Subject:Chimney
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Entry 3839
[Ah] heah 'em say, if yo' got a man, someone yo' love an' he leave yo', yo' haven't got 'is pichure, why yo' take a needle an' pick till yo' git de blood out de little fingah heah [demonstrates].
(That's the little finger of the left hand.)
Yes, an' yo' git de blood out of it an' yo' have a pen, yo' know a ink pen, an' a piece of papah. An' yo' write it jis' like yo' would be writin', an' write his name, an' denwrite yores undah it; an' draw 'is pichure, if yo' haven't nary one of 'is pichure. An' nine a'clock at night yo'll put it undahneat' de chimley, de no't [north] cornah, de no't side of de chimley. Put 'is pichure dere an' 'is name an' yore name. An' put it - life up de foot of yore baid an' put it undahneat' dere nine days. He comin' back.
Entry 3867
Mah gran'fathah taught me about it - fo' de woman, fo' instan', woman when she has 'er co'ses [courses] on see. Dey take one of dose pieces whut she have - listen well! - if dey hang it up in de chimley where it smokes by de fiah, she will dry up in de smoke. Yo' see women dat git so small an' thin, an' take treatment from de doctor [M.D.] an' don' get any bettah. She dries up. Now, take dat [piece] an' burn it to a powdah. Take a augah [auger] an' bo' a hole in a tree. [Stop that powder up] when dat sap is down, an' when dat sap goes up dat's whut stops [it]. She's biowed [bloated] up. When de sap goes up, she's blowed up, yo' undahstan'.
Entry 4074
Dey could do dat. De way ah know dey do dat, dey take a ole gun. Yo've seen dese ole-time guns, de ole muskets we call 'em, shot wit a cap on 'em. Yo take yore chamber lye an' den po' it in dat gun an' stop it up an' put de gun up de chimley. Let de barrel be pointed out. An' dat will hol' yo' watah - yo' can't make watah. [Freud would have had a field day, had a patient seen this rite in a dream!]
Entry 4075
In a old-fashioned house, yo' know, dey go roun' in de cornah of de chimley. Well yo' go roun' in de cornah of de chimley an' git a pinch of dat dirt roun' in dere, scrape it up from de earth. An' den yo take some of dat dirt an' go anywhere dat a person is livin' at an' make 'em leave. [For other ex- amples of this outside chimney watercloset, see 203, p.57, lines 3-11; 3092, p.913, lines 5-9.]
Entry 4076
Git de feathah from a black chicken, if yo' a man thirsty fo' a woman, in love wit 'er. Yo' take dat feathah from a black chicken an' yo' manage tuh git some of 'er ministra- tion. Now, de way ah've heard dis: if yo' kin git some of 'er ministration, an' yo' put dat wit dat feathah in dere. Den yo' take dat feathah an' put it in a bottle an' yo' put yo'self some spirits of tur- pentine in dere. Yo' put some dis othah stuff [urine? semen?]. Put some quinine in dere. An' den yo' take dat piece [hatband] or de bow, eithah one, outa yore hat, an' put it in dere. Let dat stay right dere nine days. [Auto horn.] Aftah nine days yo' bury dat thin' right somewhere 'bout de no'th cornah of yore chim- ley in de groun'. Den yo' go out dere an' yo' make watah on dat dere fo' nine days. Yo' pee on dat fo' nine days. Den dat dere - dat draws 'er 'fection to yo'.
Entry 5464
Lak yo' wan'a make yo' git yo' a job, yo'll go an' git 'is [the boss's] track. Pull up 'is track ag'in [as in a preceding rite]. Go an' git it, but yo' shove his toe back tuh 'is heel. Go an' git chew nine pinches of salt, an' nine pinches of peppah an' nine pinches of sulphuh. Now, undahstan' whut ah'm sayin'. An' nine pinches of dat - dis heah dirt, dat graveyard dirt, an' yores too, tuhgethah, yo' know.
(Your what?)
Yore track, too. Fix his track an' yore track tuhgethah, an' shuffle itaroun' yo' know. An' den take it an' make a li'le ball. Stick it up de chimley an' let de smoke git in it, an' yo'll git work. (You fix some of his track and your track all together with nine pinches of that other stuff. That is to get a job?) Dat's right.
Entry 5549
I did [this]. Take it an' measure it, yore foot tracks. Take it an' take a rule an' yo' measure dat foot track.
(Both of them?)
Well, not necess'ry. Try tuh git de right feet. Git de right feet where de heart's on, de side de heart's on - git de right[!] feet. Yo' take dat. Take it an' measure it, den yo' bring it back home. Aftah yo' bring it back home [I interrupt]. (Do you bring it [foot track] back or the measure?)[Informant does not understand my noun use of word measure. Measurement would have been better.] No, yo' take a rule an' measure de foot track. Or prob'ly, yo' may not have a rule, might take a stick an' break it off, measure it. Yo' taken an' yo' bring it [rule or stick] back home. An' yo' git yo' a toadfrog, not a bull frog. Take it an' put 'im in a stove an' parch 'im. An' take some - well, yo' kin take or'nary [ordinary] papah, take a papah bag, if it's nes'ry [necessary] an' cut dat foot step out an' wrap dat up, an' tie it up in de chimley.
(Wrap this frog stuff [powder] in this paper that you cut out?)
Yes, wrap it all up in dat, an' wrap it - don't wrap it from yo', WRAP IT TUH YO', ALL DE WAY WIT YORE LEF' HAN' 'CUZ YO' SUPPOSED TUH BE DOIN' A PIECE OF EVIL WORK. DAT'S ALONG DE LINE LUCIFAH WORRED, DAT'S NOT ALONG DE LINE WHAT CONCEN- TRATED IN WIT WILL POWAH, WHAT SUPPOSED TUH BE DEALIN' WIT' DE ASTRAL FORCE. (Well, now what will that do, when you fix my foot track that way? What will that do to me?) Well, if yo' runnin' off, it make yo' come back.
(Oh, that brings you back.)
Entry 6607
Yo' run 'im.
(Either the frog or the snake.)
Until he gits real hot. Yo' git chew a forked stick like dat [demonstrates] chew know. Yo' grab 'is haid while he's hot. Yo' cut dat haid off, yo' see. Yo' take it an' carry it tuh yore home, an' put intuh a chimley tuh dry tull it git so yo' kin jis' do it dataway [demonstrates] de dust of it. An' if yo' don' like a person, like ah don' like yo' an' pertend [pretend] like ah like yuh, yo' sprinkle it intuh dere food. An' dey tell me dat will certainly bring live things intuh de stomic.
Entry 6608
Well, ah heard tell of 'em usin' snakes fo' killin' peoples. Well, ah've heard tell of 'em takin' snakes - take de snake haid, cut de snake haid off whilst he's live. Make him angry an' cut 'is haid off short. Take dat snake haid - cut: 'is haid off whilst he's real short, yo' know, whilst he's live. Don't cut it off aftah 'e's daid. Cut it off whilst 'e's life [alive]. Den yo' take dat snake haid an' yo' dry it. Hang it up yore chimley dey say an' dry it fo' nine days. Den yo' kin take dat snake powdahs whut chew git from dat snake haid, an' it supposed tuh lill yo' daid. If dey kin git it intuh coffee, food, anythin' - dat snake powdah It'll be so dry till yo' kin jis' pound it up yo' know. An' den yo' take dat poudah, an' yo' kin sprinkle it in anythin' an' dat'll kill a person.
Entry 6652
Well, dey tell me dat if a person wanta poison anothah one, jis' lak - AH RECKON DEY CALL IT WITCHCRAFT. AH DON' KNOW WHUT DEY CALL WITCHCRAFT. AH DON' KNOW EVEN WHUT DAT IS. But anyway, ah'm talkin' 'bout whut ah have heard, whut folks tell me. Say, jis' lak yo' might wanta poison a man or woman, or somebody else ah didn't lak, ah would hunt a snake, de skin offa dat snake, dey shed. Ah take dat shed an' ah would carry dat an' pound it up an' put it intuh dis an' hang dat up in de chimley where it keep warm an' hot fo' nine days. Den yo' take dat aftah yo' let it stay nine days, take it down an' yo' kin - dere'll come live thin's in it from dat shed. An' yo' take dat den an' put it in othah whiskies an' give it tuh someone an' dere come live things in 'em.
Entry 6881
A horse is tied wit a rope an' she pass ovah de rope. She's crossed. An' if anyone have any of 'er pieces dat she had befo' she got dat way, yo' see, dey kin tie nine knots in dat piece an' hang it up in a place - not tuh burn in de chimley, not tuh burn; only tuh smoke, yo' see, dataway. De child have tuh be taken from 'er by a physicianah.
(I see.)
Entry 8230
Yo' take yore pichure. Ah've heah dat yo' take yore pichure. See, jis' lak if a person didn't lak yo' or wanted tuh git chew outa de way. Yo'd take dat pichure an' go outdo's. If yo' wanted tuh, go right in yore yard at de lef' cornah, [or] de no'th cornah of yore chimley, an' dig a hole an' bury it on yore face. Bury de pichure on de face. Well, yo' see, as long as it lay on yore face, fades away, dat person will die.
Entry 8546
(Give me that parable again now. Tell me the whole thing.)
Just like I come to see you to your house and your fire hearth got a end of brick loosened somewhere. Well, I take a piece of paper and write your name down on it unknowst to yo', an' I slip your name up under that brick, and they say, your wife would leave you. (My wife would leave me and go with you?) Yes, go away. [We must remember here, that name is not enough; there is also the mental intention for woman to leave and come to you.]
(Well, is there any way, you can check that? Cross that up?)
Yes, yo' kin check that, cross it up.
(How would you do that?)
Well, the way yo' do that, yo' get yo' some parsley, and yo' tell her put: 'er underclothing wrongside out, after yo' get de parsley. Yo' put that parsley in de bottom part of her shoe an' put some garlic in de bottom part of her [other] shoe an' make her wear that. That'll check it up. [Wrongside out, parsley and garlic are well-known witchcraft deterrents.]
Entry 8548
Ah've heard that if dere's two people dat chew wanted, tuh break up, yo' kin take two names an' yo' give 'em names of each one of dem two people an' drive 'em in de back of a chimley [fireplace] an' that will separate 'em.
(In whose chimney would you put those two names?)
Yores.
Entry 8956
If they got any kind of a witness that would speak against yo', well yo' gets their name an' yo' writes it upon this beef tongue. And you kicks it around the floor and you takes it and you put it up in the chimney. You hangs it up in there and they couldn't speak against you
[at court]. [Kicking is a frequent magic act.]
Entry 8957
(What do they do with that?) They go to the slaughterhouse an' get it [a fresh tongue is required]. (What do they get?) Get a tongue, a beef tongue, yeah. And you make a fire in the ole chimley when yo' going for trial, an' burn that On the judge. Put his name there [on tongue]. An' burn that on the judge. That changes his mind.
Entry 8958
Yo' take a portion and yo' put it in each shoe.
(You mean the oil. The oil?)
Yes, yo' put it in each shoe. An' there's three oils yo' get. Yo' get this oil of muritel.
(You get what?)
Murotel, yeah. That [is] if you out, yo' understand, goin' to meet co't. If yo're not in jail, yo' can take oil of murotel and cedar oil an' labena [ver- bena]. An' yo' mix them three oils together. [First oil is surely myrtle!] (What kind? Labena?) Labena [verbena], yes sir. An' yo' bathe yoreself in it that morning before going before the judge. An' if yo' have any witness, well yo' take a beef tongue. An' yo' know the right names, yo' writes the name upon dat tongue. An' if yo' got a chimley anywhere in de house, yo' hangs dat up in there, an' your witness can't speak clearly. (Well, what do you hang that beef tongue in that chimney for? What - how do you do that?) Just take it and [first] you roll it around with your feet [it is kicked in No.8956] and hangs it up in there and smoke it.
(Oh, you smoke it! I see.)
Entry 8980
Now if yo' go before de iudge, de judge goin' to discharge yo', ac- cording to what kind of case, yo' know, yo'll have. Well, if yo' got people against yo', yo' know, an' yo' don't want to have dem part of de jury. Yo' going before de judge, like if it's a criminal case, yo' know, yo' got to have de jury. Yo' see, dey have [a panel of] 75 jurors [to select jurors from]. Well, yo' don't know what people [will be on the jury]. They don't pick out but twelve. Now, yo' don't know what twelve dey going to pick out. Dat makes yo' gotta use de whole panel. Yo' see, ah [in my work] done use 'em all.[ Well, now, de person - what jurors is against yo'. Yo' go an' get yo' a beef tongue, a fresh beef tongue. Pay odd money fo' it, not even money - 25 or 35 cents or somepin like dat. Let de money be odd money. An' yo' go an' take dat tongue an' yo' get these peoples names what is against yo', what done harm yo', don't yo' see or what yo' done harm. Yo'll take dat tongue, yo'll write de names on a piece of papah, an' yo'll write all dem jurymen's names, de dis- trict attorney.
(The whole 75 of those names?)
Yeah, just put de whole 75. Yo' have to use de 75, because outa dem yo' get twelve.
(I see. All right.)
Now, yo' get de district attorney what is de man to prosecute yo'. Yo'll get his name an' put it on dere, but not de judge in dat part. An' yo'll -git yo' dat tongue. Yo' get yo' nine needles an' nine pins. Yo'll get yo' dese people names an' yo'll put down on dere an' yo'll put dat down in de throat of dat tongue. Yo'll take dat tongue an' yo'll hang it up in de chimney. An' den aftah dat, yo'll take an' git yo' some watah an' yo'll get yo' some peppah. Yo' git yo some coarse snuff an' yo'll burn a - light a candle.
(Coarse snuff?)
Coarse snuff, dat coarse snuff; not dat in a box. An' yo'll light dat candle an' yo'll put it.in dere. Now, yo' want to come clear an' yo' want de judge to be lenient wit yo', so yo' take de judge's name. An' yo'll take de judge ame, den yo'll git yo' a block of ice, 'bout fifty pounds of ice. Yo' put it in a little pail an' yo'll sweeten it. Den yo'll light de candle, but yo'll light it straight up [the candle will be standing upl. An' den yo' see, sweeten de judge. But this othah part what yo' do, yo' take an' yo' put de candle - yo' turn 'em upside down, yo' get dat coarse snuff an' all dat, an' put in dere. Well dat make de district attorney be fightin' against dem. An' de people, what he got fo' witness, goin' to speak against yo'. Anything dey drink, perhaps dey drink whiskey. Some might drink gin or somepin like dat. Well yo'll get dat [liquor] an' yo' put dere name an' set yo' a little glass. An' put dat candle on dat [name and liquor in the glass] an' ah'll guarantee every one of 'em will go to court drunk. An' yo'll come out clear 'cause dey'll be drunk. Dey won't know what they're sayin'. They'll be lying backwards and forwards.
(What'll that ice do?)
Well, yo' see, de ice, dat's to cool, dat's fo' yore part. De ice makes yo' cool. Yo' know ice makes yo' cool. [Usually ice freezes apponent's tongue.] Well, de judge won't be fiery wit yo'. See, he'll be cool an' calm. But on dis othah side, yo' get dat snuff an' yo' put dem names in dere an' yo' get dat beef tongue. Yo' put dem things in dere an' shove dat tongue, all down in de throat, an' just hang dat tongue up an' den yo'll see. Yo'll see an' dey'll be lyin' an' dey'll be drunk. Just what dey drink, yo' set dat candle in dere [in the glass]. An' dey'll be lyin' an' dey won't say a thing against yo'. What color...just what candles you select. Don't try de black candles.
(Anything but black?)
But black candles.
(How many do you burn?)
Yo' burn - see, if dere's five people, yo' put five candles. An' if it's three, yo' put three; just accordin' to how many is against yo', yo' put dem many candles. An' den what they drink, yo' get a little glass, just what fit de candle an' put dat [liquor] in dere, an' ah'll guarantee yo' every one will be drunk.
Entry 9439
Dey git a black hen aig. Dey take it an' write some kinda - what dey want done on dere. Dey take it way late [at night] or soon in de mawnin' 'fore de sun rise, dey chuck it on yore po'ch. If dey can't git ontuh yore house, dey put it on yore po'ch, see; an' puts some kinda peppah on topa it an' busts it. Dat make yuh move. (What do you mean by getting on top of your house?) Well, dey can throw it but let it hit de fiahplace [chimney]. Makes yuh git out de house.
Entry 9954
Dey could take a frog an' put 'im in a box an' git nine goldeye needles an' bur'[ [bury] 'em am [around] a chimley or some place lak dat. An' go dere evah mawnin' about nine o'- clock, an' fuh nine mavnin's. Yo' bur' de box, den stick de needles up on top, an let it be crossed up; stick de nee- dles [crossing one another] all aroun' on top of it [box]. Yuh go dere nine panin's an' pray fuh de person tuh die. [In country districts years ago around the chimney was sometimes the toilet and a convenient place to hoodoo a person by buried object. For a remarkable example of this see the woman haunted by a buzzard.]
Entry 10463
"Put salt and pepper in yore chimley [fireplace] and keep your rooms sprinkle round in de corners, you know. That will keep them witches out." [Chim- ney or fireplace is used here because witches sometimes go up or come down the chimney. Since fireplace is the fifth point within the four corners of the room, we have here a quincunx rite.]
Entry 10717
Ah'll tell yo', whether it's a woman or man, if she leaves yo' an' yo' wanta git her back, why yo' git chew three grains of cor [maize], an' three strands of her hair, an' if dere any way yo' kin git her track, pick up yo' [your] dirt out of each one of her track - three tracks. An' yo' put dat in yore shoe, umdah yore bottom shoe [insole] whut yo' wear. Lift dat [insole] up an' put it udah dere, an' yo' wear dat. An' she'll come back. See, an' when she come back, an' den, if yo' want her tuh stay dere, yo' go an' git chew a bird nest an' yo' put some sulphur an' salt in dat bird nest an' burn it. Make yo' a little fire an' burn it in de chimley so yo' kin git de scent of it, an' she can't leave yo' no way; can't go an' leave him, de man or woman, which one wanta do it.
(Do you wear that corn in your shoe also?)
Put dat cor an' de hair an' dat sand in yore shoe.
Entry 10783
They take - you see, some people cross it [a house]. They have dif- ferent ways that they cross it. Now, they got some lady people when they living in a house, before they move, like if they living in this home here, they're sore with the landlord. (They're sore with the land- lord? All right.) The landlord wants them to move. He done give them a notice to move. They'll take and they'll take a old mop or old broom, they'll break the part off that you sweep or scrub with. They will put that into the chimley [chimney] crossways. It'll be months and Sundays before they kin rent the house. [That expression could be months of Sundays.]
Entry 11060
Dey tell me, says, if yo' wanta make dat person move out, dey tell me yo' git some stuff [soot] from up de chimley an' sprinkle it round de do' evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's, an' dey'll sweep dey ownself away 'cause dey'll sweep dat dust - soot - away from de do'. (They are sweeping their own chimney away?) Yes sir.
Entry 10418
[They tole me. An' dey kept aftah dis fellah tuh go to de house wit 'en an' stay wit dem dat night, but he would nevah go. So dey kept on asking hin to stay wit dem. Well, dere some stealing down to de sto' an' dere had been se stuff [taken] outa dere an' dey nevah did ketch up wit 'em. So eventually dey kept on aftah de boy an' he decided he'd stay wit 'em dat night. So late dat night 'bout de middle of de night, 'bout one 'clock dey got ap. Well, he didn't sleep any. He watched dem. An' dey had a fiahplace an' dey went an' got eight bottles. Dere was eight of dem [8 people]. Dey went an' got eight bottles an' dey sot [sat] in front of de fiahplace. Dey blowed in de bot- tles and dey said sompin an' dey went up de chimley. So he see 'em. An' he went, got 'im a bottle. He 'cide [decided] he'd try it. He went an' got 'im a bottle, an' he said de same thing dey said, an' blowed in de bottle, an' he went up de chimley. Well, when dey come out, dey come out on de street - see, right in front de sto'. So he come out in front de sto', too. So dey all standin' dere an' dey showed him de way dey went through de keyhole - went through de keyhole in de sto'. So he said de same thing an' he went through de keyhole, too. Well, dey got what dey Wanted an' dey come on back through de keyhole. Dey said de word, dey come out, but he forgot de word. He forgot de word an' dere he was right dere de next morning when de man [store owner] got dere.
(They caught him?)
Yeah dey caught 'im.
Entry 440
The old people tell this, that they [witches] take something, put on de hand and rub under their arms, went and smoothed it back of the chimley and say, "Mount devil and fly." And out their skin dey went.
Entry 444
Ah've heard dat dere wus a boy travelin' once an' he stopped at a lady's house - some widow wimmins wus stayin' out to deyselves, a whole lot of 'em, an' so he wus layin' dere an' he heard 'em whisperin' an' talkin' roun' dere an' he gits up an' peeks an' see whut dey wus doin'. Dey went up de chimley an' got somepin othah, an' dey - all three of 'em or all fo' of 'em - jes' put somepin on deyselves yo' see, an' say, "Devil, speedily fly." Yeah sir, an' said dey went right on out an' dis boy he got up an' done de same. An' he went on out an' then he found hisself in de store right whare dey wus. Well, when dey got whut dey wanted, dey said de same words an' dey went right back home whare dey come from. An' dis boy he said, "Lord, have mercy, ah don't know how ah'm goin' git out chere." An' he jes' turned right back lak he wus. An' so dey went dere den an' dey found him in dere an' he told dem how dey done an' carried 'em an' showed 'em how dey done, an' dey found deyself - dey Was in dat same store. An' dey said they burnt them [the witches] up.
(Where did you hear that storv?)
Ah heard de story when about fifteen yeah old.
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 7520
[Florence, South Carolina - scene of my following experience with a doctor in 1939 - was with the surrounding country still a prominent hoodoo lo- cality. For years before my time it had been ranked along the Atlantic Coast as second only to Beaufort (Bū'fert) of the same state. My question to the doc- tor is unrecorded but easily recoverable from what he says. Here we have an expert at work.] Now dey've put it [witchcraft] on yo' an' sont [sent] chew 'way from heah. All right, yo' come tuh me, er [or] some of yore folks come tuh me an' say, "Mah husban', er mah son, er mah sistah, er mah fathah, er [mah] mothah's gone away an' ah haven't done anythin' in de worl' tuh 'em." All right. Dey'll come tuh me an' ah'll say, "Well, yo' come back heah in de mawnin'." Ah wouldn't do anythin' in dat time [in the meantime]. [Here is the magic delay frequently found in Hoodoo but prominently mentioned 329.6 only once - see 964, p.361.] Yo' come back dere in de mawnin'. Yo' lay yore han's upon mine an' ah'll look up tuh de no'th an' ah'll talk tuh God. An' aftah ah talk wit God, ah take a piece of red flannel cloth an' take two pennies. Ah'll tie nine knots in dat cloth an' ah'll give it tuh yo'. Ah'll say, "At twelve a'clock tuhnight or twelve a'clock tuhmorrah, yo' be at de ceme- tery. Be dere at twelve on de minute." Aftah yo' be dere, yo' go down an' yo' take de haidbo'd [headboard] up, take up de haidbo'd an' say, "Dead! Dead! Dead! Mah son is gone away, " er "mah hus- ban'" - jes' eithah one [who left] yo' know. "Ah want dem tuh return." Take dat haidbo'd an' care [carry] it tuh de foots, an' pull de feet up an' stick it dowa dere.
(Stick the headboard down at the foot?)
Yes sir. Come on roun' wit dat foot tuh de haid, an' git tuh de feet chewself. "Dead! Dead! Dead! Mah some is gone away from me. Ah wants 'im tuh return." Turn dat on roun' heah. Yo' git dere at de haid." 'Dead! Dead! Dead! Mah son is gone away. Ah want 'im tuh return." Take dose two pennies an' stick 'em right down in dere.
(In that hole at the head?)
At de haid. An' stick dat haidbo'd [footboard] down in dere. Undahstan' me plainly. Stick it down in dere. An' git chews up, call 'em three times at ary [each] place an' take up three [demonstrates]. Dat's one, two, dat's three, handfuls of dat sand dirt.
(Where are you picking that up from, now?)
Out de haid. Den yo' put dose pennies down in dere. Den yo' take dat dirt an' put it in a piece of red flannel cloth an' tie nine knots in it, an' take it tuh yore house, at twelve a'clock an' put it in de chimley. Take nine little bits outa dat [graveyard dirt] befo' yo' put it in dere, an' go tuh evah cornah of yore house an' put [demonstrates] one dere, one dere an' one dere, an' one heah - dat's fo' cornahs. Put 'em dere an' den put dat in de chimley. An' don' Say nuthin tO nObody an' gO on out. DON'T LOOK BACKWARD OR YO' BE IN DE CEMETERY. Don't say nuthin tuh nobody until yo' git home tuh yore gate. DOSE ARE THIN'S DAT CHANGES FATE.
(When you go out there at twelve o'clock what is it, day or night?)
Don't make any diff'rence. (When you first go there, you take the footboard up - no, you take the head- board up and you put it down at the foot. Then you take the footboard up and put it down at the head. Then you take them again?) Oh, nO! Yo' CHANGE DE END WIT DE WORL'. IT'S WHAT CHEW WILL, yo' understan'.
[Here is the importance of will or intention.]
(This is to bring them back?)
An' when ah change de end wit de worl' he comin' back. [As an explanation of change de end wit de worl', I can only repeat informant's preceding words: Dose are things dat changes fate.]
(And when you get this dirt, you only get it from the head?)
From de haid. (And you put those pennies down in the headboard hole, and you take the dirt out of the head [board] hole and take it back to the house.) Yes.
Entry 81
Years ago in the days of my grandmother - my grandmother died before freedom was declared. I never saw her. I only heard her story from my mother. They built their houses out of logs. There was just a front door. They had nothing on the floor but the dirt. The logs were laid close together on top of each other to form the walls. They didn't even have shingles then. The logs were hewed on each side and laid close together for the roof so the water would run off. Then they made little beds in each corner, like a shelf, near the ground. We would call them bunks. In one corner they would have for a table. The chimney Was in the back of the house opposite the door. They had no windows. They [the chimneys] were made of clay. The clay was mixed up, pine straw put in it to make it stick. Just daub it. And they made the chimney like a pen with small sticks, two rows going this way and one in the back, and this [the fourth or front side] was left open. That was the fireplace. When they got up a cer- tain distance [above the fireplace opening left in the form] it was a pen with four corners. They made it as high as the house was. They filled it [the double walls of the pen] with clay and straw. In the fireplace was a iron oven and an iron pot. They had something in the middle of the fireplace [crane] they hung the pot on, with the fire under it. The oven had a iron door. The ovens were iron and made flat. They put bread in there and bake it, and potatoes. This house whenever it was completed they killed a calf. If they had sheep, they would kill a little lamb to let the blood go wherever it was killed, let the earth drink it up. This lamb was barbecued in front of the door. All of their friends and neighbors would come and have a feast there. They did that entering a new family to the house. They kill it right near the house. The blood wastes on the ground, the ground drinks it up, near the house they were dedicating to the family. Now that I have been reading the Bible, I can see that the olden people were taking that from the Bible. It was on the lines of the Bible but they didn't understand it as they do today. The Israelites were told to kill a certain lamb and put it on their door faces. The olden people were just doing it in their way the best they could. In our neighborhood [Orangeburg County, South Carolina] in erecting a home, building a new house to live in, you always are supposed in one of the front pillows [pillars] of the house to fold the Holy Bible, wrap it carefully in oil cloth, that will protect it, put it in a stiff pasteboard, and lay it in the holler [hollow] of the front pillow of the house. This is supposed to be a pro- tection sent from God on your home. And you are supposed to live happily there. This is one of the customs.
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 219
A man was tramping and gotten hungry and he stopped by a house, and the woman gave him a pint of meal and told him there was a old cabin further down the road and he could stop there that night, and she said he could build himself a fire and cook this meal. The fire was getting hot - they.made ash cakes in those days. While the fire was getting hot something spoke up the chimley, 'Look out, I'm gon'a fall." Down fell a leg. He picked that up and threw it back behind him. After awhile it cried again, "Look out, I'm gon'a fall." He said, "Fall." He took that leg and threw it behind him. Presently it cried again, "Look out, I'm gon'a fall." He took that arm and threw it back behind him. Presently it said, "Look out, I'm gon'a fall." The other arm fell. He threw that behind him. Then it kin'a cried, "Look out, look out, I'm gon'a fall." The body dropped down. He threw that behind him. He done gone back together. He grabbed this poker and started after him and he run out ran around to the corner of the chimley and went down into a hole. And he dug and came to a pile of money.
Entry 489
[The following eight beliefs are variations on the bottle rite for catching a person's spirit - see Nos. 38-44.] I heard about my uncle catching a witch. They hung a bottle up the chimney and crossed a knife and fork. It was bothering and bothering him every night. Somebody told him to do this and he did it. And the next morning he taken this bottle down and something was in it. He left it stopped up. Somebody told him this woman who was bothering him was sick. He didn't go to see her. Finally, she says for him to come and see her. She said, "For the Lord's sake, please let me out, I'll never bother you again." He turned her out and the woman got well.
Entry 496
They tell me that they take a bottle and pee in it and put that bottle up the chimley and when the witch comes in and comes down the chimley she'll go right in that bottle. Then cork it right up and that holds her until you find out who she is. [Wilmington, N. Car., (181),?]
Entry 537
Ah said dat de witch got mad wit me one day 'bout mah husband. (Did you call her a witch - a colored witch?) [I am repeating what she had previously said.] Yes sir - she's daid though now, but she come dat night an' got at me 'cause ah didn't let 'er sew on mah machine an' she said, "Fo'kses be here sewin' on dat machine an' you'll be gone." An' she lit right on me - ah had a little baby an' she took de baby an' laid him off aside - then she jumped - said she didn't Wanta hurt de baby - said, "Ah'll kill you tonight." She jumped on me an' she caught me right in my throat here - an' yo' know yo' can't talk plain when dey ketch yo' an' ah jes' could mumble - mumble - an' mah husban' he wus asleep - sleepin' in another bed an' he heard me groaning. So he jumped an' run up in de room where ah wus an' asked me whut on earth de mattah, an' ah said it wus a woman, "Dat woman whut worked wit you, she jumped on me jes' now." An' when she went to go out, de house popped - an' she said, "Ah didn't git chah dis time."
(She went out of the house, how?)
De house popped when she went to go out. An' ah tole 'er, ah say, "You didn't git me dis time," ah say, "you won't nevah git me, '' 'cause she didn't know ah knowed dis trick about whut to do tuh witches. Ah jumps up an' made de watah an' put de bottle up de chimley - turn de bottle up - den in a day or two she come dere beggin' me to take 'er down, beggin' me to take 'er down. Ah tole 'er, 'Take yo' down for what, ' ah said, "ah didn't put chew nowhere." She say, "Yes, yo' got me up de chimley." An' she jes' - an begs me to take 'er down. An' dey said it ought nevah been done - ought nevah took de bottle down - oughta jes' let 'er die. Yes sir. (What did you do then with that bottle? When you released her, what did you do with that bottle?) It was a black bottle. [See also No. 40. Here is the deadly black bottle formerly much used in the New Orleans area.]
(It was a black bottle - you took the bottle out of the chimley?)
Yes sir.
(So she could be all right. What did you do with the bottle?)
Ah just took it an' chunked it away. Dey tole me to chunk it in runnin' watah an' ah chunked it, an' she jes' goin' it all de time - she nevah was satisfied nowhere.
(Did that happen to her? She didn't ride you any more?)
No sir. She nevah bothered me no more.
(Who told you that old prank - where did you hear it?)
Well, a ole lady. She was ole, too - she tole me to do dat.
(A colored woman or a white woman?)
Colored woman.
(Where did this happen - what county?)
Marengo [County], Alabama.
(How long ago was that?)
Dat's been now about thirty-five years ago. [This is my only example of a witch putting a bad mouth on a sleeping or half- sleeping person.]
Entry 1509
Well, when yo' have a whole lotta trouble in de house - raisin' Sam, dey cain't git along - yo' kin take ole shoes wit sulphur an' cayenne peppah, yo' got fiah, jes' throw 'em in dere in de fiah lak dat, an' de fellah go to de do an' he stan' an' look at de smoke come out de chimley. Den after he go, yo' say, "Son-of-a-bitch, go." He'll nevah come in no mo' - won't come dere no mo'.
Entry 2165
Yo' kin take yo' nine eye needles an' iron nails, put it in a vial, bottle, an' put it up in de chimley corner - hang it up de chimley an' no law or nuthin wouldn't come dere to 'sturb yo' atall.
(What else do you put in that bottle? You said before.)
chamber lye, iron nails an' eye needles. Put in one dose vials about dat large. [Urine in chimney, needles and nails are well-known protective devices against witches. Eye needle - informant does not mean the normally used qoldeye needle of hoodoo - is very unusual, meaning it is not the eyeless needle for knitting.]
Entry 2640
Well, dat supposed to bring luck in business - to bring luck in busi- ness an' yo' know tuh drive any evil spirit away, de cops. Well, now, yo' do this on a Friday at twelve a'clock. Yo' take sugah an' sulphur an' salt an' yo' sprinkle it on some ole shoes, an' den when de whistle is blowin' fo' twelve, why yo' have a good while to lay it on, put it in there an' yo' burn it an' let de smoke go out. See, de smoke, well it will go out de chimley an' it will light up good. Why den yo' lift it out in a shovel or somethin' an' yo' carry it roun' in yore place of business an' let dat smoke circulate aroun'. An' den yo' take an' put it back in de stove an' let it finish burnin' up. Do dat each Friday. Well, dat's all to dat fo' good luck. (That is for luck in business - to bring in customers and also keep the police away?) Bring customer an' keep policemen 'way.
Entry 4072
One fellow was telling me about it an' he claimed he was. They get some of your water in a bottle and cork it up, dig a hole in the corner of the chimney and bury this upside down; and when this water would boil, you die.
Entry 4937
Ef she has any dealin's wit dis man an' he leaves home, of co'se she kin take his socks or anythin' dat he wears nex' tuh 'im an' take de sweat from 'is thin's, see. All right, she would take 'is dirty sock an' fill it wit salt, an' lay it intuh de chimley hearth an' put a brick on it, see. An' ef she leaves it dere, he may be gone for some days; but he won' stay away, he'll come back.
Entry 5216
Dey take some cookin' salt an' sulphur an' mix it an' put it in a fire- place, 'nuff fo' de smoke tuh come out, an' burn it in yore chimley. Yo' kin take a shoe an' burn along wit it tuh make it mo' strong. An' burn it slowly in de chimley an' see dat'll smoke. Dey can't stand dat odor from dat smoke, an' it seems in a couple of week's time dey'll have tuh move. Dey couldn't stay roun' dere. [Burn] three time a day.
(That will cause the people next door to be moved.)
Entry 6629
Ketch a frog an' take a snake wit 'im an' yo' hang 'em up tuh de chim- ley. Let 'em stay until dey are, yo' know, dey are dry. Let 'em dry - snake, frogs an' lizards. Dat's what dey all puts in yo' dey tell me. Take 'em an' tie 'em up an' put 'em up in de chimley where dat smoke will dry 'em. An' den dey git tuh work an' powdah 'em up - jis' powdah 'em up soft an' fine. An' yo' takes dat - dey tell me dey take dat an' put it intuh whiskey or anythin' an' give tuh yo' tuh drink off it. An' yo'll drink it an' dey'll become live in yo'
Entry 8977
If a man in trouble or a woman in trouble, who tryin' tuh work some scheme, yo' can't git nuthin out de law.] Look lak yo' cain't git justice an' yo' done made every move yo' could make an' yo' would try some othah move tuh make. An' lak a person would tell yo' go to Sech-an'-sech, dat dey knows. Den yo' come to me, ah knows. Ah'll say, "Whut's de trouble?" Yo' tell 'em [me], "Well, ah'm in trouble fo' a grave murder. Ah done tried eve'y law [lawyer] heah ah could an' dey cain't do no Say, Say, "Ah want chew tuh take up mah case if yo' think dat chew could." Ah say, "Who's yo' witnesses on dis case? Is yo' got witnesses or...?" [You] say, "Yeah, ah got several wltness." [I] say, "Could yo' git to de witness against dis end of it?" Yo' say, "Yeah, ah could git de names of 'em. Ah knows who's 'em all goin' prosecute me." [I] say, "Git me dere name an' write 'em down fo' me. When yo' git 'em, write 'em nine times, each one of de defendants name, write 'em an' bring 'em to me. An' ah'll read 'em an' ah'll look at 'em, de best ah kin do." So yo' bring me these names, write 'em down. Ah say, "All right." Ah got de names. Yo' got three witnesses prosecutin' yo'. An' heah yo' got three witnesses, defendant, an' ah say, "Separate de de- fendants from de prosecutin'." Den we separate it an' write it nine times. Ah say, "Now, go git me a beef tongue." It's jes' lak three ag'inst an' two wit. (There are three against you and two for you. And now you are going to sepa- rate those names?) Yeah, ah want each one dere names. Now, yo' gimme de three prosecutors. All right, yo' kin go write 'em down nine times.
(Each one nine times?)
"Yes, on a brown piece of papah, nine times, an' give 'em tuh me." Ah take dem names. All right, ah got dese citizen witness nine times on 'nothah piece of brown papah. All right, ah take each one de brown papahs [demonstrates] an' den ah'll fold 'em three times an' ah put de top papah, de two witness, ah put dem on de top de prosecutors yo' see. Put 'em on dere an' git me de beef tongue an' take dat beef tongue an' ah split it. Ah split de beef tongue an' ah put de prosecutors on de bottom down dere an' put de 'fenders [defenders] on de top, an' sew de tongue up. Ah hang it up in de chimley - put a nail in de chimley an hang it up an' let it smoke till de day of de trial. "When de day of de trial come, notify me of de day of de trial, git me 50 pounds of ice, an' chip de ice out jes' tuh fit dat tongue. An' bring de tongue from down de chimley an' put de tongue in dere betwixt dat ice, jes' tuh fit in an' bury it wit de othah.
(Where do you bury it?)
Bury it in de ice. An' when de judge git on de stand an' de jurors, dat [tongue] smoke an' smokes all dere fears an' evil away, an' dat freezes de jud- ge's tongue an' dey mo' or less have a hanged trial. De trial is mo' or less tuh hang, if it don' acquit dem. It will hang de trial up or throw it outa co't. [Here I stopped recording thinking informant had ended, but then he started to tell about the origin of the tongue rite.]
(The reason you know this is true is because of what?)
When de magicians, de people dat 'sposed [supposed] tuh have two haids [a two- head or twoheader] an' know eve'ything, when dey wuz goin' through de lan', when Saul wanted tuh see his brothah Simon, an' so he had heard dat yo' use jes' a lamb, if yo' wanta him nearer down in de land somewhere, down in de land, dat dis ole magician hoodoo woman she passes that [along to us].
(She started this thing? The beef tongue?)
Yes.
Entry 9462
When dey [person moving from house] git ready tuh leave an' done swept up evahthing, done swept de whole house up, jis' sweep it intuh a - it have tuh be a chimley. Sweeps it intuh a chimley. An' dey throws a handful of salt in dere, an' den dey make a "x" in de back an' dey burns dat papah stuff [old papers] up in dere. An' anybody dat moves in dat house won't stay dere. Dat's de way dey done things.
(Where do they make that "x"?)
In de back of de chimley, right in de back of de chimley. [For burning salt In fire, see also No.2271, p.641, v.1; also No.9139, p.3699, v.4.]
Entry 9485
Git chew a new box of table salt. Listen good! Git chew a new box of table salt an' yo' jes' take it an' open it. See, no one haven't nused [used] out of dat. An' when de' both are leavin' yore house, yo' jes' take some of dat salt an' chunk, stirrin' [magic action] yore salt lak dat [demonstrates circular motion, saying], "Go." An' den when dey - yo' jes' throws out yore arm lak dat [demonstrates], yo' jes' sprinkle it aroun' in each cornah of de house, in all fo' cornahs, an' dey'll finely [finally] break up. An' den yo' take up one of de bricks in yore chimley an' jes' put some undah de bottom of dat, an' set it right back down dere. An' dey won't be dere long - no, dey won't be dere long tuhgethah.
(That will separate them?)
Yes, separated.
(I would do that?)
Yes, separated, fuss all de time till dey separated. Ah'll pull 'em apart. (If I wanted to do that, I would wait until this man and his wife walk out and then I would sprinkle it in their house. Do all that?) Yes.
Entry 10208
If there's something that you don't want taken regardless of what it is, if you don't want it taken - for an instance if you take, if you lock your house they going to break in, and you don't know how to do for to keep 'em from taking your things. Well, then, first I would go and I would get me some sassafras [roots or pieces of bark]. I'd get some sassafras and I'd get me a knife and I'd trim this sassafras, see. I'd trim it and every little piece that I'd whittle off it [demonstrates].
(Every piece that comes off, what do you do with that?)
Every piece I trim off - I'm going to trim it off until I get to nine pieces, and every time I get the nine pieces, I'd count the nine pieces. I'd get them nine pieces and I'm going to put nine pieces here [demonstrates]. I cut off until I get nine more pieces and I'm going to put that there until I get four times nine. See? Well, all right. Now, I'm going to set it on the outside of my door. That's the corner of my house and that's the corner of my house. I'm going to set nine pieces there and nine pieces there, and at the back end of my house. I'm going to set nine pieces.
(You have nine pieces in each corner of the house.)
In each corner of the house, but on the outside. Under my house, if I can get under there and get to where the fire part is - the fire-hearth part is; under the house, you know.
(You what?)
Get under the house, underneath the house and get to the fire-hearth, see.
(Oh, the chimney - the fire-hearth.)
Yes, the chimney. I take and I put me a Bible there. I put that Bible there. I puts the Bible up under that house and I puts a candle there, and I leave that candle burning, see, and I leave the Bible open. But I put a piece of something in front where nobody can't learn that candle's burning there, you see, and leave it burning there. And then I come out from under that house and I locks my door, and as I'm coming out I'm sprinkling a little sugar, you see. I sprin- kle sugar as I come out, you see, until I get at least fifty feet from my house, you see. Then I won't sprinkle no more sugar and I can go and stay from three or four days and come back. Nobody will go in that house, nobody never go in there.
(What sort of a candle do you burn on that chimney?)
I'm got a ordinary white candle. (A white candle, I see.) [Here we have a quincunx, 4 corners and a double central point - Bible and candle.] [New Orleans, La., (832), 1249:2.] [If the reader is approaching this multi-volumed HOODOO archive for the first time, he or she must be told that the present beliefs and rites about sex are perely a continuation of 167 pages of similar material published in volume 3, Nos.3ll0-3830, Pp.2341-2509; material listed in logical sequence according to the Table of Contents for volumes 5, 4 and 3. The material now following could not be so conveniently arranged, though it does have a certain amount of alpha- betical order and other continuity. I am dividing this section into two parts: (1) COMPLETE RITES and (2) CONDENSED RITES, these latter sometimes a reference oaly.]
Entry 13106
Just like I wanted to do you harm. I can get some snake dust and get some graveyard dust and - just like you are in the habit of, when you are cooking anywhere you feel. Like in the country we cook on a fireplace - like you put your hand up there. And perhaps you may find a brick that is loose where I can stick that dust before anybody can catch me. When you have your back turned - and you may rub your eyes or something like that, like you rub your face some- times. They can hide that dust in that chimney and if you should get wet on your hands, it will cause your hands to swell up, and if you get it in your eyes, it will cause you to go blind. [This rite given by a professional doctor.]
Entry 4386
Ah heard dat if - now jis' lak if yuh love a person an' dey mistreat yuh or sompin othah. Jis' lak ah may love yuh an' yuh don't love me. Dere man yuh know of dat kind, don't love 'em. Why - an' yuh love 'em an' do all yuh kin tuh git 'long wit 'em an' can't. Why yuh jes' takes most - well, any 'mount chew want of - well, food yo' know dat pass through dem. Yuh kin take dat. Yuh take dat an' yuh put it intuh a little rag, any kinda rag, or maybe a papah, anythin'. An' yuh take it down an' jis' lak yuh take up a brick outa yore chimley, an' yuh bury it undah dat brick an' let it stay undah dere fo' 'bout three days. Yuh take it out. Yuh take dat up den an' yuh burn it.
(What will that do then?)
Dat will bring 'im back.
(You burn his passage to bring him back?)
Yassuh.
Entry 203
I had a sister-in-law was fixed. It wusn't put down for 'er, it wus put down for 'er husband behind de chimley.
[Usually the fixed article hurts only the person for whom it is fixed.]
(What was put down?)
Dey said dey'd digged up a hole; it turn out [it was] somepin looked lak a root or somepin in a bottle or somepin. She'd [she would be] de firs' one to get up [in the morning] when she went out to do round in chimley cornah, you know, lak de country folks do [who are without toilets], why she step ovah it [the buried root] an' aftah dat her leg begin painin' 'er an' she went to de doctor. Dey thought at firs' it wus de rheumatism but it wusn't de rheumatism. She went to de [medical] doctor - I went wit 'er. I wus livin' not fah from 'er. Dat wus in 1917, dat wus de same year I get married. [The doctor as usual failed to help a hoodooed person.] An' dey tell 'er to get a root doctor an' den dey tell 'er - said she took real sick an' cared 'er dere [to the root doctor] in 'er Wagon - it wus about thirteen miles. An' so she come back [home]. Dey [root doctor] tellen 'er dat it will turn [happen] a buzzard will come and swum ovah 'er house. De [root doctor] tole 'em de nex' day - tell 'em de buzzard [next day] will swum ovah de house. [Root doctor] tell 'er she wus [will] commence to get frighten, but she mustn't get frighten. (When they went to the root doctor, the root doctor said that next day a buzzard would fly over the house?) Yes sir. An' it sure nuff it did. It turn [it turned out or happened that] a buzzard come an' fly all right, all on de barn an' stuff lak dat. An' she would get up ev'ry day - she'd get [upl an' go around behind dat barn an' she commence to losin' 'er min' [mind]. An' she'd get out in 'er nightgown an' she'd come ovah home to my house an' set down. Ve [we] had a little tree up against de chimley drawin' water [in folklore a tree leans toward water and here it would surely be leaning toward the chimney corner]. She said, "You all wan'a hang me." [The informant drops too much of her thought here. I am certain the bewitched woman pointed to the tree, having in mind either, "Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree" (Acts 5:30) or the fact that persons in her lifetime were lawlessly hanged on a tree.] "You all wan'a hang me," she say [this is her repetition not mine], but dat's all right. Dey didn't tree [treat] me right, dey didn't tree me right." An' dey had to hide all dere knives an' fo'ks - she would try to kill 'erself 'er husband tole - all de knive an' fo'k an' smoothin' rod [this I do not know - does she mean smoothing iron?] an' cared it out in a little outhouse an' locked it up. [I transcribed all the Wilmington cylinders by hand, though some of it was typed later by the professional transcriber I had to call in. Fortunately I could eliminate duplicates and doubtful material, but even so my note for this story indicates the task, "Not all copied." The end is unknown.]
Entries from source headings
These entries are listed under the following headings in the source volume:
- NAME - HIS AND HER - WRITE WITH LEFT LITTLE-FINGER BLOOD; DRAW HIS PICTURE - 9PM PUT UNDER NORTH CORNER OF CHIMNEY; NEXT DAY PUT UNDER BED LEG 9 DAYS - HE COMIN' BACK — Volume 3, entries 3839. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → BLOOD → EVERYDAY BLOOD.
- CHIMNEY - DOSE PIECES IN - TO SMOKE; THEN STOPPED UP IN TREE — Volume 3, entries 3867. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → BLOOD → "HER PRIVATE TIME".
- (7) OLD MUSKET - POUR URINE INTO - STOP UP - SHOOT CAP; PUT GUN IN CHIMNEY - BARREL POINTED OUT — Volume 3, entries 4074. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → URINE.
- (8) OLD-TIME WATERCLOSET IN CORNER OF OUTSIDE CHIMNEY; THROW SOME OF THIS DIRT TO MOVE PERSON — Volume 3, entries 4075. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → URINE.
- GRAVEYARD DIRT - TRACK OF BOSS TOE TO HEEL - YOUR TRACK; SALT - PEPPER - SULPHUR - 9 PINCHES OF EACH; PUT THESE INGREDIENTS IN CHIMNEY TO SMOKE — Volume 4, entries 5464. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → SWEAT → FOOT TRACK.
- SNAKE SHED IN CHIMNEY - 9 DAYS — Volume 4, entries 6652. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → LIVE THINGS IN YOU.
- (11) IF PREGNANT WOMAN CROSSES MARE'S ROPE; HANG PIECE OF HER CLOTHES TO SMOKE IN CHIMNEY; DOCTOR MUST TAKE CHILD FROM HER — Volume 4, entries 6881. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → FOLK MEDICINE → CURES FOR AND PROTECTION AGAINST AILMENT AND DISEASE.
- (3) TO SEPARATE MAN AND WOMAN; NAMES IN BACK OF CHIMNEY — Volume 4, entries 8548. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY → NAME.
- FIREPLACE - HEARTH - CHIMNEY; (1) MAN WRITES HUSBAND'S NAME - PUTS UNDER HEARTH BRICK; WIFE WILL LEAVE HUSBAND FOR MAN DOING THIS TRICK; AS COUNTERACTANT HUSBAND MAKES HER WEAR UNDERPIECE; WRONGSIDE OUT - PARSLEY IN ONE SHOE - GARLIC IN OTHER — Volume 4, entries 8546. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → DEATH AND BURIAL AND GRAVEYARD → THREE SUBSTITUTES FOR HUMAN BODY → NAME.
- BEEF TONGUE SMOKED - CHIMNEY - FIREPLACE; (1) NAME OF HOSTILE WITNESS ON BEEF TONGUE; KICK ABOUT FLOOR - SMOKE IN CHIMNEY — Volume 4, entries 8956. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → COURT CASES.
- (2) JUDGE'S NAME IN BEEF TONGUE; SMOKE IN CHIMNEY BEFORE MEETING HIM — Volume 4, entries 8957. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → COURT CASES.
- (3) WRITE NAMES OF WITNESSES ON BEEF TONGUE; SMOKE IN CHIMNEY TO SILENCE THEM AT TRIAL; 3 OILS IN BATH: MYRTLE - CEDAR - VERBENA; DO ALL THIS BEFORE GOING TO COURT — Volume 4, entries 8958. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → COURT CASES.
- WRITE WHAT'S TO BE DONE - ON BLACK HEN EGG; PUT PEPPER ON - BEFORE SUNRISE BREAK ON PORCH; OR BURST IT AGAINST CHIMNEY AT TOP OF HOUSE — Volume 4, entries 9439. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → THE AMAZING CHICKEN EGG.
- SALT AND PEPPER IN CHIMNEY OR FIREPLACE; WITCHES SOMETIMES USE CHIMNEY - QUINCUNX — Volume 5, entries 10463. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → HAG AND WITCH RETURN.
- CHIMNEY - BRUSH PART OF OLD BROOM CROSSWAYS IN; TO CROSS HOUSE WHEN LEAVING - LANDLORD CANNOT RENT — Volume 5, entries 10783. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".