Subject:Cure
Entries
Entry 831
Once ah had a very bad headache. Mah head hurt so bad until ah couldn't hardly see - had to put mah feet into warm water to bathe 'em and at de same time bathe mah head down, too. So ah went to a hoodoo doctor and ask him what's de trouble, and he look at mah head and said a piece of hair had been cut out of mah head and buried around de house, and if a storm come early an' wash it away it would help me, but if it didn't ah would go crazy.
(What happened - how did the story turn out?)
Ah tell yo' how de story turned out. Ah was a missionary - ah was going to a missionary meeting, and whilst ah was waiting fo' de people to get ready - ah was at a preacher's house an' whilst setting there ah could feel that headache coming on. I said - I grabbed both hands, I say, "Ooh, mah haid hurts so bad ah believe ah'm going have one dem terrible headaches. So de preacher asked me, said, "Do yo' believe in prayer." I say, "Yes sir." So he came an' he put his hand on de top of mah haid and he said, "Now, yo' pray whilst ah prays." An' he prayed secretly, and ah could feel that misery jest easily goin' away - jest easily goin' away. And after it had gone, seemed like ah had been off in a dream, an' ah never did have that headache again.
(Where did this experience happen - right here in Mobile?)
Yes sir.
(Just a few years ago?)
Yes.
Entry 876
The story's if you git a spider in whiskey. And she poisoned this girl and this girl said - told her before she found this lady. The lady doctor says, "You've waited a little too long for her." She say, "I kin take this spiders from you and scorpions but I can't cure you." She says, "Three scorpions will come out your legs: one will come in the back of your leg, and one on the side; and one comin' out cher right leg, two comin' out your left one - [if] them two would of been in your right leg, I could of cured, but it was in the left one." So, "The first one start out," she says, "he'll go into the fireplace; next one start out, he's goin' back under the bed; and the last one starts out, he goin' start for the door about three times." She says, "You goin live three days." And the three days were out, she died. This happen up here at Pender County [North Carolina] at a place called Rook Station about fifteen years ago [1922]. [Cf. these 3 scorpions with 3 ground puppies, No. 578, p.89.]
Entry 891
There was once a lady and I used to be good friends. And so her husband wrote me a lettah and sent it through de mail, and he didn't sign the name to it. And so I was asking diff'rent one of my frien's did they know who it came from and they said no. So I ast de lady one day - I thought maybe she jis' playin' a joke on me - and I ast her did she write it. And she said no. But she said she would look at it and tell who handwriting it was. And the minute she looked at it, she said it was her husband's. And so she snatched it and ran out of mah house jis' like she had found some money. And [later] she came on and she tried to raise a fuss with me in de street befo' a crowd of people, but I wouldn't pay any attention to her. So later, two weeks, she came to mah house. And I jis' thought maybe she jis' come in there on a little visit, and I reckon she did. So when she left I said O.K. I went to de door with her and I half-shut de doah [after her departure]. And so I went to work dat mornin' - that was on a Satiday. And dat evenin' I commence feelin' - mah fingah got stiff, I couldn't use that hand that night. I tole my mothah about it. She bathed me in some kerosene, becuz she thought maybe it was - jis' was come from cold and so she bathed me in this kerosene. And de next mornin' I didn't seem to feel any bettah. And I couldn't use this hand, you know, dis whole arm. And it went on down in the feet. Becuz my mothah is a Holiness woman - and she thought maybe if she got some of her Saints [fellow worshippers] to pray wit me, I would get all right. And so she got 'em to pray wit me. But it didn't seem to do any good. So Tuesday - I didn't ache any at all dat Monday night - so that Tuesday night she called Dr. Somebody. Well, he came. He said he thought it was a rheumatism. And it was down in mah feet - it had left mah body and fell in mah foot. And he said - he gave me a pe'scription. But when I taken this medicine it seem like dat jis' made me ache dat much more. And so she called him again and he said he didn't know nuthin but de rheumatism. And I jis' suffered like dat hurtin' an' hurtin' for about two months. And so she had jis' told several people about it an' they said they didn't know anything unless it was the rheumatism." And so they said dey knowed a man named George or somepin ["a well-known root worker of Wilmington" - Note included in my pencil transcription made soon after interview]. But anyway, they said dis man could work roots. And when she went to dis man - and he said he could tell it and give me a treatment for fifteen dollahs down. And she said that she didn't have it all right then, but she paid him some down and he gave her some kind of medicine. And she say it was made out of some kind of St. Joseph's roots [either the doctor's own name or a commercial product like several others bearing a saint's name]. And she gave me it. And I taken about two treatments or two or three from him and I saw where it was doin' me a little good. And it continued to about two months and I got all right a little bit. And then he said that he could secure de thing dat was really de mattah. And so he found some roots buried under de doorstep in a bottle - looked like it was little verms [worms] on dis root. He showed it to mah mothah; he wouldn't let me see nuthin. He say if I didn't look at em, say he could make this spell leave me - make this so it would leave me. And it left. But he say I wouldn't feel all that sore-iness, but it would leave me enough that I could be able to walk. And so I started to walkin' on crutches and gradj'ly it left me.
Entry 901
I was hurt once by a rootworker. I was hurt in mah right leg. And mah mother she went - and I was swellen - mah mother she went out to get a doctor. The doctor didn't do me no good. And after she found out dat de doctor wouldn't do me no good, she decided on to go back and git a root doctor. Well, he told her to go back and look under de front doorstep and she'll find a little rag, a red [rag], a little ball in it - red rag with red little ball in it, wrapped up. It [ball] was made of cloth. And he told mah mother dat when she go-ed [pronounce gode] dere she might be scared to pick it up, but don't be scared to pick it up: Well, de first time she went dere she looked at it, she didn't pick it up - she's scared. And she went back. He told her dat de only Way dat I would git rid of dis swellen, de lest dat I swell right on up, she'll have to git dat and bring it to him. Shortly after she came back, she went on back and got de rag and carried it on back to him. In a couple of days after- Wards, den I feel mahself gittin' a little ease. And so he worked on me and worked on me, and turned it around on this other fellah that had me fixed up [by rootworker in first sentence]. She said dat he took it [rag and ball] and dressed it up, and told her to carry it back - he told her where it came from [who had planted the rag and ball] - and told her to go throw it over de fence [into this person's yard]. [Wilmington, N. Car., (225), 228:4; in Petersburg, Ga.,1928.]
Entry 967
[Someone begrudged] me because ah was gittin' 'long pretty good and dey didn't wanta see me git along, you know, and so dey used some kin' of insex [insects] on me. (What happened to you?) Well, ah got so ah could hear things hollerin' all de time any - katydids was in mah haid, those ole katdydids - frogs was hollerin' like dey does in a pond yo' know - ever' kin' of thing was hollerin' in mah haid - jes' had me goin' crazy.
(What did you do then, about it?)
A fortune teller lady come dere and made me use dis here cow water from de cow on mah haid and she killed 'em.
(Well, just how did she use that?)
She had me tuh git it - ah don't know whut she did with it, but she give it tuh me and ah had to wash mah haid; took mah hair all out mah haid it did and ah commence gettin' bettah. She killed 'em. Ah could see 'em all runnin' about in mah flesh - yes sir, dey was jes' runnin' about in mah flesh - could see 'em - people could look at 'em.
(How long did you use this cow water?)
Ah had to use if off and on about six months 'fore ah got results out of it.
(Did you bathe your head every day?)
Ever' other day one - one the othah of 'em - but she told me to bathe ever' day until they got bath-ed down and when they got bath-ed down, she started to use it ever' othah day.
(Did that happen round here in Mobile?)
No sir, ah was in Marengo County, Alabama. It's been now jes' about twenty- five years ago.
[I must have asked how these live things were put into her.]
Take a frog, yo' know and tie him - tie all his feet, tie the frog hog-fashion [= hog-tie = tying all 4 feet together]. Dey take 'im an' put 'im somewhare down whare he can walk over 'im, an' dey say in 9 days dey come alive an' be in yo'. Dey say dat's how dey put dem in me. Dere's a [another] lady come an' tuk it up right whare ah walk out over 'im. (You have to walk over this before it gets into you. That's supposed to go into you.) Dat's de way she [an enemy] had me fixed up.
(How would you get rid of a thing of that sort?)
Well, dat's whut [why] she had me us.in' dat cow chamber lye. An' she had me to use de othah, too; make a pad an' put on heah - dat whut killed 'em.
(What other do you mean - the dung of the cow? Put it where - on your head?)
[This is not a leading question because she had pointed to her head when saying put on heah, but I want her to say head for the record.] Yes, she had me a big round thing made, an' I had to wear dat up on top of mah haid. An' I tole 'er ah hated to wear dat stuff on top of mah haid. She said ah had to do anything to get well.
Entry 970
[The preceding doctor was original only when boxing and labeling his medicine; the three crosses being an old folklore device:] By making a crossmark - prob'bly if they had some kind of a boil or somepin on 'em, making a crossmark on it an' then marking it with spit to carry it away.
(How do they mark it with spit?)
Jes' mark it three times crossways.
(That would take the boil away?)
Yes, sir - remove it. ["To remove a wart make a cross over it at three different times on Friday and do this three Fridays in succession" (FACI,2ed., No. 7006, p.324).]
Entry 1042
Like I got to him to get something to hurt joo, why if you go to that same man to have it take off, why he can't take it off, you'll have to go to another man.
Entry 1087
They had something like snakes in 'em; whole lot of things just working up. So I fixed up a remedy and she passed all those from her. I got the stuff and gave her it and she passed a rattlesnake first - the first dose I gave her. And then the next dose I gave her, she passed a whole lot of little things just working up. I was working down here and someone knocked at the door, the first time. He woke me up and he says, "Go to the back door." And there was a bottle at the back door. I went there. He told me to carry it to her. Well somehow another somethin' said, "You can't go." And I got the axe and took that in there and I struck the bottle and broke the bottle up. It was a bottle about that long and in this bottle was a piece of her dress - the back part of her dress. The reason why I know it was the back part, we found the dress on the back porch balled up in a corner and that's why I know it was a piece of her dress. We found it. And then there was a piece of hair in there and a whole lot of piece of needles - sharp-pointed needles and pins. In this bottle it smelt like cologne. And there was a piece of root in there - it looked like High John de Conquer root - was in this bottle. And there was a cork stopper in the bottle. We opened it - course I didn't, but I got another lady to open it for me. And we'd taken 'em out later on in a piece of paper and looked at 'em. This girl was almost crazy. So I got some - something told me to do this. I went and got some Jerusalum root. I reckon you've heard talk of Jerusalum root - a root that grows.
(Jerusalum root?) [Jerusalem artichoke?]
Yes. I just got that root and then I got some of these pokeberry roots and I got me some red pepper - pod pepper and I got me some fish salt and I put it into a boiler and boiled it all up together - cooked it all up together, and just cooked it enough to have enough for her to bath in. And I bath-ed her in this here for nine mornings, and then I had another - and her hair come off her head just like your hand [handfuls] she was just almost crazy. Then after bath-ing her with this, then I takes up this red pepper and some grease and mix it together with olive oil and just greased it good all over with this here pepper and oil together, after bath-ing her for these nine mornings. Then after doing it nine mornings, bath-ing her, then I told her to take those bottles and throw it all overboard, but not to do it before because I've heard people say if you were tricked and before you were cured, if you throw that away if you found it, why it wouldn't do any good.
Entry 3246
A pin, a brass pin. You can take a brass pin - like if she - if a woman's goin' an' she get after you and she wants to give yo' a vener'al disease, you understand. (She wants to give you a venereal disease?) Yes. (I understand.) She take dat pin - she'll take a brass pin when yo' havin' intahco'se wit 'er. An' she'll take dat brass pin an' she'll hold it in 'er mouth, see. Well, she hold it in 'er mouth. Well, all right. Aftah yo' have yore intahco'se wit 'er, see, well nine days aftahwards, if yo' don't have no idea about it, why dat thing will start to run, an' stay on if, if yo' don't know what to do. If yo' don't know whut to do to cure it, why it, jes keeP gIttin' WOrSe. An' I DON'T CARE NUTHIN ABOUT DOCTORS [M.D.'s]. HEDICINE WILL NOT CURE IT.
(I see. That's if she wants to give you a venereal disease.)
Yes, if she want to give it to yo', yo' undahstan'.
(Well, ISN'T THERE ANY WAY YOU GET RID OF IT, if she gives it tO you?)
Yes. Well, de way yo' git rid of dat, yo' go to de woods. Yo' go to de woods or a swamp somewhere an' yo' git Swamp root or de watah lily.
(The what?)
De watah lily root - swamp root.
(Water lily. All right.)
[This is probably the swamp lily, a white flowered lily (Crinum americanun) of the southern United States.] Swamp root, yo' boil dat. Yo' boil it down an' yo' take one tablespoon of sugar, one tablespoon of sulphur. Yo' mix dat togethah into a quart of watah. Yo' take three tablespoonsful a day. Before each meal yo' take a tablespoonful. Dat'll cure it. But not wit'out some Swamp root. Somepin ah'll do it wit, it'll nevah nOt cure It. DOCTORS SHOOTIN AN' ALL DAT KIN'A SHOTS WILL NOT GIT RID OF IT, AN' I HAD IT. SO MANY PERSONS A DAY IN TOWN DAT DIES FROM DAT GOIN' TUH HOS- PITALS AN' NEVAH BE'S CURED. YO' GOTA GIT SOME MAN OUTA DE WOODS, OR SOME MAN TO GIT SOMEPIN OUTA DE GROUN' TO CURE DAT.
Entry 3444
Yo' know de colored people laks livah, laks tuh eat livah yo' know - beef livah, calf livah. Well, quite natchel [natural] dey cooks de dog livah. Well, now, quite natchel, he laks livah, yo' see. But now, yo' wouldn't prepare dis livah fo' me, if yo' didn't care nuthin about me. Dese wimmins genly [generally] use dat on dere husban'. Dey usin' dat to tie him; if he goes out anywhere, why he'll git hung jes' lak a dog would. Dat's whut dey do wit dog livah.
(That's to shame him or something if he's caught.)
Oh! he git caught. Dere ain't no doubt about it. He'll swell up. An' de only thing dat kin unswell 'im - co'se de doctor [M.D.] kin do it, but quite natchel he might not he'p 'em [be able to help them] if dey settin' down a couple of days. He put a piece of ice right dere, an' dat ice gotta have at least three minutes, an' it will untie 'em. If she haven't got no ice, no good ice watah where yo' kin bathe 'im back down [my root doctor informant is now talking about his own professional abilityl, or bathe her down where it swellin', den he'll git fastened dat much tightah an' de doctor [M.D.] have tuh unloosen dem. Give 'im somepin tuh cool 'im down an' throw de swellin' down. Dat's why some use it - dem dat's mean enough - use dog's livah fo' dat. Dat's whut dey do wit it.
Entry 3445
Jes' lak we were talkin' 'bout back heah while ago, if a person git hook up lak dis, yo' give 'em dog livah an' dat will relief 'em. Dey tell me dat will relief 'em, give 'em dog livah. (If the man and woman are stuck together, you give them dog liver to eat. That'll unfasten them?) [This is an example of like cures like, see margin title, p.394.] Yes, dog livah will unfasten dem.
Entry 3501
He have a intahco'se wit 'er an' she take a piece of new cloth an' take bis come on dat an' tie it in dat new cloth an' den she bury it undah de steps, an' when he steps ovah it three times, she take an' carry it to de cemetery an' bury it in de cemetery, an' den he be tied to her an' he Can't have anothah woman tuh save his life. IF SHE'D DIE AN' LEAVE HIM LAK DAT, BE CAN'T HAVE ANOTHAH WOMAN [see 1039, p.396]. Ah've seen dat done.
Entry 3562
Yo' take a string an' measure dis person, an' tie a knot at de end of dat string. Yo' see, tie a knot at de end of dat string. Yo' see, tie a knot at de end of dat string, at de firs measurin' place an' den yo' tie it, an' from dere on yo' tie eight more which makes nine, an' den yo' kin eithah pin it aroun' yore ankle wit a sil- vah dime. Stick a hole in a silvah dime an' wear it aroun' de ankle, dey won't love no one but yo'. Well, NOW SOME PEOPLE SAY DEY USE IT FER CRAMPS [see Nos.1516-1517], BUT DAT'S ALWAYS AS AN ALIBI. DAT'S [LOVE IS] WHUT DE USE IT FO'.
(They say they use it for cramps, but they really want to keep a man.)
Entry 3715
Beef gall is sometime that is used to bring a man's nature back when a woman done tied knots aroun' - nine knots aroun' 'er stomach. (Well, how would you handle that? How would he get his nature back?) You use - take ordinary beef gall, if a man drink coffee, or whatevah drink he drink. Take or'nary beef gall an' make coffee or whatevah it is, make it strong enough dat yo' kin put one drop into dat an' he won't taste dat gall in dere, an' let 'im drink it, yo' see. An' if a woman is got a knot aroun' 'er stomach, an' she wears dem nine knots aroun' 'er stomach to kill a man's nature, yo' give him dat beef gall. Jis' continue givin' 'im dat beef gall, an' when dat string bu'st on 'im, he'll become a normal man when dat string bu'st on 'er. Long as he take dat beef gall an' urinate through 'is penis, dat string will continue wearin' - wearin' - [away].
Entry 3728
If dey is bind togethah dat way, an' de individual dat bind 'em, if dey [he] dies, well, dey'll always stay togethah. See, it's no way tuh git it off aftah de individual is dead, yo' see, dat de one dat did it, see. [See margin title IF EVILDOER DIES SPELL INCURABLE, p.396.]
Entry 3730
Well, yo' take de dishrag, if a woman has got a run-aroun' man an' she take de dishrag - aftah she take de dishrag, wipe him wit de dishrag. Wipe him wit de dishrag an' iron it with a very hot iron, an' bury it to de left side of a tree. When yo' bury it to de left side of de tree, dat will perish away all nature dey has fo' any woman. He can't run aroun' any mo', he'll have to stay at home. Well now, if he don't go to de graveyard an' den git de graveyard dirt from de head an' de foot, place a penny in de centah of de grave- pay de grave fo' whut chew git in de Name of de Lord. Take it back an' mix brimstone, sulphur an' sweet milk an' drink it. Well, if he don't do dat, he'll nevah be a man any mo'. He goes to T. B.
(But if he does that, it restores his nature.)
Entry 3748
Ah know dis heah. If yo' think yo' got a woman an' she's indiff'ren', yo' take her wit dat snail. An' at night when yo' happen tuh be foolin' aroun', handlin' ovah 'er, yo' press dat snail ovah 'er, grease dat snail ovah 'er, an' den de nex' man - if she has othah ones about 'er, when he go tuh 'er, he can't git up no 'rection [erection], yo' see. Hit'll fall evah time. An' de onliest way now - now here's where tuh conkah 'it. When he finds out dat he can't have no intahco'se wit 'er, he'd steal a dishrag. He steal a dishrag from some wumman, somebody's place, an' bathe hisself down nine mornings - bathe hisself down nine mornings wit dat rag, an' den take it an' bury it at de do'step - dis same fellah's do'step now. An' den aftah de nine days - he bury it an' let it stay nine days. - aftah nine days he kin take 'er an' screw 'er jis' as much as he wants.
Entry 3770
Nine penny-nails, put [in] a quart bottle of watah an' take it three times a day, see. Dat will kill dat what she give yo'. De way she goes in dat way - undahstan', whenevah yo' have connection wit 'er, any discharge she wipe wit a han'ke'ch'ef of some kind, an' you [she] tie nine knots in it an' tie it aroun' 'er waist, see. Well, dat makes 'im lose ambition fer de [other] woman. He may be hard an' he may aim to get on to marry de woman, den he fall, loses ambition fer no one else but 'er.
Entry 3775
She git a dishrag an' she'll tie three knots in it: ONE ON DE END AN' ONE IN DE MIDDLES AN' ONE ON DE OTHAH END - make three knots. She'll have dat rag damp. When yo' make a connec- tion wit 'er dat night, she won't come herself. Yo' understan' whut ah talkin' about. She'll make yo' do it. When she do's dat she'll tie it up an' she'll put it undahneat' her mat- tress right undah yore haid, where yo' won't know nuthin about it. An' prob'ly yo' go dere to anothah woman to try to make a connection wit 'er. It'll be hard when yo' git up dere, but aftah yo' git up an' start it'll jes' fall right down.
[Here follows the cure for the preceding rite.]
Dere's a weed grows in de woods, dey call it a horse nettle. It's a little weed dat has a little button on it - little berry, yo' see - an' de root is about dat long. An' dat root got little lumps in it. Evah two or three inches dat root got a little knot in it. Well yo' take dat an' yo' drink dat fo' about nine mawnin's.
(What do you do with that root?)
Well, if anybody know it, dey kin go out in a country place an' git it. Yo' takes it an' yo' cuts it up, an' puts it in a bottle, an' yo' PO' SOME OF DIS GOOD WHISKEY ON IT, an' drink it fo' nine mawnin's, an' dat'll bring it back to yo'.
(Bring his nature back.)
Entry 3802
Well, if a person go tuh work an' take de measure of yore private an place it on a piece of paper, yo' take an' go tuh work an' git to de place dat chew can't be social wit no othah man, yo' take de five dimes an' swallah dem. When de five dimes came back in passes, why yo'll be a perfect person ag'in. Yo' kin go all de way an' love wit anyone dat chew want to:
(You say a woman will take a man's measure on what?)
On de private.
(How does she measure that?)
Wit 'er fingahs.
(Then what does she do with that, then?)
Take dat an' tie nine knots wit a cord string.
(Then what does she do with that string?)
She take dat string an' place it aroun' 'er waist.
(And that takes the man's nature away?)
Yes.
(Now, how is he going to get his nature back?)
He will have to go tuh work an' [provide himself] wit de five silvah dimes, jes' lak she will. Swallah five silvah dimes.
(Swallow the whole dime?)
All whole.
Entry 3827
Yo' walk up on a person all of a sudden, yo' know, an' yo' kinda scare dem an' jeer dem. Well, dat will make 'em pull a-loose.
(With what?) Wit a peachtree switch. Well, dat tuh part 'em, see. Use a peachtree switch tuh unhinge 'em jes' lak dogs. (Can they use any other kind of switch?)
Well, no suh, couldn't use any othah kind, jes' de peachtree switch.
Entry 3870
Ah know it tuh be a fac', if a girl break up - lak if yo' didn't love 'er so good, yo' know, an' if she be sick or sompin othah lak dat. Well, dere's one thin' dat she kin [do], if she's sick, to he'p'er- self. If she kin git yo' tuh eat anythin', or drink watah, den she take a little of 'er sickness, in 'bout a teaspoonfulla watah, an' a li'le bit of red shank, an' boil it intuh de watah. She kin po' dis stuff, jes' 'bout a halfa teaspoonfulla in some watah an' gi' yo' [give you]. Why yo's a fool about 'er, see.
(You put a piece of red shank root into that water?)
Dat right. An' if yo' wanta, dere's a way dat yo' find out dat she did do yo' dat way. Yo' goes in de woods an' gits yo' de devil's shoestring. Den yo' comes back wit dat an' yo' boil it an' take yo' a piece of mullein. Dem [mullein plant] a flat weed sompin lak 'bacca [tobacco], lak a head of 'bacca, yo' know, but it be's somewhut flattah yo' know - it don't be high, yo' know. An' yo' take dat an' yo' take nine strands of dat mullein root an' ball [boil] it, an' two leaves. De way yo' gotta do, yo' git some whiskey an' put on it, on dat, an' git chew a piece of camphor an' put it on it. Well, yo' tote dat in yore pocket fo' 'bout two or three days an' pass 'er do', an' she'll tell yo' she got de headache one day when yo' pass dere. Inside of eight days she'll tell yo' she got de head- ache. Well, yo' jes' say to her, says, "Well, dat's mighty bad but ah got some camphor heah." Well, yo' go ahead by dere an' let 'er rub 'er haid wit it. Yo got 'er an' it's offa yo' den. Well, she git tuh lovin' yo' den. Maybe, if yo' wanta love 'er an' want 'er tuh love yo' - well, it jes' quite natural if a man love a woman, he want 'er tuh love him yo' know.
Entry 5220
Den ah've heard dat dey kin take yore shoe an' scrape de bottom of it. Lak yore shoes is - lak yo' weah yore shoes tuhday. Well, if yo' foot atall sweat, dey kin take it an' pull it off an' scrape de inside of dat shoe, an' git dat dere dirt whut come outa yore foot. An' dey could bind dat dere up an' put intuh a place whereby it cain't ketch no air atall. An yo' cain't walk. Of co'se it cain't kill yo' - won' kill yo' - but yo' won' have no use fo' dat foot. Dat takes de use of it, when dey puts dat intuh a place where it cain't ketch no air. De way dat chew comprehend [overcome] dat is tuh bring de use back tuh yore foot. Git chew some sulphur an' red peppah an' weah it in de bottom of yore shoe an' dat will kill it. See, dat'll kill it in yore foot. Dat won' be no good while dey have it in dat airtight place. Dat 'air [= dere = there] is de way dey ovahcome dat devilment when dey works it.
Entry 6146
Take yore hair an' git yore hair outa yore head an' bury it in a snail shell undah de door- step or at de back windah, an' put yo' to gwinin' [going] an' have yo' where dat yo' won't know - dey'll put aspell or headache onyo' see, an' dat head- aohe will jes' lingah an' lingah undah until it kill yo'. Ain't no cure fo' it, crs de doctor can't cure it, de hoodoo gotta cure it. Yo' can't git it cured un- til yo' be lucky enough to git some hoodoo to go back undah dat windah, undah dat doorstep an' dig dat up an' give it to yo'. Well, when he dig it up an' tell yo' vat to do wit it, den it's to hell an' gone. (I see.) [The hoodoo doctor sends it back to hell whence it came.]
Entry 6548
Yo' kin take a toadfrog an' hang 'im up an' kill 'im. Hang 'im fron' de fiah an' git nine drops of blood out dis frog an' put it in whiskey. Take de frog an' take an' kill 'im. If yo' kin git a snake, yo' kin take an' kill a snake an' git nine drops of 'is blood, an' put it in whiskey fo' yo'. It won' kill yo' right away. Yo' gon'a live an' be sick, but atter while dey gon'a be so big [inside you] dey kill yo'.
(How do they get those live things out?)
Well, lak dey put 'em in yo'. Go ketch yo' a snake an' don' kill 'im. Jis' split 'im open 'live an' - lak he's mad hot - an' smash it on dere, an' dat takes [those live things] outa yo'.
(Well, how do you get those frogs out?)
De same way wit snakes. Don' kill de frog, jis' ketch de frog while it's hot. Jis' play wit 'im or somepin an' make 'im mad. An' git 'im while he's mad, yo' see, an' split 'im right open an' slap it right on dat place, an' it will take de frogs out.
Entry 6553
They take a frog and they keep that frog until he has eggs. And when the frog has the eggs, they take those and put in the beer, and they will give that to the enemy to drink. Well, inside of about four or five months, those eggs will hatch and in the person's stomach, and they will have frogs in their stomach. And there is but one way to get those frog eggs out of that person's stomach, out of the belly to keep them from hatching. You would have to go under a operation. The way you can get them out without going under a operation is if you learn they are in there before four months. You can easily get them out with black molasses and burnt sulphur, becuz that ties them up, that brings them right out when you are passing. You pass them right out.
Entry 6602
Well, all right, ah've had de pleasure tuh meetin' a woman travelin through de country, an' five or six diff'ren' people of mah profession tole [her] dat dere wus snakes put intuh 'er. Now, dey wus Wondahin' how did dese snakes git intuh dis woman. Ah claim dat yo' kin take snake dust an' put snakes intuh a person. Yo' kin sprinkle dis dust over some of dere food an' if dey eat, dey claim dat snakes will grow intuh 'em. Ah've had de pleasure of gittin' one from a woman. Ah've taken de hair from de top of 'er head an' burn dis an' let 'er weah dis dus' in 'er lef' shoe, an it made dese snakes disappeah.
Entry 6615
Well, yo' kin take de blood outa scorpion, eithah snake, eithah one, an' put it intuh a person's food In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, an' dey'll becone tuh have snakes in 'em, or scorpions in 'em. Den if yo' wan' dose outa dere, yo' git chew some salt, red peppah, sulphuh. Combine 'em tuhgethah an' let 'em take it fo' nine mawnin's In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' Holy Ghost. An' dat soon will git 'em out.
(Get those live things out?)
Yes sir.
Entry 6620
Yo' git a snake bone an' take de shoes - yo' git de snake bone an' yo' take a person's shoe an' take dat li'le leathah piece outa it whut's in dere. An' yo' take dat li'le bone an' dry it up - yo' know, kinda make li'le powdah of it. An' yo' take de othah part, de tip-end of it, dat sharp part, an' put it down intuh de shoe an' place dat li'le cloth back ovah it. Yo' take dat powdahs an' sprinkle dat all roun' in dere. If it's yore shoe, if ah wanta kill yo' or put sompin in yo', put snakes in yo' where dey won' come out. Well, yo' see when yo' put dat shoe on, yo' goin' press yore weight ag'inst it; an' when yo' does, see, it pops up intuh yo', intuh yore heel. Well, yo' see, dat poison jis' goes right straight on up in yo'. An' aftah dat poison git up intuh yo', in about de ninth day it begin tuh make li'le snakes in yo'. It begin tuh make li'le snakes in yo'. Well, if yo' wanta git dose snakes outa yo', yo' git chew some sulphuh an' green peppah, black peppah an' mix it all tuhgethah. An' den yo' git chew dis milk of magnesia an' den yo' put dat in wit it an' mix it tuhgethah, an' jis' nine drops of spirits of turpentine. Yo' mix it all up tuhgethah an' yo' take dat fo' about eight days an' it will kill dose snakes. An' yo' go tuh de woods an' dere's one li'le sprig of stuff dat dey call dat Copras it bears one of de straight leaves an' de li'le j'ints [joints]. Dey got about four li'le white j'ints run up tuhgethah. [Does informant mean copperas, and does he think it is a plant?] Yo' take dat an' weah dat intuh yore clothes, an' dey say dat will really, surely run de snakes outa yo'. Put it all tuhgethah an' it will run dose snakes out of yo'. (You just wear this root though, you don't take either of those things - just wear it?) Yes.
(And that snakebone, can you get that any place about the snake?)
Yes, yo' kin git it from de snake, jis' any part of 'is body, jis' so it has dat li'le sharp end kind lak a pin.
Entry 6680
Yo' kin take nine new needles an' nine new pins an' nails - nine nails - an' put in a bottle. An' den yo' kin take one dese heah worm outa from undah de bottom [bark] see, think dey call 'em sawyah.
(Wood Sawyer?)
Yes sir. Dey got two little bills [horns] whut cuts in de wood. [These worms - the larvae of sawyers, several large longicorn bettles - bore large holes in timber or dead trees. Both worm and bettle are often called wood sawyers.] Put dat in dat bottle an' bury it down in de path where he walks. An' den, when he walk ovah dat, he'll ketch 'em in 'is foot. An' dat same worm [larva] whut chew see in dat bo'd, dat yo' put in dat bottle, jis' true as [what?]. [It will enter 'im an'] eat 'im up. [But this ailment can be cured.] Dat way [if you are in that condition] yo' got'a go tuh a root doctah de same way [as before]. Now a root doctor, he got'a take 'em out. A medical doctor don't do it.
(What would a root doctor do to get that worm out of him, I wonder.)
He goes an' git de root from de - dey call black haw an' red oak bark an' a stingin' nettle root. Put dat up in a bottle an' yo' got'a take. Dat stingin' nettle root, will run 'im out dere. [The other two help and also make 3 ingre- dients.]
(Well, what do you do with these roots? Make a tea of them or what?)
Yes.
Entry 6709
Dey tell me dat if a woman wants tuh take de uppah han's [hands] of a gan an' take him in, dat chew [the woman] kin draw de blood from a' animal an put it in any kinda thing he eat or in 'is whiskey - jis' so long as yo' git it inside a him - an' dey have de upperturns of yo' in any way dey intend tuh do it. De only way dat yo' kin git loose from dat, whut ah learnt, jis' take somepin an' strike where yo' kin draw de blood from dem [the woman]. See, den yo' kin git loose from dat.
(They use the blood from any kind of an animal?)
Any creepin' animal [so that the man will creep or crawl at her command].
Entry 6764
If a person got a wen on dere arm or anywhere about 'em, 20 wanted tuh git rid of dat wen, when a person dies, yo' kin go dere an' jis take dat wen an' wipe it on 'em jis' 'fore dey git cold, or eithah wash it down. Jis' take it an' wipe it on 'em. An' when dey bury dat person, in three day's time dat com- sence tuh wizen [wither or shrivel] away an' it'll go. [The verb to wizen, from the Anglo-Saxon, is obsolete, though it lingers on as dialect.] [Sumter, S. Car.,
(1368), 2422:2.] [Bone from dead cures warts, No.8027, p.3409.]
Entry 6766
Ah've see 'em take dis li'le bit of wasp or dirt daubahs, yo' know de're white. Ah've seen 'em [doctor] take dem [dirt daubers] an' go cah places dat people were poisoned. Dat is some ways tuh beat 'em out dere roney. [These people] thought dey were poisoned. An' [these doctors] have 'em in dere han' an' claim dey would cure 'em an' take out dose things in 'em. Dey gotta take out dose things, but dey didn't take 'em out.
(How did they do it then?)
Dey [doctors] carried 'em [dirt daubers] dere wit 'em. [Informant is skepti- cal about a doctor removing dirt daubers (usually if not always dead ones) from a person. He believes the doctor brought the insects with him and used a little sleight of hand.]
Entry 6792
Know dey taken fish fo' a person dat dey win' [wind] is short [luag trouble]. Take a fish whut got dose bladdahs in 'em whut holds win'. Yo' diy dat, an' aftah dryin' dat, if a person is short-winded, yo' take an' bust it an' swallah [swallow] dat air, an' dat gives yore lungs fresh air.
Entry 6825
Tuh git graveyard dirt, dey say go out tuh de graveyard whah some of yoh relatives die. Well, dey tells me dat dat'll kill double pneumonia. Ah had a baby die yestiday mawnin' wit double pneumonia, an' ah were in mah home Sunday an' a lady came tuh mah house, an' say, "Ah tell yo' whut chew do," she say, "yo' git in yuh cah [car]." She came dere Satiday night. She say, "Come an' git in yuh cah an' come go wit me, an' go out whah a man is buried, whah yuh mothah-in-law is buried, an' git some of dat graveyard dirt an' put it in a bag. Git some from right undahneat' de lef'-han' comah of 'er grave. An' put it in a bag an' take it tuh hospital an' sprinkle it undahneat' dat baby's mattress, an' he won't die."
(What do you mean by the left-hand corner of the grave?)
Well, dat whut she tole me. She say, "Git it from de lef'-han' cornah." Ah say, "Whut de lef'-han' cornah?" Wal, she tole me dat evahtime yo' beah [bury] a person, YO' JIS' BEAH 'EM A CERTAIN WAY. AH HADN'T THOUGHT ABOUT DAT. DID JOO? All right. She says, "Now yo' go an' git it out de cornah, " an' says, "yo' scattah it undah huh [her] haid. Git it from de lef'-han' cornah of de grave an' put it in jis' a li'le bag. An' go an' slip it undah dat mattress an' dat baby won' die."
[While machine turned off informant gave information I now repeat.]
(Get the dirt from the left-hand side near the heart.) [This means, while standing at head of the grave looking to the foot, the left-hand corner would be the heart corner.]
Entry 6829
(What do you use with the graveyard dirt?)
Yo' po' dat on de graveyard dirt.
(Yes?) [Continue.]
Go tuh a undahtakah's parlah or anywhah whah de daidman is. Git some of de fat outa dis man. Melt it down lak yo' would lard. Mix dat wit anythin', mos' commonly wit 'is food, undah- stan'. Or jis' as a medicine, let 'im drink dat, an' he's cured of dat graveyard dirt. He's soun' an' well ag'in.
(I see. I see.)
Entry 6859
(What did she do?)
He-mullein tea. It's a mullein tea grows wit a leaf.
(He took the she mullein or the he mullein?)
He mullein.
(The she mullein wasn't any good then?)
No, sir, de he mullein.
(Oh, all right, let it go at that.)
But now, which ah wanted tuh speak [to] yo' 'bout, a he mullein. A she mul- lein has got a li'le blossom tuh it. A he mullein grows down jis' lak dat [dem- onstrates], yo' see, wit a leaf lak a cabbage leaf; de othah [the she] part's a flowah a he mullein don' do it. An' she, [cylinder changed], an' she made some tea outa dat. (Out of the mullein?) Outa de he mullein. Aftah makin dat tea outa de he mullein, she had anothah li'le piece of root, ah guess yo' seen it, called John de Conkah. She boiled both dat teas tuhgethah. She boils dis root tuhgethah an' she boils dis tea. She boils it down 'till it turns jis' lak dat Tokay store tea. Dis root turn it dataway. Also, de mullein will turn it kind of greenish-lak, but by puttin' dis root in it, it turned it kinda lak, yo know, lak tea. An' he drinked dat tea. Well, he commenced tuh feelin' bettah. Be jis' gittin' on 'is feet, den he kinda gittin' use tuh hisself. Well, anothah fellah, he wuz kin'a ole hoodoo, call 'im Ole Man Jim. He say, "Now, Son, ah don' know whut yo' have took, but it's a green bush, a vine dat grows up on your fahm [farm] called de bittah apple.
(What kind?)
Bittah apple. Bittah apple. He boils dis bittah apple - jis' lak it tastes bittah, jis' as bittah as gall. Boil dat an' strain it. Nuthin in it, no sugah atall. Don' drink it hot, drink it when it git cold, see. But now, it's done turn yallah [yellow]. It's not whut chew call right green, yo' see. It grows lak a gourd. Bell, now, when de sun hits dis, it's lak a yallah person. It sprangle up jis lak a gourd or one of dese othah thin's - quinces. An' aftah she boil dat tea an' dat boy took dat stuff, it put 'im on 'is feet. He wuz [had been] nex' tuh DAT CURED 'IM.
Entry 6879
(How can that be done?)
Well, yo' see, de way dat dey do it, dey git a rope. Yo' know a woman's iml pregnant. Dey goes tuh de step an' dey come ovah de step.
(Wait a minute. What do they do with that rope now?)
Dey take de rope offa de mule.
(Oh, this rope is around the mule?)
De rope is aroun' de mule. Dey git tuh de step an' dey come over dat rope nine times backwards. See, dey jump ovah de rope once an' dey walk aroun' it an' dey jump ovah it ag'in. An' when dey git ovah dat rope, den dey jump up lak a mule. Now, when dis lady comes out, dat's crossin' 'er as a mule [woman's period will be as long as a mule's]. Now tuh git dis cross off 'er before dis child is born, yo' git chew a Bull Durham [tobacco] sack. Yo' take dat Bull Durham sack an' yo' wash it clean, clean, clean. Yo' go tuh one a dese big sand places such as Jenkins, Watts-Cornell [or] J. J. Cox, sand dat's nevah been used, jis' come in. Yo' fill dat bag about three-qurtah full of dat sand. It's purtty white sand. Yo' git chew nine silvah dimes an' yo' put in dat sand an' yo' git chew, git chew a half a cupa vinegah. Yo' take dat an' yo' put it intuh a pot an' yo' boil. An' aftah yo' boil, yo' boil yo' an' yo' boil it down an' yo' see dis sack done boiled enough, tuh where yo' want it tuh boil at, den yo' take dis sack an' yo' go an' throw it undah 'er steps. Dat's de woman impregnant. Yo' throws it right undah 'er step wit dese dimes an' dis sand intuh it. Now, de liquid dat's lef' from dis, from dat vinegah, yo' got dat dere. Now, she mus' take a sip of dis evah mawnin' fer nine mawnin's. An' ah'll guarantee yuh it'll knock dat off. (That checks that cross that's on that woman, checks it right away. You can't do any harm at all.)
Entry 7197
Yo' see, jis' lak if yo' been messin' wit a woman an' she take yore nature 'way lak dat, de way fo' her tuh do dat, she git some dis heah clovah root. She takes some of dat clovah root an' boil it intuh a tea. Well, quite natchel [natural] in de sum- mahtime yo' drink ice tea. She'll take some of dat an' go ahaid an' she put it in dat [tea] watah, an' yo' drink it an' yore courage will leave. An' de fus' thin' yo' know, yo' cain't [do] nuthin. An' it's quite natchel she'll say attah while, say, "Yo' know, Conn, ah'm goin' leave yo'." An' she'll leave yo'. Dat de way Women do. An' anothah thin' she kin do, she kin take red shank root. She'll take dat red shank root an' gi' yo' dat air [give you that there] an' three raw aigs a day herself. Not have a thing on 'em. An' yo' suck dem aigs fo' nine days, an it'll bring yo' [nature] back. She'll bring yo' back.
Entry 7210
(All right.) = [Ready to start.]
Ah had a pair of socks an' ah had a undahsuit. Ah came from mah work an' ah rolled it up, ah couldn't git in mah room, an' ah jis' shoved in between de screen an' de do'. An' ah left. When ah come back, mah undahsuit an' mah socks wuz gone. An' ah do know whut taken place wit me aftah dat, an' ah do know whut ah wuz told through fortune- tellahs.
(All right, tell me all about it.)
De fortunetellah told me dat ah were hurt in some a mah clothes. She did not say whut kinda clothes, but it fell back tuh mah remembrance dat if ah wuz hurt, it must have been mah undahsuit an' mah socks. (Well, how did you know you were hurt? Why did you go to this fortuneteller? Did something happen to.you? Were you sick or something before you went to the fortuneteller?) No, sir, ah wuzn't sick den. Ah wuz not sick den.
(What did you go to that fortuneteller for?)
Well, ah went tuh de doctor. Went tuh Natchez Mississippi Hospital in [nine- teen] thirty an' ah stayed ovah dere 'bout thirteen or seventeen days. An' de doctor seemly dey couldn't fin' de complaint, whut wuz de mattah wit me. He said dat ah wuz all right. Well, ah wúz still sick. Well, ah decided in mah mind - ah hear'd de people talkin' about hoodoos an' witchcraft an' fortune- telZahs. It came tuh me in mah mind by a friend of mine, he said, "Why don' chew go an' see such-an'-such a one?' He said, "Dey kin tell yo' things." Well, ah decided tuh go. Well, ah went tuh dem an' dey told me dat ah wuz hurt through clothes. An' ah ast dem, "Well, whut could yo' do fer me? Could yo' cure me?" Dey tole me, "Yeah." Dey believe through de powah of God dat dey could cure me. An' dey made me up a tea. Now, ah don' know whut kinda tea it 'twuz, but any- way dey give dat tuh me fer tuh drink an' ah drinked it an' ah really hadn't rest fer [so many] nights.
Entry 7250
De reason ah'm tell'n yo' dis is it's from mah wife. Mah wife - dere wus a lady mad wit 'er an' she loaned a ole lady 'er bonnet, named Rachel Keller. An' she [Rachel] wō de bonnet away an' she kep' it about a week. She wus a frien' of our'n. Well, dis girl whut stayed dere, she found out it wus mah wife's bonnet. She watched 'er. She got some snail, a young snail an' fixed 'em - jis' take 'em lak she have - got 'em an' worked 'em up lak she wanted tuh swell 'em, an' jis' squirted de juice in watah. Washed 'em an' squirted de juice in watah an' put dat in a bottle. She [my wife] goes all tuh pieces-lak. She [the girl] takes an' sprinkles dat bonnet wit it an' mah wife wore it, an' she come jis' as blind as a bat - couldn't see nowhere.
(Real blind.)
She come blind as a bat. She had a li'le girl, name of Carnation. Call dat li'le girl sometime an' she try tuh go tuh de do'. Neah tuh de do' an' couldn't see it. She wus right behin' de dō', thought she wus tuh de dō', but she wus be- bhin' de do'. Couldn't even see me when ah come in de house. Ah carried 'er tuh de same ole lady, Mrs. Brown, an' ah know whut she done.
(You don't know what she did to her?)
I did.
(Oh, you did?)
An ah know whut she done an' whut she tole me tuh do. An' ah did it. She give me de stuff, cayenne peppah, a li'le piece of pod, yo' see. Put it in a skillet an' boil it till de watah wus red. Took a li'le meal, of what chew call...
(Corn meal?)
An' bind it right ovah 'er eyes jis' lak dat, until she got so she could see.
(That's what cured her?)
Made her so she could see. Now she kin see. Dat's been fifteen yeahs ago.
(Was this down in Pilesville?)
[Powersville? N. Car.]
Yes, sir.
Entry 7256
(What do they do with that hair?)
Well, dey'll take dat hair an' dey'll tie it aroun' dere waist, yuh know. Tie dat hair wit string an' make nine knots in it. Aftah dey make dem nine knots in it, well in about fifteen days yuh'd go crazy, if yuh don't go see about chureself. Yuh'd have tuh go tuh some strong two-haided person an' see about chureself.
(Where do you get this hair from?)
Out of yuh ear.
(And what do they tie that to?)
Aroun' dey waist.
Entry 8011
Make doll baby, put in box like a coffin, with person's hair and quick- silver balls at stomic [stomach]. Person who cured victim shot the evil-doer with a spiritual gun. [Long story, not much detail, recheck.] [Doctor Bayhan (Bayhand), a white doctor on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, used a spirit- ual gun to harm persons as far away as Baltimore - see No.62, p.28; and another comment about him from Deal Island, Md., No.3069, p.891.] [Washington, D. C.,
(between 629-638), 816:2.]
[In this subsubsection we have an animal buried as a substitute for the burial of a person. Our first example will be a substitute for the substitute, an egg for the chicken.]
Entry 8027
Well, yo' kin take a dead person's bone, if yo' kin git one; an' if yo' got warts on yore han', yo'picks dis bone up an' dat'll take de warts off. But yo' puts dis bone back down, don't carry it off no place.
(But it must be the bone of a dead person?)
Dat's right.
Entry 9179
Ah've hear'd tell of 'em usin' eggshells, ah've hear'd tell dat chew kin take nine eggshells. An' if he drinks coffee, ah've hear'd tell of 'em takin' nine eggshells - yo' take de eggs of a black hen. An' yo' take nine eggshells an' if yo' kin beat those eggshells up, an' use dat intuh his coffee, ah've heard tell of dat stoppin' 'im from drinkin'.
Entry 9887
A frog? An' if yo' have bone felon on yuh fingah lak ah had on dis one heah - an' yo' take dat frog whilst he's alive an' yo' split 'im open an' yo' run de fingah dat ails yuh, see, intuh 'im. Dat will draw de misery out.
Entry 9888
If anyone poisoned, yo' kin take a live toadfrog and split 'im wide open an' bind 'im up on dere, it'll take dat 'fect away.
Entry 9890
Dey say dat yo' kin take a toadfrog an' tote him till he dies, an' yo' kin cure any kinda complaint dat yo' wants; any complaint, if yo' ketch 'im an' tote him till he dies. (Then what do you do with him?) Yeah, jis' don' squeeze him, but yo' tote him till he dies. Any kinda complaint come tuh yore hand, yo' kin cure it.
Entry 9922
Ketch a toadfrog an' kill 'im an' drop nine drops of blood in a blf pint of whiskey, an' dat'll stop him.
(From drinking - a heavy liquor drinker.)
Entry 10210
Ah heard dat if a man is tied up by his wife an' can't git no nature fo' no othah woman, den he takes an' gits him a bottle of Hearts Cologne. An' when he gits dat bottle of Hearts Cologne, he'll go to where dere's anothah woman dat's havin' her periods. An' he take dat Hearts Cologne an' he - aftah de cloth is dried hard, he take dat dere Hearts Cologne an' put it on dere, an' git it dissolved good an' squeeze it out. An' he takes dat den, dat solution, an' bathe himself with it.
(Bathe his tool?)
Yessuh, an' dat gives him a nature fo' anothah woman. Dat's whut ah heard.
Entry 10221
Boil a cicada in lard and grease man's tool with it to cure a spell of im- potence. [The magic here is probably be- cause the insect sings, then comes out of a hard shell it leaves behind; a symbol of escape, new life and singing with joy!]
Entry 10229
Like you havin' to do with 'er an' she'll take a dishcloth an' she'll wipe you with de dishcloth. An' she'll take dat dishcloth an' she'll care it an' put it under her bed or under her pillah, see, an' yo' couldn't mess with a yoman to save your life. If dat man [or you] got sense now, he kin git rid of dat. Why, he go, if he wan'a git rid of it, he'll go an' steal...or yo' go [to] somebody house an' yo' steal de dishcloth, see. You go [got to] have sumpin to do with her, or any other woman, an' you'll wipe with dat dishcloth. An' yo' take dat dishcloth an' fold it right tight. An' he kin wear it with him or put it somewhere where nobody but him can reach it but him. An' she can't do nuthin with nobody but you.
Entry 10261
If a woman have tricked him where he can't do business, well every morning he take dat. Take some milk an' put it in de pan an' bathe down wit it; an' throw it toward de risin' sun, every morning fo' nine mornings. [I had stopped machine but restarted it to include informant's use of the word courage.]
(What will that do then? That will restore his courage?)
Yes, restore his courage. [Stop machine.]
[Start machine again to pick up another addition.]
(You say bathe down.)
Entry 10263
(What can he do for that?) Well, he kin go to take black mo- lasses syrup an' eat it, eat it fo' about nine days. Dat will kill ever' bit of it [impotence].
Entry 10271
If a person got chew fixed so yo' ain't got no manhood wit chureself, yo' jes' go an' make water into a red ant's nest. It will freshen right up ag'in. Ah've lost mah nature mah- self dat way an' ah've gained it back dat way. Dat's true about dat. [For ants see Nos.3111-3112, p.2342, v.3.]
Entry 10558
If yo' wus in business or yo're goin' tuh start busi- ness, sompin lak dat, say yo' go to work an' kill a - yo' know dese bullbats fly around, dese little bats - say yo' kill de bat, chew know. It supposed to be a hard thing tuh kill - 'cause ah've shot at dem lotsa times mahself, but chew kin kill 'em. An' after yo' kill 'em an' dey falis, yo' ketch 'em whilst dey a - yo' nevah don't hit 'em, yo' jest shoot through de wing of 'em yo' know. An' den yo' take 'em an' cut 'em open. Ketch 'em whilst dey 'live an' git de heart out of 'em, an' sew it up in a piece of cloth yo' know. But ah think yo' have to let, yo know, let it cure a little bit. Den sew it up an' keep it in yore pocket. Dey tell me dat's de best luck fo' [any] business ever wus.
Entry 10584
Ah hear a real gambler say if yo' wants be real lucky in gamblin', kill yo' one of dese leather-wing bats an' cut de heart out of 'em, an' lay it up until it git good an' seasoned. An' go an' buy yo' a piece of pure red silk cloth an' sew it up in dat, an' keep it in yore pocket an' go to yore game. Nobody can't hardly ketch yo'. Fact [in fact] ah have seen dat tried.
Entry 10754
(Tell me about that ministratin' again. What do you do with it?)
Yo' kin take an' throw it in runnin' watah.
(A woman's menstruate?) [They have me turning a verb into a noun!]
Yessuh, yo' throw it in runnin' watah an' dat'll run her crazy. She'll be crazy bad. Nobody'll take dat off her, not lessen' dey'll take it [upon self] chew know. [Only a skilled rootman or hoodoo. A doc- tor could absorb such a dangerous condition into his own body!]
Entry 10932
Yo' takes a person dat's heavy drinker. Yo' git chew a live catfish- alive, any kinda fish. It don' have tuh be no special kind of fish. Yo' cut de tail off an' yo' ketch some of dat- jes' ketch three drops of that blood, an' yo' put dat blood into dat. Yo' git some likker, whatsomevah likker dey likes, an' put dat blood in dere an' give it to 'em to drink. He goin' drink it. [Catfish blood to cure alcoholism is a common belief along the Mississippi River from Memphis down through New Orleans. For cat fish blood and alcohol, see also Nos.7000-7007, p.3156-3158, v.4.]
Entry 10933
Like a man is a heavy drinker. You go to the river and catch you a catfish and git home with him as quick as you can, before he dies. Now, buy gin, wine - whaever he drinks. And take a knife and put it in that catfish's tail and hold him up and let three drops of blood drop in that whiskey or wine, whatever you [he] drink. And shake it up and put there for you [him] when you [he] come. Now when you drink this, it's goin' to make you sick. It make yo' so sick it'll almost kill yo'. And it'll give yo' no more taste for liquor.
Entry 11138
They put cow manure in your tea and it will make you love 'em. Like you have your wife and she can't [stay home and is running around] you kin use cow manure and it will make her stay with you, love you more. [The theory here is that someone has bewitched her, manure is a cure.]
(I see.)
Entry 11147
I've heard tha' choo kin remove the sty from yo' eye. Go to the crossroad and take that dirt at the crossroad and rub on your eye and say: Sty, sty, leave my eye. [Had this been any ordinary cure from folk medicine I would have omitted it, but here vas something special. It does not appear in Folklore from Adams County, Illin- Ois, 2nd ed., though there a sty cure where 3 roads meet (No.5499) and a cross- roads cure (No.5500). Does this rite go back to executions at the crossroads? A shrine? The ancient spirit of the crossroad?]
Entry 11233
Well, de fact of it is, I know dat you kin take a dishrag, you see, and let a person hit chew in de face with dat dishrag on dat eye - got sompin on it [dishrag not clean, but got sompin on it]. Say dat'll move dat sty off. But I don't know, I never tried it. (I see, but they say it can be done?) Oh, sure. I've seen it did all right enough.
Entry 11304
Dey use hair offa a dog fo' whut ah heard. Ah heard that if a person git a nail stuck in dey feet an' yo' shave de dog an' put de hair on dere, it's good fo' de poison. But fo' anything else ah haven't heard. [Read poison or hoodoo poison? The problem here is did you step on the nail accidentally or did someone cunjure the wound upon you - make you step on nail?]
Entry 11350
Ketch a eelfish an' scrape dat slime offa him into a cup an' po' dat whiskey on it an' let it set twelve hours an' strain it off, an' give it tuh him tuh drink. (That will stop him from drinking.) [This cure is known everywhere.]
Entry 11834
Gum tree will 'rest [arrest] any kind of a earthly worm poison. If yo' kin git de gum tree buds, dat's de very cure fo' any kind of earthly worm bite, but ah nevah heard of it doin' anything fo' anyone else.
(You mean if a person has worms in their [his] body?)
Yes.
(It will get the worms out?)
It will git de worms. [This is the sweet gum, a North American tree (Liguid- ambar styraciflua) palmately lobed leaves, corky branches, hard wood, and beau- tiful autumnal foilage. Since the bark more or less resembled alligator hide, this plant was called the alligator tree in the southern states. Several exam- ples of this usage have already been given in HOODOO. The old-time root doctor used many cures of this type.]
Entry 12305
There was a girl, that I heerd [about], she was poison by a leeper [leopard] [her skin was spotted like a leopard's] an' she went to de fortune- teller an' she got some lepeer' skin an' keep it aroun' her body an' that cured her. ["Like cures like!" What did this patient wear? Perhaps a piece of polka-dot cloth worn as a waistband. Remem- ber always, we do not know whether there was a cure. I almost forgot. This is Dy original pencil transcription, now attached to the final manuscript. Here are two more original comments written at the time: "Retranscribe before using' and "the person who poisoned her got the poison from another fortuneteller!!!]
Entry 12563
Under your foot track - just like people come along and say that they could hurt you by your foot track. But they couldn't hurt you by a foot track, but I tell you what they could do. They could take some dirt coming from your shoes: just like if you had a hole in your shoe like that [dirt would get into shoe through hole in shoe]. And your foot track they Would probably pick up [in that way]. And after [hole in shoe] picking it up, they could take that dust, what come from your shoes. And they could shake it, put it in a box with some of these here pigeon eggs, and beat it up like that. Anywhere you bury that, you have to leave town [be- cause pigeon flies!]. And anytime you couldn't stay nowhere, couldn't never come back into the place where you was. (You mean the dirt from your shoe, any of the dirt that sticks to the bottom of your shoes? What about that hole in your shoes?) Just like - you see, where I Was, this feet chere, how it was. How this feet chere of mine was [he evidently demonstrates foot or feet]. Well, then, gettin' a remedy for that? [Here is how it happened.] I walked out one morning and it had some kind of yellowish-looking stuff on the steps. But I didn't paid attention and I walked on out of there, going to my work. Well, it was in the summertime and it was right warm. Well, I had some shoes that cut, you know, like this [demonstrates].
(Had holes in the bottoms of them?)
Yes, sir. Well, then, what made me heed them then was my heel started to hurt. I comes on back. Well, that heel of mine was about that big [demon- strates]. So they carried me and they got some of this sugar, this white granulated sugar, and got some of this Palm of Christiandom.
(Palm of what?)
Palm of Christiandom. (Palm of Christian?) [I am not correcting informant but commenting for the future. Besides, the words are Palma Christi "hand of Christ, " the castor-oil plant.] Palm of Christian, yes. You get that anywhere through the country. And they takes that and they put that on, in hot water, just as hot as I could bear it. Then after that they take some cayenne pepper and put it there and they soak it. Then they take, after that - don't never wipe it off - you just take it and let your feet hangs over the water like that, and drain until it dries. Then you take some of the "Pp" oil.
(PP. Two "P's.")
Yeah, PP oil. Get it in the drug store. You take that PP Oil and you just take it like that, with a piece of cotton, you know, and 'noint it. But always 'noint it going down.
(Why?)
Well, that's to draw out all the swelling and all the pain leaves - whatever. You have to rub it like that. [Informant either did not know or did not under- stand my question. You rub downwards to drive pain or any crunjure out through the feet. Many examples of this occur in HOODOO, see No.981, p.377, vol.1.] Well, the swelling before I ever knowed, well they had all the - I'll just lift it up here. They had all this here and all down here. [Informant demonstrates all this.] And they told me how to use it. Well, I got relief of that.
(What did it do to make your ankle swollen that way?)
Well, I walked in some yellowish-looking powder.
(Oh, I see.)
That's where it came from. And it was somepin that makes your ankle itch, you see; and you scratches it, you know.
Entry 12736
Well yo' know dese little rats [mice?] be's in de house. Well, yo' git one of dose an' buy yo' some mo' whiskey, see. Jes' git half a pint or a pint, but put it in jah where yo' kin put dat rat in it, see. Put him in dere 'live an' shet it down an' set it in a cornah till dat rat drown, see. An' yo' git all his strength in dat whiskey. Yo' take dat rat out an' throw him away or eithah barn him up in de fireplace. It would be best fo' yo' tuh burn him up, see. Den yo' take dat whiskey - don't strain it or nuthin, jes' put it back in a pint bottle, see. See, jes' lak yo' ole lady come in, see, an' she wanta drink, she say, "Well, yo' know ah so wished ah had a drink." Yo' say, "Ah think d've got a little drink." Yo' still continually give her a drink out of dat. Hit'll make hah sick but when she git bettah of dat sickness, she won't nevah Ak anothah drink of whiskey.
Entry 12769
(What do they do with that if they get hold of your blood?)
Dey kin git a hold of yo' blood an' have yo' kind of paralyzed; or have your blood stuffed, by taking it an' putting it in a certain place. An' yo'll have to use prickle feet an' bloodroot an' blackroot to run dat bad blood back, an' to run dat evil blood what de [they] wanna put dat stuff in. (What do they do with your blood, if they get hold of it?) Oh, dey cud take dat blood an' have silver plate put in it [put your blood in a silver plate]. By dat's chure blood an' yo' drawin' out de silver plate, an' yo'll have someone near, close to yuh, to give dat blood back to yuh, after yo' done draws it wit de silver plate. To have plates to be drawin' in yo', some of yo' close relatives.
(How can you get that blood back in you, then?)
They drink it. (And how do you fix these plates up to get that bad blood out of you again? How do you fix those roots up?) Well, you take de prickle feet an' yo' set it in whiskey. Yo' take de blood- root an' yo' set 'at in whiskey - right on de prickle feets. Yo' set de black- snake root right on de prickles feet root, an' drink it three spoonful a day.
(That gets the bad blood out of you?)
Take de bad blood out. (Well this fellow that gets your blood, what does he do to make it bad blood?) Set it in a silver plate. After he set it in de silver plate, de blood draws in de silver plate. Den he begin to scrape. Put hot water on dere, a little water, an' it draws dat back an' it start back to yuh by some kind of drink yo' use. Yo' best friend will give you dat. He cannot give it to yo', 'cause he cannot git to yuh. After he git dis blood, he'll have to git someone else to git to yuh.
Entry 12896
Now, if you want to divorce her - if you want to break this up - if you get on to [suspect] her - you are suspicious. [If you suspect she had you tied up, has made you sexually impotent.] Jis' go on, put you on you some clean socks, walk on to a beer joint - some place. (To a beer joint?) Yeah. Get you a bottle of beer and go on walking. Walk far enough where you begin to perspire and when your feet get hot and you perspire, stop and sit down. Take the left shoe off. Pour this bottle of beer in that left shoe. Drink the beer out of the shoe instead of the bottle. Close the bottle. Stand this way [demonstrates] and turn your hands [this way] and throw it [bottle] straight out in front of you, with your wish [that your impotence leaves]. It [potency] comes back again.
(I see.)
Yes, all the affection is taken away from her. (I see. Take this beer bottle in the left hand, then, you bring it around to the back of your neck.) Yes, that's right. And take that [bottle] in your right hand and throw right directly in front of you.)
(I see. And that breaks the spell of that string around her waist.)
Sure. Yes, sir. [My preceding comment is a good example of my using in- formation informant had given before researching began. Woman had "tied him up by measuring him with a string and tying it about her waist.]
(It should do it?)
Sure. I've seen it do it.
(I see, I see.) [The wish is the power!]