Subject:Epsom
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Entry 2770
An' then der'e's somethin' else dat chew kin do if you wanta move 'em from dere - to make trouble fo' dem - is dis. You git their name, you under- stan', an' de lan'lord's name, an' you write it back- wards nine times. You understan' dat. (You write this person's name - that is in the house - you write his name backwards nine times. And you get the landlord's name and write his name backwards nine times.) On top. An' then you say, you do it this way, "Son-of-bitch, ah want chew tuh vacate" - whichevah way it is. You understan', you git very angry. You don't have the good spirit with you, you'd have the mean one with you. All right. Well, you do that nine times an' you git double-strength war watah - double- strength war watah you understan', an' you git wal-wal powder. [For War Water, see p.663.] You understan' dat. You git cayenne red peppah, an' you git black peppah, but it has tuh all be fresh. You git Epsom salts an' you git soda. An' den you put these ingrediments into a bottle, de amount dat chew kin git it into, an' remember wit dat yo're not pleased, lak you talkin' to me, listenin' an' shakin' - yo're very angry, you see. You want them tuh git out an' you tell 'em that they must, an' the whole while dat chure doin' that you concentrate wit that mean spirit that chew want them tuh git out. Then you mix the ingrediments to- gether an' you shake it an' you say the same thing an' as often as you shake it, an' you tell 'em, "You must go, you shall an' you must," an' you stomp, an' den you roll it [bottle] an' you put it down. You roll it down [under your foot]. Dat puts 'em undah yore feet, you see. An' if yo evah work wit lights, yo' work wit lights.
(What do you do with this bottle now?)
Yo' keep dis bottle, yo' understand. Yo' see, yo' shake it as often as yo' kin an' den yo' use lights if yo' want 'em tuh go quick, if yo' evah use lights. You wash yore han's. Dat's devil work you doin'. All right. You see, you understan'.
(Well, what do you do with that bottle then?)
Listen, if you kin git anywheres tuh throw it - you git chureself some rattle- snake dust. You know whut that is - rattlesnake dust. Graveyard dirt, you know whut dat is. An' you mix it in dat ingrediment, you understan', an' you sprinkle it with that cayenne peppah, an' at de same time you throw it, 'Son-of-bitch, yo must vacate." But throw it wit a mean spirit. An' if you kin git aroun', you keep it sprinkle. An' dat wal-wal powder is shure tuh make 'em move, as ah set in dis chair. Yo' see. (After you get all these things in this bottle, you throw the bottle at their house?) No, nol You don't throw that bottle at their house, you keep that bottle. No, nol You kin bury that bottle, if you wanta. Co'se it'll take a little time. You kin hasten it if yo've got a place dat chew kin burn dese lights. But be shure that chew don't burn the lights in yore home. You know dat's de devil, don't chew? You know each one of the ingrediment don't mean anything good. All right. Now, if you wanta use the light - if you would wanta use the light, you go to de graveyard. All right. You gits de graveyard dirt, a lump. Understan' dat. You gits de Epsom salts. Yo' gits de cayenne peppah. Yo' git the black peppah. You git the salt. Yo' understan' that. You git chureself St. Michael - yo' understan', his picture. An' de red lights. You write dere name de same way in puttin' dat down. You understan'. You use the nine lights, you know whut time tuh use it - at midnight, while de spirit is 'sleep, you ketch it, an' you do it for nine, an' then you repeats, you see, until it do. But it guaranteed tuh do it. See.
(You burn this thing in front of St. Michael's picture?)
Listen. Take St. Michael's picture an' you put it in de east corner an' call it, you understan'. An' you put chure light down but don't put it out underneath dere. He'll do yore work quicker, you understan'. An' yo'll keep him there an' yo'll burn it fo' twelve - you understan', every half hour. You see. An' you wanta draw him? All right. You git chew parchment papah. You under- stan' dat you please - you see, you want a sweet spirit [therefore you use parch- ment paper]. One, two, three (knocking). [Parenthesis is by transcriber because 3 knocks can be heard.j You call him. He'll come. He's lookin'. "Why did joo leave her? Whut did she do? Why don't chew come back?" [You knock for the spirit again.] One, two, three. He's lookin' agin, an' you tell him, "Now, ah Wants you James, tuh come back to me, Louella. James come back to Louella, James come back to Louella, James come back to Louella." Yo' continue an' yo' knock. Well now, you got his spirit to yo' into that house, fo' with papah yo' write on goin' dat way, yo' have goodness into you, an' while you writin' his name you tell him, "Ah want chew tuh come back to Louella. Ah want chew tuh come back to Louella. Ah want chew tuh come back to Louella." Whatevah name that is. See? Now, you git chew nine lumps of sugah - you know dat lump sugah. All right, you git chure money. All right, yo' git chure drawin' oil. All right, yo' git chure mind on him an' yo' git chew steel dust. You understan' dat. You git chew pink lights, cinnamon - you work wit pink. First you use yore lights. Dat is to make peace. Now, maybe he's all you have left in de worl'. Den, you understan', dat white [not pink] light is fo' peace. Den yo' use yore pink. Yo' understan'. Well, ah mostly use mine an' git results through de Sacred Heart of Jesus. He first united you together an' you use Him as a patron saint an' ask Him. Den you take St. Anthony an' you give him de brown lights, an' he brings him back. Den there's anothah remedy you wanta have. Co'se ah dunno if you would wanta give it tuh her. You know whut ah mean. You would like tuh keep it or you could give it to her, you see, tuh make money, because when dey git wise to yore reme- dies, yo cain't do anything. You git chew a choice apple, you understan' whut that is, an' you do de same thing. You know de remedies dat ah tole you into this, an' you put it into that apple, an' de same way yo'll dress that apple - you really dresses it. You kin git holy water an' you bless it wit chure Our Father ovah it. Den you wipe it [apple] with yore holy watah an' you cores dat apple an' you use the names an' you talk to him while yo're doin' it. Den yo' put the ingrediments - de same - you remembah de same ingrediments dat ah tole you dat chew do. An' you want him tuh reason with her in dis remedy an' you take nine raisins [because the English word raisin looks and sounds something like French word raison meaning reason]. You know whut that is, an' you put it into that. Well, you put that ingrediment in there - all de ingrediments dat ah told you to. An' you git chew first a white light, an' you light 'em into that. An' den you burn one pink light an' in burnin' it you put his name on each one of the pink lights an' hers on de top. Yo' first wipe it [apple] off undah yore faucet. Yo' don't know whut han' an' yo' don't know whut crossin' has been on it, an' yo wipe it dry an' yo' bless it wit chure holy watah. Den you take an' shet it up an' you stan' it up an' you wipe that off on a clean piece of papah, but you use parchment papah with their names. Yo' understan' that. An' yo' dress it - you dress it with that mind oil - dat's to keep his mind to 'em. An' dat dryin' oil, you put that on dere. You see, when you dressin' that mind oil, you put that steel dust - everything is tuh draw him. An' yo'll burn [one candle] one time into de apple. When that one light - that's the name on de light, it isn't lak ah told chew. Then you shet chure apple up, an' if it's de 23rd of that, you dress it every 23rd an' it don't bring him dere, he won't be brought back. Ah'm tellin' yo' remedies that ah used an' that have helped an' de lady dat recommend me, know that these things are really good because ah have been with her an' he'ped her in some things.
Entry 8627
Yo' kin take an' break anybody up if it's a woman or a man, if yo' wants tuh break 'em up. Yo' take an' yo' write dere name down nine times wit indelible pencil, but chew make nine strips, an' as yo put one strip - yo put one strip straight an' yo' put one strip across. See, lak dat [demonstrates]. Yo' git chew some gunpowder, Epsom salts, some cayenne peppah an' some vinegar an' yo' puts dat in dat lemon. Yo' bo's [bores] a hole in de lemon an' yo' stick dat name down in dere an' po' all dat ingredient on top of it. But yo' have dem papahs crossed. Po' [pour] all dat ingredient on top of dat. When yo' po' it on top of dat, yo' git chew a cork stoppah an' yo' put it on dere. An' den yo' take dat piece of skin, de top skin, dat chew cuts back [end of lemon cut back as lid], an' yo' takes an' yo' sew it wit some black thread, an' yo' buries dat to de sunrise. Dat make confusion within de hour. (Now, the name is written once on nine different strips of paper. The name is written like John Edwards, just as we would write our name?) Yessuh.
(And you write this with just ordinary pencil?)
Yo' write dat wit indelible pencil.
Entry 13422
[To make people] get out of a house, you have to use war water, dirt dauber nest, Epsom salts and oil of lavender.
(Oil of lavender?)
Yes. [Long pause.]
(Yes?) [Continue.]
And yo' pound it all together like a flour, and you'll sprinkle it at the front door and in the gate. (In what?) You sprinkle it at the front door and in the gate. (And the gate. All right.) That would upstir the mind of a person. Just like Epsom salts works your bowels, so it would work in among them people. War water makes them restless in that place. You see.
(Yes.)
Oil of lavender will get their mind.
(Those are herbs?)
Yeah.
(Now, what will the oil of lavender do?)
The oil of lavender it'll soften him - the inner, the inner man, the spirit- ual part of that person. That you could - you would have to go. You would slide or either you would be run off. You may put oil into anything to slip [away] - you run off from that person. You understand.
(Now, what else did you put into that thing?)
Dirt dauber nest.
(What would that do?)
Dirt dauber nest is a part of ground.
(Yes?)
It may be made with lime, but you kin put that person to drift and you got nobody to...jis' like you see the dirt dauber goin' gnawin'-gnawin'. In certain places, that part of your track where you put it - where you would go, you could not stand.
(That would make me move out of that house?)
Yes, sir.
(What else did you put in that mixture?)
Epsom salt, oil of lavender, dirt dauber's nest, and war water.
(Anything else go in it?)
Yeah, you could put van-van in that, but if you put Van-van in there, you liable to put that person in trouble. They liable to get into the hand of the law.
(I see, I see.)
That only a part of making them move.
(I see. I understand.)
Entry 545
Now in case a man's child - somebody has caused a man's child to wander about from the house, won't stay home, yo'll see the 'fect of it aroun' de fire- place. Dere'll come a drove of ants, black antses, all on de mantelpiece comin' in droves, some goin' an' some comin', an' will cross each othah this way, cross each othah goin' to an' fro. Well, people have oftentime wondered whut does that mean. Yore child will wander aroun' an' can't stay home. Well, now there's remedy fo' that. The remedy is, if yo' would like to heah it, take some salt - Epsom salts, some quinine an' black peppah an' mix it together three days continuous, an' sprinkle it all on de edge of de mantelpiece all aroun' it an' those antses will leave. Any child mind will become settled.
(Well, why are those ants there? Have you any idea?)
Well, it's a sign your child's mind is not right - it is unsettled. Where dey come from ah don't know, but dey will cease to come.
(Well, what causes that? Somebody has done something to the child?)
Somebody have done something to de child to cause de child not to stay home an' aggravate de parents, keep de parents confused an' dey don't know whut's de matter with de child. He will come home an' his mind become settled fo' a while. Event'lv de chile go clean off an' won't stay at home none at all - dat's a sign of dat.
Entry 884
My great-grandmother was poisoned in some cabbages by one of her friends an' she gave her the cabbage to eat an' she ate it an' soon after she ate 'em she was swollen all up her feet clean in her hips. An' one of her friends went to see her an' she looked at her an' said she thought she was hurt - in fact this friend knew she was hurt an' she told her she's gon'a get a doctor, a root doctor, to do her some good. So she went to get the doctor an' when she got there he was so busy 'tending to somebody else he jes' told her whut to do for her. He told her to take lysol an' bathe in it in hot water all over an' take a dose of vinegar an' Epsom salt - make a dose of that together. She took it an' when it worked through her little green things come right out of her.
Entry 6957
Tuh kill it an' tuh move it from yo', yo' would use sulphur, cream of tartar an' salt - Epsom salts. Dat will remove it outa yo' becuz it will kill it.
Entry 7207
Yo' kin take a sock.
(Take a what?)
Take one yuh socks an' now, what dey put in dat sock, now ah couldn't tell yuh. Take one of dose socks an' pin it. Ah know personally dis wuz done becuz it wuz quite natchel, yo' know, ah had a brothah a [that way], yo' undahstan'. Ah'm explain' tuh yuh good. He had a vein, a open vein, here, along here, along here an' right up dere [demonstrates]. [He was] hurt [tricked], yo' see. Dat's called swollen veins. (What kind of veins, swollen?) Swollen veins. Undahstan'? Well, yo' take dat sock. An' now, whut yo' put it in [in it], ah couldn't tell yo'. Dey put it - but take one of yuh socks. It wuz a black sock ah had, black silk sock. Mah sistah bring- ed it up chere. Ah wuz down dere two yeahs ago. Ah wuz down dere in '36. Well, ah'm gittin' it straight now. Dat yeah, dat's about right, ah wuz down dere in '36. We found dat sock, las' yeah: was '37, round, oh ah'd say round about de 20th of July, an' dat sock had - ah couldn't even lay on dat pillah [pillow]. Yo' undahstan', if yo' lay on dat pillah it hurt yuh haid, but now aftah - if yo'laid on it, an' den if yo' lak dat, if yo' don' git dat cured, yo' stay lak dat. One mawnin', see, when she found dat sock, it wuz balled up wit de feathahs in it. But whut wuz in dat sock wit dose feathahs, we couldn't tell, yo' know. It's quite natchel dat yo'd be scared. Cuz it only cost me $50 tuh git rid of dat. Well, now, ah tell yo' what she [doctor] did tuh git rid of dat. Ah went tuh a lady, undahstan'. She told me, say, "Ah'll cure yo'." An' told me where ah goes. Told me ah wuz hurt an' ah cain't stand tuh drink whiskey long, account dat vein bein' swollen, yo' undahstan' [demonstrates].
(This vein runs right?)
Straight through me.
(Right straight along your back, that swollen vein?)
Yes, sir. An' ah went tuh dis lady, see, an' she tole me, say, "He's got a thing hid." Told me jis' lak whut it wus lak. She live on 923 [Something Street]. Ah'm try- in' tuh think of de name. Yo' kin put dat down, two diff'ren' things. But any- way, nevah mind about dat.
(Oh, that's all right.)
An' she commence right here an' measured dat place right here, right dere [demonstrates]. She say, "Dere's a knot dere."
(Right here, where?)
Dere's a knot or somepin. Well, she massaged dat knot an' rubbed it an' she tell me, say, "Yo' go home an' go tuh de druggist." Now, listen good. "Go tuh de druggist an' git a bottle of household - do yo' heah dat?"
(Yes.)
Household ammonia.
(Household ammonia.)
Household ammonia. You git a box of Epsom salts. Yo' git chew dat much salt- petah. Yo' won't want make too much. Dat much saltpetah. Yo' put dat in yuh bath watah. Don't put no salt in it - ah mean not salt, don't put no soap in it. But aftah dat, dat cleah ammonia. Dat's all. Jis' lak in place of puttin' soap in it, put dat household ammonia in dere an' dat saltpetah an' de Epsom salts in dis watah. An' takes yuh bath in it. Nine nights do dat.
(Nine nights?)
Nine nights an' throw de water tuh wherevah de sun risin' at. An' it'll soor cure yo' of de trouble. Well, dat's whut ah did. Well, it cured me.
(That's what cured you?)
It cured me. Now, here's de way. Now, ah'll take, jis' lak, yo' got tuh start it. It deal wit pain [demonstrates].
(Right from the top of your head.)
See dat li'le knot dere, see dat knot dere. It's a pain right dere. Well, now, yo' jis' put dat [mixture] on. It'll move from dere, start from right dere tuh here [demonstrates]. (It'll move from the top of your head down to the bottom - the back of your neck.) Back tuh dis here [demonstrates]. Dat narrah [narrow] eyeball bone.
(The pain is right behind the eyeball?)
Eyeball. Leads from dis eye right chere, right chere. Here's de othah. An' right along dere it's knots be showin' dere, an' it feels though dere's somepin inside. Some knots showin' dere. Well, dis lady tole me dat it wuz done through whiskey. Say, "But chew looks an' yo' will find it in yuh mattress," she say. But it wusn't in no mattress. It wuz in a feathah pillah; an' yo' would find vhutevah it is in dere. It wuz wrapped up. An' she tole me when ah find it, burn it up. Well, dat's quite nachel, 'cuz ah did dat, see. Ah burned it up in de fiah. Well, now, mah sistah, yo' see, when she slept on dis pillah, it burt 'er haid so dat she'd move dat pillah. But it wasn't fo' her, it wuz fixed fo' me. Whut fer? Yo' see some people wanta hurt me. An' ah wanta explain dis sah way, 'cuz yo' know ah nevah done used explainin'. An' ah, ah'se jes' explain zahself.
Entry 8511
(What do you do with that graveyard dust?)
Well, yo' take graveyard dust an' put it wit - tuh break up a woman an' a man.
[Long pause by informant.]
(How would they handle that? How would they use that?)
Well, dey take de graveyard dust an' steel dust an' guinea seeds an' war wa- tah, an' put it intuh a coconut, yo' see, an' red peppah, cayenne peppah, Epsom salts an' bittah apple an' bury it. An' yo' see, dat cuz a 'sturbance. Den dey writes de man's name an' de woman's name nine times an' dat break 'em up, cuz dem tuh make terrible 'sturbance. An' dat cuz dem tuh break up, see. (Where do they bury this?) Well, dey bury it undah de porch - bury it in de ground, bury it in de ground. [For preceding guinea seeds, see long margin title GUINEA SEEDS... GRAINS OF PARADISE, p.57Of. Red pepper in present margin title could be a repetition for preceding cayenne pepper, but more likely it means a piece of hot red-pepper pod. The preceding bitter apple - also called bitter cucunber and bitter gourd - is the colocynth (Citrullis colocynthis), a Medi- terranean and African vine related to the watermelon.]
Entry 8631
All right. Yo' take dere names an' git chew a aig [means lemon] an write it [name] down nine times on some brown papah. an' yo' take dat an' yo put some steel dust in it, yo' put some cayenne peppah, Epsom salts. Yo' take dat lemon an' yo' sew it up wit black thread, an' yo' bury it where dey have mud at to- Wards de sunrise. Dat's tuh make 'em git out de house. (You put this all in the lemon?) Yassuh, all into a lemon.