-forks visit and black-cat-bone test, initially describing himself turning dark before clarifying that the glass turns dark. The interviewer's questions and Hyatt's disappearance gloss remain separate; the wording is not silently reconciled.
Entry 10098
All right, yo' ketch a black cat an' yo' put 'im in a boilin' pot a watah, an' yo' - till dat flesh cook off 'im. Cook 'im while he alive. Git chew a lookin' glass an' all dem bones, an' go tuh a runnin' stream a watah. An' put all dem bones cross yuh mouth, an' de bone yo' fail tuh see in dat glass - lak yo' lookin' at me - dat's de bone yo' keep. Well, yo' take dat bone an' yo' supposed tuh go - ah supposed tuh take dat bone an' come in here, an' do anything ah wanta an' yo' couldn't see me. Yo' see, yo' can't see me. It a spirit, spiritualist, yo' see. Yo' can't see me long as ah got dat bone in mah mouth.
(But you have to go down to running water?)
Runnin' watah.
(And hold that glass in front of you?)
Yes, sir. An' yo' see, an' throw dem bones - float all dem bones in dat run- nin' watah. An' yo' throw dem bones in dere an' de one dat float back tuh yuh, yo' git dat. An' den yo' take it an' put it in yore mouth, an' look in de glass; an' if yo' can't see yuhself, dat's de bone.
(I see. That's checking up, in the looking glass.)
Entry 10101
But you have tuh git a bone from a black cat. Well, yo' take a black cat an' yo' have a pot wit a lid on it. Air-tight [it] so dey can't knock it off. But de process dat chew go through in dat is tuh - all kinda evil things comes tuh yuh. Yo' takes dat cat an' yo' put 'im in dere alive an' den yo' shut dat lid back. If yo' kin stand it, stand all dose diff'ren' things - snakes all kinda wild things comes up in fronta yo' an' tries tuh hahm yuh; if yo' kin stan' dat an' go through wit it. An' atah dat, aftah it boils out all de bones an' evahthing is sep'rate dere, yo' ate dat stuff an' yo' drain it off. An' yo' take dose bones in some watah an mle dem in yuh han' lak dat. Git tuh a stream of watah wheah de watah is ni aia' all de time an' hole dose bones in it. An' de bone dat try tuh git auay fro yuh de most, de one dat goes up de stream, yo' best go an' git dat. Qou just hold these bones in your open hand and it's the one that tries to t away from you.) Den yo' take dat one dat is tryin' tuh git away from yuh. An' take de siple bone, jis' take it somewheah an' dry it off, an' jis' keep it moisted with Hearts Perfume. An' if yo' wan' tuh keep dat bone - an' if yo' wanta go any place an' don' wan' anybody tuh see yuh, as invisible, yo' put dat in yuh mouth. Yo' gotta keep yuh mouth shut. An' yo' go in dere an' nobody kin see yuh, but dey kin heah yuh talk.
Entry 10109
Boil black cat, take out front right foot, put in red flannel bag and wear in right side. [Richmond, Va., resume, 331:5.]
Entry 10111
Jis' lak if yuh wan'a git a bone from a black cat. Jis' lak if yuh got a black cat shut up tuh yuh home heah. Yuh cud take dat black cat an' kill in. An' jis' lak if yuh got a li'l assafitadee [asafetida]. Yuh ought tuh shet 'im up an' let 'im stay dere nine days [with asafetida - a bad or good smell for the devil]! An' dey say in de nine days ven [when] yuh take dat cat an' yuh'll kill dat cat, an' yuh git dat bone from right out 'is hip, right heah [demon- strates]. Yuh kin git two of 'em out one cat, outa each hip. An' yuh take dat bone den, an' yuh cud take yuh a li'le roun' sumpin - got [to punch] a hole in it, see; yuh know, a roun' sompin, yuh punch a hole - jis' lak a icepick, yuh see. An' yuh take it an' yuh punch holes in it. An' yuh go tuh de drug sto' an' git chew some a -w'ut-a yuh call dat sweet thin'? Some a -w'a chew call it? But anyhow it jis' a root [John de Conkah?] yuh found in witchcraft, yuh know. Yuh put on de bone, yuh feed dat bone wit dat. (You put this stuff in that hole in the bone?) Yes sir. Ah'll remembah it [dat sweet thin'] in a few minutes. Yuh take dat bone den - jis' lak if yuh wus gamblin', yuh kin take dat bone. An' jis' as long as yuh feed it befo' yuh go. An'yuh take a li'le bit of dat an' put it in yuh left pocket. An' yo' couldn't lose.
(How do you carry this bone?)
In a li'le sack in yuh lef'-han' pocket. Yuh put some salt in yuh right-han' pocket. An' don' nevah let nobody see de bone an yuh'll be lucky.
(What do you get at the drug store?)
Foom. Foom. Yuh go tuh de drug store an' call fo' a bottle of foom - de sweetest thin'. He giv't yuh.
(Is it perfume?)
Yes sir! Yuh go dere an' call fo' a bottle of foom an' he'll give it tuh yuh. It looks lak watah in a bottle, but it's de sweetest thin' yuh evah did put on yuh in yuh life. [The fisherman from down the Sound was difficult to understand. My contact man felt sorry for him saying he was so backward - un- educated and naive, primitive.]
Entry 10121
Get a black cat, cut the right hind leg and get a bone out of the right hind leg and carry that around your neck and there won't be any evil spirit harm you and it will keep cunjure away from them. [Fredericksburg, Va., Ediphone 48.]
Entry 10124
Boil black cat, take left hind leg bone, put in pocket, can do any- thing - get a job. [Wilmington, N. Car., 97:2.]
Entry 10130
If a person bury somepin roun' yore house lak dat an' yo' wan'a find where's [where there is] a rivah, an' carry yo' a pot an' boil dat cat. An' take yo' a bone, de left bone out his laig. An' aftah yo' git it, den tote it, an' dat cat will tell yo' tuh where go find dat bottle at, or whut it 'tis undah yore house, an' yo' git tuh find an' it be dere. Yo' git de left bone, yo' know, out de left laig.
(The hind leg or the frong leg?)
De front laig in de front side[!].
Entry 10132
Get a black cat's tail and wear it between your shirt and breast and no one can cross your path [put a spell on you or make you unlucky]. [Fredericks- burg, Va., Ediphone 48.]
Entry 10525
Carry a black cat bone and a red rooster to the fork of the road before day on three mornings. Meet the devil on the third day.
Entry 10885
Yo' know a cat an' a dog don' lak one anothah, hardly evah see one dat's friendly. Yo' take some hair offa de dog's back an' offa cat's, an' yo' could mix it together an' put it in yore fiahplace an' burn it, or in yore heater or whatevah yo; got, an' dat'll make folks fall out. (Would I burn that in my house or take it over to the house where the people are that I want to fall out?) If yo' at they house an' they gotten a fiah, put it in they house.
Entry 10887
Take de hair out of a dog hair an' de hair out of a cat tail, or eit- her git it out of one of 'em's tail an' de other out one of dere haid - either one of dem animals. Yo' kin git dat an' put it together, an' when yo' put it together, yo' put it an' makes a ball of it. But den yo' wanta put it - yo' jes' have de least little bit of peppah in it, any kinda peppah, an' yo' make dat ball with a string to it. Put de string lak dat, but yo' take de biggest part of it now - chew git dat cat hair an' dat dog hair an' yo' put it in a piece of cloth an' den yo' git three pods of rat manure, an' yo' put dem in an' sew it up together. Yo' make dat ball together an' yo' kin come roun' - if it mah pump or mah bucket or any- thing, an' den yo' dump it in dere three times. An' den yo' throw it away. Dat'll broke us up fo' life, won't.enjoy life no mo'. Ah see dat done.
(You are supposed to go out and'drink that water?)
It jes' make us fall out fo'evah.
(If you drink the water?)
Entry 10888
( Git some of the hair off of a cat's neck an' git some hair from back of a dog's neck. You know a cat an' a dog will fight. An' put it together an git some pine straw [dried pine needles] and care it to the fork of a road an' burn it up. They say they'll go together no more; they say every time they meet one another they fight. [The male and female victims are not named here but the in- tention is there to identify them.]
Entry 10889
There Was another boy fell in love with her and she did with him and I went a trying to break 'em up. I goes and gets me dere lef' - a handful of dr dirt out of de lef' track from her and a handful of dirt out of his. I moxes doze two toget- her. I goes and gits me a dog, and I goes and gits me a cat, and I cuts de tip end off of each one of them's tail. I mixes them together with that sand all out of each one of doze tracks. I t'rows dem into a fire stove. I says, "Cats and dogs can't get along together, I'll be damn if you all shall." And it worked, broke dem right up.
Entry 10904
Yo' kin cut dat out from dog's - out from back de dog's neck an' yo' kin cut it out from back of de cat's neck, an' yo' put it at chure do', yo' see. See, dat separates man an' his wife. See, de cat an' de dog squabblin'. An' yo' jis' tangle dat hair up together an' yo' jis' put it down aroun' an' dey will separate.
Entry 10906
Take the - like they got a white dog. Well, you see, they [white dogs] make white - white stuff you know, down here. Well, you take that [white manure] and when that's dry, get the dirt dau- ber and get that cay- enne pepper, Epso salts, black pepper, salt, and red pepper- the red cayenne pep- per. You [know] the regular red cayenne pepper. And take some of the hair out of the dog's back and some out of the cat's back. You know cats and dogs can't agree. You know they'll fight. Well, they put all that together and fix it up, and then throw it around peoples' houses and make them fight.
Entry 10917
Tie together hair from dog's back and hair from cat's back and nail it some place; every time they meet they will fight. [Richmond, Va., 306:2.]
Entry 10918
Mix cat hair and dog hair, burn, put ashes in house to cause disagreements, fighting, etc. [Richmond, Va., 378:4.]
Entry 10920
Mix hair from a male dog and a female cat, burn and make wishes to break up a man and woman. [Elizabeth City, N. Car., 394:1.]
Entry 10921
Make a cat and dog fight, take hair from each, burn this on the prop- erty line between the parties you want to have fight. [Norfolk, Va., 492:4.]
Entry 10923
Tie cat hair and dog hair together, burn near a house, and it will break up the couple living there. [Charleston, S. Car., 541:1.]
Entry 10924
Mix cat hair, dog hair, red pepper, dragon's blood, candle wax, burn; person getting scent of this will have "roaming mind." [Charleston, S. Car., 610:12.]
Entry 10926
Cut hair off end of tail of black cat, put in bag - "somepin like a mojo bag"' - carry it for gambling.. [Longer item, check if it can be transcribed for text.] [Richmond, Va., 365:3.]
Entry 10927
Cut hair from black cat's tail, mix with black pepper; if undesired visitor, burn this on stove, won't come back. Also keeps law away. [Norfolk, Va., 476:6.]
Entry 11311
Yo' kin take de dog hair - jes' lak if yo' want de dog to stay home. Yo' takes de hair off his - clip de hair off his tail an' yo' puts it undah de do'step, an' that would make the dog stay home or de cat.
Entry 10043
Well, mah bruthah killed a black cat once, an' dis black cat didn't have any spot on 'im - white spot on 'im nowhere. He wus black all ovah. An' he'd taken dis black cat an' he put 'im - caught 'im alive an' put 'im intuh a boilin pot of watah. Cooked 'im. But de way he did, he built a kind'a dam-lak ovah one stream of watah, an' dis fiah wus up ovah dat, see. An' when it boiled all good, den he'd have a lookin'-glass an' he helt it lak dat ovah dis pot. An' only two of dem bones showed up in dat lookin'-glass. He throwed off both-a dem bones. One-a de bones floated crossways de rivah an' one of dem floated up tuh 'im. Well, de one whut floated up tuh 'im, dat's de one he'd taken an' put in 'is pocket. An' de bone dat floated off from 'im, he'd taken dat an' buried it. An' dat one bone dat he took, he could disappeah he says fo' a time, if dere anything dat he Wanted tuh do. Jis' hol' dat bone in 'is mouth an' disappeah. An' hit wus some boys wus standin' on de cornah. Dey tole me, says mah brothah walked up tuh dem one day an' ast dem did dey wanted a drink. Dey said, "Yes." An' so he said, "Hol' mah suitcase till ah come back." An' when he came back dey saw 'im at a distance when he got at dis sto', but when he got at de sto' dey didn't see 'im no mo'. When dey see 'im ag'in, he wus comin' back wit a case of whiskey. [To informant, a doctor and man, these two bones were dangerous, the reason for not looking into the pot. The bone floating away from him he safely buried, the one floating to him was harmless if properly used.]
Entry 10862
Take a cat hair, clip it off de end of his tail, if yo' got a wife dat's runnin' about an' yo' Want her tuh stay home. Yo' take an' bury it in de middle of de house an' she'll always stay round in de house. Yo' bury it down underneath de house in de ground. She will always stay round in de house. [As I have explained many times, these low- land houses are raised off the ground, a person can crawl under them. This is also a quincunx rite, a central or fifth point among four other points or cor- ners: see 9467 where mattress has 4 corners and the center has a salt bag; and No.9487 where salt is in 4 corners and the center is 2 sticks crossed - an un- usual quincunx! etc.l [Fayetteville, N. Car. (1415), 2549:7.]
Entry 13308
Well, you take the hair off the cat's back and you take any dirty piece that woman's got and wrench it [rinse] out in some clear water. Take that cat hair and that water and war water and throw it in the river. She keep no job nowhere, she can keeps no husband no time.
Entry 320
Then yo' kin take him [black cat] an' cut his feet off alive - jes' cut [off] his left feet 'live an' turn him loose. An' if dat feet heals up - yo' see dat's jes' de chance yo' take - if dat feet heals up an' if he live de length of a year or something lak dat, yo' kin go in any bank, any place, anywhere, git anything yo' wanta git, 'long as dat cat still stirring. But when dat cat dies, dat kills de foot. (The foot is no good then when the cat dies. You cut off the left foot, you say?) The left hind feet.
This historical account involves animal harm; its asserted effects depend on the cat's survival and remain unverified.
Entry 10520
Yo' kin go out tuh de fo'ks of de road at twelve a'clock at night m' yo' kin stan' dere fo' jes' a few minutes 'fore twelve an' anything dat yo' enta learn, jes' lak if yo' wanta learn tuh play a piece of music - a mouth organ, a guitar, anythin' - take dat 'long wit chew. An' be standin' dere at twelve a'clock an' dere'll come somebody. When yo' go, yo' go dere fo' nuthin but jes' dat. Jes' lak yo' make up yore mind: "Well, ah'm goin' dere, if ah see anything [out there] or if ah ain't seein' it; ah'm jes' goin' fo' whut ah want." Yo' jes' go an' stan' dere an jes' at de minute of twelve, sompin will walk up tuh yo' an' take it [music in- strument] from yo', an' tell ev'ry kinda music an' ev'ry kinda song dat it is, good songs an' bad ones; but dat is not lak if yo' would take a cat fo' a black cat bone. Dey used tuh do dat too, but den dat's when yo' sold yo'self tuh de devil.
The informant contrasts the music-learning account with a former black-cat-bone practice; the cat belongs to that comparison.
Entry 10026
[In the preceding rite the stealing of a black cat for ritual pur- poses appears to be rare, but here is another example]: Yo' steal that cat an' put 'er in de boiler, an' they said that cat...it [the room] would lighten jis' like i'twas
[it was] sun in that room. [Richmond, Va., resume, 368:2.]
The editor introduces a black-cat example, cited as a résumé. This does not establish verbatim informant wording, a measured rarity or the reported events.
Source passage
continuous interview or recording context · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
Why, yo' take a dead person's bone. Yo' gits de middle bone out of 'em. Dat aoapin lak de backbone, sompin lak dat - dat s de middle part of 'em. Yo' gits one joint of dat.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
[The fact that I do not ask the doctor to identify the middle bone would nor- ally indicate that I understood what he was talking about, or thought I did. Bat my transcriber, on the contrary, was confused or impressed, she typing back- back instead of backbone! The jointed bone in the middie of the body, sompin lak de backbone, is the coccyx. And the one joint of dat is the pointed end joint called the indestructible bone or everlasting bone or something - it being able to withstand fire and decay, a magic bone.]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
Well, yo' takes it an' yo' dress it - it an' de black cat bone tuhgethah. Yo' go tuh de drug sto' an' yo' git whut chew call de quicksilvah. Yo' gits it in a Ⅱ'le ball about as big as a cent - cost yo' 25c.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
[This is tin foil, not quick- silver.]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
Yo' wraps dat up in it an' git chew about fo' ounces of sulphur an Puts in dere wit it. Yo' gits nine pins an' lay 'em in dere 'side of it. Yo' take 'em tuh de no'th cornah of yore house, or in de east cornah of yore house an' lay 'em down. Covah 'em - hide 'em-like. Yo' come tuh be complicated
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
[?]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 2099
or cones tuh - not enemies, or yo' won' have no fren's come roun', yo' know, an hart chew.
Nested source context: informant term and editorial correction · Vol. 3, p. 2099
go tuh de drug sto' an' yo' git whut chew call de quicksilvah. Yo' gits it in a Ⅱ'le ball about as big as a cent - cost yo' 25c. [This is tin foil, not quick- silver.]
locally coherent printed subpassage
Aoapin/backbone and other uncertain forms remain literal. Coccyx/tin foil are Hyatt interpretations/corrections, not the speaker's resolved anatomy/material identity.
closed_printed_instruction_with_ambiguous_terms
Coccyx, indestructible bone and the rationale for identification are editorial assertions, not the informant’s literal identification.
Quicksilver is the informant term; tin foil is the editor’s correction. Preserve this disagreement.
The damaged-looking words and complicated[?] outcome do not support a more precise reconstruction.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 3, p. 2098 · Vol. 3, p. 2099 · Vol. 3, p. 2100 · Vol. 3, p. 2101 · Vol. 3, p. 2102
Source passage
continuous interview or recording context · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
Ah've did dat - ah've did dat mahself. Ah've cooked two of 'em
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
[black cats]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
mahself - me an' mah woman cooked one, an' me an' de preachah cook de othah....
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
[He tells a long story to which there is no point except the three bones.]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
She takes an',
reported or enacted speech · Current unnamed interviewee · Hattie (as recounted by the interviewee); context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
"Look heah, Doc."
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
Ah went an' look ovah in dere
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
[the pot in which the cat had been boiled]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
. She called me
reported or enacted speech · Current unnamed interviewee · Hattie (as recounted by the interviewee); context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
"Doc,"
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
Hattie did. Yes suh. She emptied it
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
[the boiled cat]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
all ovah in dere, in de
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
[small]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1842
bucket. An' hit wuzn't de bucket full - dat big big black cat.
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1843
An' ah taken dat an' got on car an' go out back towards - in Savannah it's called East Savannah, an' dey have a East Savannah an' West Savannah. So ah went on out dere an' ah went ovah tuh a friend of mine. Jack Kettle
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1843
[!]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1843
wuz his name. He's dead now. An' ah went down to a little stream where nobody wouldn't be dere tuh bothah wit me, yo' know, suh. An' ah had tuh take mah han' in all dat ole slime den. An' yo's tuh search till yo' git evah'thing dat feel like a little gristle. An' ah jes' drop 'em dere an' put 'em in de watah an' dey'd go right on down. De watah wuzn't mo' den dat deep, suh, where yo' kin see de sand. Drop 'em in dere an' dey go on down. An' ah tell yo' whut's a fact. Dere's three bones in a cat. Ah'm be able tuh tell yo' cause ah have did it twice. An' de bones - de right foot bone it's a small bone. None don't go to de top. Dey all goes to de bottom. Dat bone will be turnin' ovah jes' lak a worm. It appears tuh come upstream, an' ah taken it out. Ah found de three.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1843
(What bones were they? From what part of the body?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1843
Ah don't know, suh, whethah dey outa de tail or where dey's from. Dey's real small.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1843
(You got three bones that were going upstream?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1843
Yessuh, on de bottom of dat sand - on de bottom, yo' know, suh. Be like a worm, jes' be turnin' ovah.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1843
[The bones don't float upstream on the surface of the water, but tumbled over and over upstream along the bottom of the water.]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1843
Ah take it out. Dere three - yes suh, dere really are three. So ah took one dose bones an' sold it fo' $20. Ah had plenty luck....
Nested source context: nested reported speech · Vol. 2, p. 1842
She takes an', "Look heah, Doc." Ah went an' look ovah in dere [the pot in which the cat had been boiled]. She called me "Doc," Hattie did.
locally closed printed account with explicit editorial omission
Explicit editorial omission means locally closed printed account only, never complete original testimony; do not reconstruct the omitted story.
editorially_abridged_printed_account_not_full_event_or_procedure
The editor replaces a long story; do not reconstruct it or call this a complete ritual.
The Hattie quotation is reported dialogue, not a woman present in the interview.
Three bones, uncertain anatomy, bottom-versus-surface motion and sale are source claims; the editor’s explanatory gloss is distinct.
The final ellipsis and omitted material remain visible completeness limits.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 2, p. 1840 · Vol. 2, p. 1841 · Vol. 2, p. 1842 · Vol. 2, p. 1843 · Vol. 2, page image