Subject:Fire
Entries
Entry 3877
Ah heard of people takin' women's monthlies an' hide it - put it in a tree an' smoke.
(How do you mean smoke it?)
Well, dey build a fiah up undah it an' leave it stay dere. Well, de fiah gotta go out, but den ag'in dat'll kill de tree, an' den it will kill de person. (Where do they put that cloth?) Put it in de hollow of a tree, see. Dey put dat cloth in dere an' when dat rottens, it rotten de tree an' dey rots down an' dey dies.
(How do they smoke it?)
Well, dey smoked it first fo' a purpose.
Entry 5184
If she's away from me and I want to bring her back, I'll get nine old shoes, burn one each night at midnight with [nine] ingredients: egg shell, sul- phur, ashes, salt, pepper, alum, saltpeter, cloves, ginger, and walk around this fire and say, Send me my wife, sister or friend or whatever it is, back. And the ninth morning take this ashes, all from the whole nine mornings, and throw the ashes toward the direction the person is. You must have the wind blowing that direction. [The wind blowing the right direction on the 9th morning could make this a difficult rite.]
Entry 5486
Ah heard 'em say, jis' lak if dey wanta run a person away, git a li'le of de dirt out dey right feet track an' put it in a gunpowder shell - put a li'le bit in de shell. Take de li'le shots out an' put a li'le bit of dat in dere an' put de li'le shots back in, an' shoot it in de way yo' want 'em tuh go. Say dat will jis' keep 'em goin'.
Entry 5487
Take a shell. Yo' kin take dat shell an' yo' kin empty de shell, an' yo' kin git a spoon or eithah jis' a little bit, jis' about as much as dat dere [demonstrates], of dirt outa man's track an' put it in dat shell. An' when yo' put it in dat shell, if yo' don't want 'em roun' heah, yo' git right tuhwards sundown an' yo' fire dat gun. An' he'll nevah come nowhere roun' yo', nevah be roun' yo' no mo'. Won't have no mo' trouble wit 'em.
Entry 5930
Yo' take a man if 'is wife quit 'im. See. He kin take piece of 'er hair, git it out de lef' side. Cut a piece off if she got long hair, cut a piece off her plait if she sleep at night - any time he kin git it. He could plant dat piece of hair, see. She ain't gwine 'way. If she in Chicago, she comin' back. Plant dat hair - plant it in 'er house or out do's. Yo' kin plant it in de house wit 'er wall - lak a mantelpiece roun' where dey put de foundation of concrete. Take yo' some cement an' take a little augah an' put dat piece of hair down an' plastah it undah dere. Dat's yore own busi- ness. An' she gonna come dere. Ah don't [care] wherevah she goes, she comin back dere. An' dey do de men in de same way, but if he leaves de house, den yo' write his name or 'er name down on a papah, an' yo' kin put it in a lamp, or put it amdah de candle. Burn it. Dat brings deyself. An' now ah don' care how much dey fussin' in a house or whut dey doin' or how mch dey cut up, take some table salt, jis' de plain table salt, an' throw it on de fiah an' burn it. Dat breaks dat - do's it right now. Ah kin throw it right at 'em - dat ceased. Dey don' have tuh go on fussin'. Dat brings back love an' hy dat hair's planted. When she goes, she comin' back dere.
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 7235
Dat would be whut de root man, dis hoodoo doctor - dat would be whut he would do.
(What will he do? Will you tell me that again? What would he do?)
Now in case dat yo' wus hurted by anyone an' yo' would go tuh a root doctor. Well, dis doctor, he would draw dis pichure of de individual who did dat tuh yo' an' den, aftah dat, he would build a fire an' in front of de smoke, yo' see, he'll hold de pichure up yo' undahstan'. Put it, yo' know, on a stick or somepin an' den yo' shoot [the picture drawn by the root doctor].
(Who does the shooting, you or he?)
Yo' do it. Yo' will do it yuhself.
(That keeps away trouble.)
Entry 7722
Go tuh de cemetery an' make de changes wit de bo'ds out dere. Put three pennies intuh de groun', intuh de grave. Bring some of dat dirt back wit chew an' put some red peppah an' some cay- enne peppah in dere wit it, an' burn it intuh de fire, call- in'; In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, dat yo' may have luck in gainin' de influence of all of yore frien's. An' yo' will have luck.
(That is to get customers if you are bootlegging?)
Yes.
Entry 8054
Well, yo' take a bone, say dis wrist bone here [demonstrates].
(The left wrist.)
Yeah. Yo' take de left wrist. If it's a evil person, say like some fellahs ah might recite yuh [or their] name fast: "George Bohall," "Up-jump, de Devil" [etc.]. All dose fellahs had police records, bad. Dey got kilt, dey died bad. Dey had tuh hold 'em down. Well, yo' take his bone an' yo' would bring it ovah tuh de house, an' yo' have what yo' call de dead pot.
(Dead what?)
Have a little pot about dat high, what de women use fo' po'in' [pouring] on.
(For what?)
Fo' po'in' on, tuh keep dere comb warm when dey are straight'en' [straight- ening] women's hair. Well, dey got a small little pot lak dat. It's a little stove, yo' know.
(Yes.)
Well, yo' take dat bone from dat evil spirit [the spirit of the bad man killed] an' yo' take it dere, an' yo' git some good whiskey. Yo' know, an' if he died a drunk. Dose are people dat yo' know [about], yo' know where dey grave, buried at, an' yo' go tuh dat most pahticlah [particular] grave an' git dat bone. Yo' put dat on de fiah an' yo' boil dat. Now, yo' set three hick'ry sticks across dere an' yo' set dat right on top of dat bone. Aftah yo' set dat on dat bone, why yo' take whiskey an' yo' po' ovah 'im, po' ovah dat mos' pahticlah bone. An' aftah yo' po' it ovah 'im, yo' demand 'im tuh go an' kill So-an'-so-an'-so.
(I see.)
An' dey goes on an' yo' do's de work.
(I see.)
Or else, yo' wanta, say, run 'im ovahbo'd [make him jump overboard], let 'im, let a automobile run ovah 'im. Yo' always place him in a place dat he'll git kilt.
(I see. You cross those hickory sticks?)
Cross 'em across. (And then when you - this [I demonstrate] is your pot. Are the bones in the pot?) No, dat's what de sticks are dere fo'. Supposin' de pot about dis size [dem- onstrates]. Well, yo' place [demonstrates] one here, one dere, an' one here. An' den yo' place de bone right 'cross dere lak dat [demonstrates].
(Oh, across the sticks.)
Across de sticks. Dat is tuh [I interrupt]...
(Then what do you do with the pot?)
Well, yo' mos'ly use a li'le turpentine an' linseed oil in dat pot - turpen- tine an' linseed oil in dat pot. But yo' start yuh fiah slow, jis' so, so she [pot] make an ord'nary steam. Dat is tuh keep a certain pressure on 'im. Den yo' demand 'im wit controllin' powah, say, "Ah demand yo' wit controllin' powah tuh go ovah an' do such-an'-such a thing. Go ovah an' kill Such-an'-such a one." An' yo' [the spirit] must do so. (I see.) [New Orleans, La., (819), 1171:2.] [As we have seen, there are many substitutes for the human body: (l) anything that came from the body, such as blood, semen, urine, excrement, sweat, spit, hair, fingernails, toenails, and footskin; and (2) anything that has touched the body, especially clothes. In this division we shall examine three entities that are not a part of the body and yet preeminently represent it - photograph and name and letters and handwriting. Of these three, name already has occurred so many times in the preceding rites, I shall start here with photograph.]
Entry 8140
Take dey photograph an' git dis gunpowdah out of a shell, wit sulphuh an' salt, an' go out in de field or in de house, wherevah yo' want to. Co'se de gunpowdah makes sech a noise. Yo' kin put dis pichure face down on dis an' make a fiah undah it. (Face down on what?) On de fiah. See, yo' make a fiah an' den yo' put dis pichure face down on a piece of papah wit de gunpowdah an' sulphuh, an' salt an' graveyard dirt. Tell it dat, "Ah want chew tuh run dis person away. Ah want chew tuh kill 'em." But mos'ly tuh kill de person. When de fiah ketch on de pichure, it will kill de person.
Entry 8246
(If a man leaves his wife, how would she make him come back?) Make him come back?
(How would the woman make him come back?)
Well, dey kin go buy a box of salt an' take his pichure. Take dat pichure an' de box of salt an' put dat pichure head foremost - put de head down an' feet up - dat [feet] on top, de top of 'is feet in dere. See, dis side up. An' aftah it set in dere nine days, yo' take dat salt off. Take dat pichure, aftah he come - soon as he come home - take dat pichure an' put it up. If yo' wan' tuh make him come quick, take dat pichure an' put it in a li'le frame, an' put it close tuh de stove, an' keep a fiah in dat stove. An' den, if yo' want's it hot, den yo' sprinkle peppah on de bottom part of dat pichure. I heah sometime dey put....
Entry 8262
Ah heard dat if yo' wanted tuh kill a person wit dere photograph, yo' could take his photograph an' set it behin' a burnin' bush or a pile of bushes, an' shoot it wit a rifle or pistol or sompin of dat sort. (Set it behind what kind of a bush?) Behin' a briar pile of bushes. Builds up de fiah an' put de pichure ovah tuh de side of it an' shoot through de fiah. Dat will kill dem. (You build a fire with the bushes and then you put this picture near the side. Right on the side?) On de side an' shoot right through de fiah.
Entry 8263
If someone wanta give yo' real bad luck, says dey kin take - if dey got a grudge ag'inst chew - dat dey kin go an' git chure pichure an' take dis pichure an' build a fiah, an' set de pichure behin' de fiah. Dat's [demonstrates] de pichure an' heah's de fiah. Dat's de pi- chure. Set it off lak dat. Yo' git ovah heah. Yo' [they] take a gun an' dey shoot through dis pichure, through dis fiah an' hit de pichure. Take a shotgun, scattah shots. An' shoot through de fiah an' shoot a hole through dis pichure. Well, when dey shoots a hole through dis picture, dey says den, dat gives yo' bad luck. It'll take dat - on dat time in evah yeah an' evah month, on dat day, yo'll have pains. Whatevah day of de month it was, dey say yo'll have pains, sharp pains jis' lak if yo' were shot. (Now this is the picture across the fire, and it is looking at you - face towards you?) Yes sir.
Entry 8264
Yo' take a photograph an' go in de woods tuh a tree, an' yo' jis' lay it up from de ground up side de tree. Yo' kin go dat high from de ground, eight feet high. Ah'd take a ten- penny nail an' drive dat through de forehead ontuh de tree. An' git choo some splintahs - fat-lighter [pine] splintahs [here, split pieces of wood, not small splinters] - some people call 'em torches - an' make a smoke right down here [at the bottom of the tree]. Jis' make a fiah, an' de smoke goes right straight on up [over the photo]. An' yo' git choo a shotgun an' go back about twenty-five or thirty feet from de tree, an' shoot right through that smoke at dat pitchure. Dey tell me dat'll kill yuh. [Large pieces of fat-lighter pine (several pines so called) were used at night as outdoor hand torches. This is described some- where in the text by a woman, from Orangeburg, S. Car., whose grandmother de- scribed a slave burial at night - a limited number of torches, no singing, etc.]
Entry 8549
A rock, not a brick, but a rock - yo' kin take a brick too, either one of 'em, so it's hard, sompin won't bust to pieces when one of 'em is throwed in de fire or in de stove, an' let it stay in dere. An' yo'll leave my house, yo' won't be there many days. Leave my house, love de town, an' yo' keep goin'. (That's all you do, just throw that rock or brick in the fire?) Just put it in de fire an' name it yo'. (Oh! Name it you.) Like your name is - name it yo' an' put it in de fire, an' let it stay in dere. An' yo'll leave an' yo' won't come back dere.
Entry 8852
Dey kin take yore handwritin' an' mess yo' up a great deal. An' maybe kin take yore handwritin' an' by takin' a glass an' holdin' ovah yore handwritin' like dat an' read yore writin' through a glass. An' aftah yo' read yore writin' through de glass - read down from about de second line - den cut de second line in a "v" shape an' throw it in de fire at sundown, an' dey say dat will give yo' a nervous feelin' in yore hand. (Like you would hold a mirror over this writing and you read that writing in the mirror. Read down to the second line. And then how do you cut that?)
[See my comment on word mirror at end of rite.]
Dat's right, cut it in a "v" shape.
(How do you mean cut it in a "v" shape?)
Jes' take a scissors. (Here's the letter now. [I hand my Numbers Book to informant.] Here, what would you do with that?) In a "v" shape...
(How do you mean you cut that in a "v" shape?)
Now, jes' lak dat's a line an' dat's a line an' dat's a line [informant is pointing to lines in Numbers Book]. Read tuh de third line an' den take a scis- sors an' cut a "v" shape in dat. (You cut a "v" out of it, make a hole like a "v". That's the little piece you throw into the fire?) Yes. [My word mirror in paragraph 2 was badly chosen, magnifying glass in the pre- ceding rite would have been much better; but best of all, the meaning here is surely an ordinary drinking glass. Few persons receiving letters and intending evil work with them had a magnifying glass handy. Quite different are these two glasses. Look through a magnifying glass and you see the real world enlarged; look through a cheap drinking glass, probably an ex-jelly glass in informant's case, and you behold a distorted world, the confused and unreal world of hoo- dooism. Understand, look through the mouth of the drinking glass and out through the bottom; use it as a magnifying glass. After three consecutive lines of the letter are read, a solid "v" shape is cut with two strokes of the scissors from the second line and dropped into a fire. This 'V' shape can be made on either edge or side of the page. Though informant says nothing, I suspect he did not touch the "v" with his hand, but clipped and carried it to the fire with the scissors. His own fingerprint Would not be burned. WHAT DOES OUR "v" SIGNIFY? First, since this trick produces a nervous feeling in yore hand, our 'v"', despite its solidity, symbolizes the Roman numeral V, the Arabic numeral 5, the 5 fingers of the hand. Second, our solid "v" is a triangle, showing that this rite works In the 3 Highest Names. True, the triangle should be equilaterial for the Trin- ity, but do not expect such theological accuracy of hoodoo. Three, our "v" as- sures Victory or success for the rite.]
Entry 8960
I have went to jail for fighting and lotsa time never stayed in no longer that then I could get word [to someone] which they got some dust they call this murlee dust.
(Morlee?)
[Name impossible to transcribe; probably a local hoodoo-store dust.]
Morlee dust, tell you. But the trouble [is] jis' lak if yo' happen to be fightin' somewhere an' go to jail. Take some of this Morlee dust an' yo' let your people bring you a shirt, and put it in that [shirt]. Yo' understand. (A clean shirt?) Yes, any kind you got, so long as you wears it - a brand-new shirt. And you put it [this dust] down in the lining of the sleeve or anywhere around the collar lak dat, about nine different places and you wear it. See. Yo' get it an' yo' put it on there when yo' going to court there. Yo' wants to be cut loose from that place. Well, yo' get a beef tongue. Let 'em get a beef tongue an' yo' put jes' as many needles in that beef tongue as yo' could. Set it in yore grate." Jes dig a hole down in de grate, if yo' have a grate. Take a brick out to put it [tongue] down in there.
(In your fireplace?)
Yes, sir. Then, when yo' going to court, when yo' walk in there, yo' have this shirt on with that stuff [in 9 places]; when yo' walk in an' enter into that place, where de lawyer done turn yo' over to be tried. He [is] talking With the jury, who are going to try yo'. He'll be pretty easy with yo'. If yo' got any jurymen on yore case or anything like that, first thing yo' know, yo' have this beef tongue [at home working for you] an' this beef tongue is by yore fire. Well, it be frying; yo' know, hot. Well, that make them needles get red hot an' they couldn't but just fine yo'. The judge do nuthin of de kind. They just have to turn yo' loose, let yo' out of dat jail. (In the jail you wore that shirt there, and at home someone is cooking the beef heart. Is it a beef heart or beef tongue?) Yes, the beef tongue. Get up in de mawnin' an' put [in tongue] as many needles as yo' can. De more needles yo' [can put in, the better]. An' yo' jis' stick the needles all down in it; yo' know, to de limit. An' yo' - if yo' have to, take up a brick - an' yo' put it down in de fire hearth an' put the brick back on. And the time when yo' going to court, light a fire in there. An' when that beef tongue commence to cooking like that, any, evahbody just as calm with yo' as evah. Couldn't find no evidence against [you] and won't find yo' guilty. All they could do, jis' [let] yo' loose without bail. An' they'll never come against yo' no more.
Entry 9139
Yo' kin say dat [see incantation later] whenevah yo's [you is] in trou- ble or anythin'. Now, lak yo' git in trouble or somepin, go befo' dat judge an' nobody be on yuh side, yo' know, tuh see dat chew come out. Yo' jis' take dat salt befo' - if yo' git out on bond, yo' know - befo' yo' go tuh co't. Yo' say, "Fo'sake [forsake] ebahbody in de worl' but me. In de Name of de Fathah an' de Son [an' de Holy Ghost], Who made us all." An' drop dat salt on de fiah. [A note of mine reads, "Light re- cording because informant had gone over to fireplace to demonstrate." I remember this young woman quite well. At one point she went hopping about the room with an imaginary broom sweeping someone into jail. This should be recorded some- where. Another note of mine on the original transcription reads, "For this com- plete salt rite, given by the same informant and used by a woman to draw some man to her, see No." (Missing). I just took time out to search for the missing reference and found it! No.2271, p.641-642, is quite a rite! Fortunately my comments were made several days after the original recording.]
Entry 9576
[If you] wan' 'em tuh move out sometime or don' wan'a be bothahed wit nobody dere in dat house, yo' - someone says tuh put red peppah in de fire an' burn it, an' throw salt ovah de flo', an' as dey walk out yo' sweep behin' 'em. Sweep it on out an' yo' won' be bothahed vit'em no mo'.
Entry 9577
Take yo' some peppah - ah mean red peppah - an' den yo'll fix it, yo' see, an' yo' go jes' lak yo' wan's tuh pay a visit ovah deah. Yo' go an' set down deah, see, an' pay a visit, an' den yo' have dat peppah in a lettah [enve- lope] or sompin an' make lak [pretend] yo' git some fiah or light off de stove. An' yo' take dat peppah an' throw it in dere - in dat stove yo' see. An' outside, as yo' come on de outside, well yo' put some of it right down on de stoop an' some salt. Salt an' peppah tuh- gethah sprinkle it on de stoop, right on de top, right on down tuh de groun' an' trall it on tuh de cornah [of the street].
(And that makes them move out of the house.)
An' den aftah yo' do dat clean tuh de cornah, jes' take whut chew have leaved [left] in yore han' - take it an' throw it dat way [demonstrates] tuhwards de side where de wind is blowin', an' dey'll shore move out in less dan...
Entry 9653
He say him an' 'is wife couldn't git along an' dey's fussin' an' fightin' all de time an' he wanted tuh leave huh. An' he say a man tole 'im tuh do dat an' she would leave.
(Tell me just what he did, now.)
Say, he tole me, git a teaspoon fulla black peppah an' a teaspoon fulla table slt an' mix it tuhgethah, an' throw it in de fiah three times an' leave dere. An' he [man supplying rite] say she would leave. An' he said he did it but she left.
(He did it three times in the same day?)
He done it fo' three days.
(Did he do it at any special time of the day?)
He tole 'im do it in de mawnin'.
Entry 9706
If yo' stayin' in a house an' de rent man wanta come dere tuh put chew oot an' yo' don' wanta git out, why yo' ain't gotta git out. Yo' kin fix a way tuh stay dere. Yo' kin go evah mawnin' jes' 'bout time fo' him tuh come - jes' lak if he dowp dere an' yo' see him comin', yo' jes' go tuh work an' take some sulphuh an' salt an' throw it in de fiah. Boa't let no one see yo' an' make a path. He'll ride right on by yuh house. "Caz why ah know dat? "Cuz de girl ah stayed wit she done dat, an' we didn't pay rent fo' God knows how long. An' ah axed 'er why she do dat, an' she say dat's luck.
Entry 10189
Bottle oil of bergamine [bergamot], box cooking soda, teaspoon salt- peter, take bath in that. Break a candle, make a wish, light [same] candle, let candle burn out. Then get brimstone, burn brimstone Monday, Wednes- day and Friday and make wish. Put sugar in it [brimstone], throw into fire. Can make money. [This is a rite for business.]
Entry 10793
Take a broom, or either a horseshoe, an' put it up ovah yore do'. Take a broom yo' know an' nail it crossways yore do', keep witches out. (Where do you put it, down on the floor or what?) Lay it right down by de do', on de flo'. (What will that do?) Dat will keep 'em out. Or ei- ther, if a person come in yore house an' yo' don' want 'em dere, yo' kin take a pod of peppah an' throw it in de fiah, an' make dem go.
(Just burn the pepper while they are in the house or after they leave?)
While dey in yore house.
Entry 10889
There Was another boy fell in love with her and she did with him and I went a trying to break 'em up. I goes and gets me dere lef' - a handful of dr dirt out of de lef' track from her and a handful of dirt out of his. I moxes doze two toget- her. I goes and gits me a dog, and I goes and gits me a cat, and I cuts de tip end off of each one of them's tail. I mixes them together with that sand all out of each one of doze tracks. I t'rows dem into a fire stove. I says, "Cats and dogs can't get along together, I'll be damn if you all shall." And it worked, broke dem right up.
Entry 11370
Ah heah mah grandfather say dat evah yo' workin' fo' a man an' felt lak he wanted tuh git rid of yo' or somepin othah, it slow on de job, yo' jes' go an' take a fig leaf an' Write de 23rd Psalm, ah think, an' put it in a lil' red bag an' keep it an' let it stay in a stream of runnin' watah fo' about eight days. Say he won't fiah yo'.
Entry 11732
They kin hant [= hoodoo here] choo to death by throwin' a ole grass around yuh do'; yo' know, dried-up grass. An' you git you some kerosene oil [kerosene] an' some ashes [from fireplace or stove] an' all like that, an' throw it right around your do' an' dat'll make you move out. [Informant here has combined two separate rites: first one, anything dead left or thrown at your door will hant (haunt) or hoodoo you; second one, fireplace ashes (originally) or kerosene (another substance connected with fire) will conquer the dead grass.]
Entry 12510
An' ah have heard a fellah [tell this]: De girl dat chew want an' is in love with, an' yo's in trouble wit de [law] officer an' she don' wanta come nowhere round yo'. [This is a unique situa- tion in HOODOO!] Yo' go git chew a red onion, a real one, not a white one - a red onion. Take hit [a needle] an' stick it right down in de center of dat onion - stick yore needle. Take yo' a brand-new needle that nevah been used, sewed a stitch or nuthin. Take it an' stick it in de center of dat brand- new onion. Let de onion be new an' de needle be new. Stick all those right down through it. Take hit an' put it down. Take yo' some fiah an' build a fiah around it, an' let dat onion burn to a fire-coal [unusual word!] an' when dat onion burn to a fiah-coal, yo' takes that onion an' goes to a secret place where nobody won't bothah yo' an' throw it undah dere. In a week's time she'll be back to yo'. Where she ain't nevah visit chew, she'll come an' see yo'. (That is if the fellow is in trouble [with the law] - is in jail or some- thing.) In trouble, or if he's outa trouble - in trouble or outa trouble, either one. Jes' take dat onion. Jes' buy yo' a [new] red onion an' take that onion [needle] an' stick it straight down in de center of dat - dat needle in de center of dat onion, an' call dere name three times. Den take that onion an' put it in de fiah. An' when yo' put dat onion in de fiah, [say], "Ah hope an' trust de Lord she will come back." An' burn dat onion. An' take dat onion out an' wrap it up an' dat needle an' stick it in a closed place an' dat needle leaves. Yo'll nevah see dat onion an' needle any mo' but she'll come back. Yo' can't find hit no mo'.
Entry 12518
Yo' git a bran'-new red onion dat's nevah been used an' yo'd have fiah. Yo' put dat red onion in dat fiah an' put some sugah in it an' den axe fo' whatevah yo' want. Make a wish fo' whatevah yo' want an' yo' mo' den successful in yore undahtakin'.
Entry 12540
Take dat red onion peelin' an' yo' take some nice clean pot, an' sulphur, brown sugah fo' colored an' white sugah for white - whoevah yo' workin' it on. An' put it on a shovel on some red coals, de fiah, yo' know, an' yo' let dat burn. Go to each cornah of yore house at five a'clock in de evenin' an' make yore wish, an' whatevah yore wishes is dey'll come true.
(What would you wish, for example?)
Well, jes' whatevah yo' wish fo', yo' know, jes' de main thing whut yo' wish fo' - anything.
Entry 12598
Jes' lak ah come to yore house an' ah misplace sompin of yores. When ah leave, yo' won't be mad wit me in one way, an' den in anothah way yo' will. But still yo' goin' be laughin' an' talkin' tuh me. Well, dere ain't but one thing yo' gotta do. Dat is tuh carry yo' a little bit of peppah in yore pocket an' throw it in dat fire, an' ah'll forget an' speak about sompin nothah - ah'll go git it dere an' show it tuh yo' an'( den yo'll know it's yores. But it gotta be red cayenne peppah, dat ground-up peppah. See, yo' jes' put some of dat in a piece of papah see. An' yo' go tuh dat person's house, yo' know jes' visitin' yo' see, an' it jes' might be in de wintahtime or somepin othah - dey got a fish in de stove. Yo' make out [pretend] lak yo' vanta light out de stove. Yo' drop some of dat papah [holding pepper] in dere. See, ah'll fo'git, so busy talkin' tuh yo'. Say, "Oh, yo' know ah got sech-an'-sech a thing, ah wanta show it to yo'.: Shore is purty."
Entry 12603
Take red peppah, jis' take it an' sprinkle it ovah de stove where yo' cook at, sprinkle red peppah in de stove or eithah throw it in de fiah.
(What will that do then?) Dey won' come neah dere. (That will keep the law away?) Sho'.
Entry 36
Don't leave de daid sticks of a match in yore house, cuz it gives yo' bad luck.
(What do you do with them?)
Yo' burn 'em up in de fiah, burn 'em up.
(Why do they give you bad luck, have you any idea?)
Cuz dey ain't good tuh be in de house, dey same as de daid - dey's not live matches, dere daid matches.
Entry 121
An' ah'll tell yo' anothah one. What ah'm goin' tell yo' it's true, 'cause it happened 'bout mah brothah - whut he experienced, yo' see. Well, we were at whut dey call de Peedee River. Ah don't know whethah yo' know where dat is or not. Well, it called Peedee Rivah. Ah wus haulin' wood one time. Ah wus livin' in town but ah be keepin' roun' de stable an' haul de wood into de town. An' ah come in dere [to town] dat night. When ah come in mah brothah say - he say, "Ben, let's go see some girls." Ah say, "Well, ah don't care." An' whensomevah we got ready tuh go dat night, he says [to the man he was visiting], "Leave de fiah to yore home." He [de man] say, "Why leave de fiah?" An' he tole him, "Tuh go on dat day." An' he say, "Ah'm goin' come back tuh school tomorrow." Dat's de fellah wus seein' his own death. [He had been attending school (staying with this man), had dropped out, and had suddenly decided to return to school tomorrow - "Tuh go on dat day."] An' when he said dat den, jes' as he walk out de do'step, a light come this-a- Way an' come right down by de corner of de steps in a big ball of fiah - jes' lak down, an' it come right down by de corner of de steps an' it stayed a good while. So we went on to dis girl's house - it wus a big dance, a big dance. An' we went on tuh dance. An' he say, "Ah don't b'lieve ah'll dance tonight." He says, "Ah b'lieve ah'll sing," he says, "ah'll git mo' bettah sense outa singin' den ah will dancin'." He went tuh singin' an' he sing a lot - he sing - sing - louder. An' so he says, "Ben," he says, "let's go." Well, when we starts back on de southboun' track, train comin' south - we wus on de no'thboun' track comin' southwards. We went on de - ah mean comin' no'th- wards, de train on de southboun' track comin' no'th. An' we jes' walkin' 'long, an' here wus dis train. He begin to - he says, "Well, ah'm off till tomorrow." An' ah.wents ahead. [Two persons walking in the narrow space between the rails walk Indian file - one behind the other.j An' when ah look back he wus behin' me - jes' lak, yo' know, he not payin' any 'tenshun to anyone. He wus behin' me when ah look back. De train wus jes' dat close when ah look, de train wus jes' dat close. An' he look back, which-an'-why - when ah turn roun' an' look back, he turn roun' an' start lookin' back too. An' whensomevah he looked back dat train ketched him. See, de train ketch him, jes' clipped him - all de back of de haid off, broke all de ribs of his back, broke both laigs.
Entry 123
This woman kept a bad place on the wharf, like where sylors [sailors] came in. She Was taking little young girls. She died and nobody could run this house and restaurant any more. This ball of fire would be running all over the place. This ball of fire was this woman. Her spirit came in the ball of fire because she was such a wicked old woman. They tore the house down. [New York City, (1), by hand, at Wilmington, N. Car., about 1911.]
Entry 127
My mother said that when she was a young girl [during slavery], a house girl, she used to have to sit up and wait for her mistress and master to come home. She had to serve ice water. She seen two graveyards fighting each other - they were throwing balls of fire, they were fighting.
Entry 343
Say, if yo' kin take a frog outa God an' put 'im in man - an' build yo' a brush heap an' stand in de smoke of it, say de devil will appear befo' yo' lak a nachur'l man, an' he'll talk wit chew, an' den he'll tell yo' whut chew kin do.
(You take a frog out of what did you say?)
Take him out God hide an' put him in man hide - now, ah don't know whut dey meant by dat.
(You take this frog out of God hide and put him in man hide.)
[Burning a frog takes the animal out of the hide God gave him and by means of the smoke puts him within man's hide. The smoke, as in ancient burnt offerings, is the spirit of the sacrificial gift. Once inside man, the spiritual smoke could become a frog. Usually, live things put in a person is done by using the blood or powdered body of the animal in a person's food or drink.] Yes, an' then build a brush heap an' set it afire an' git in de smoke of it.
(You put this frog in there alive.)
De devil will appear befo' yo' lak a nachur'l man an' talk wit yo' - tell yo' whut all yo' could do.
Entry 805
[While on the subject of becoming a doctor and dwelling with spirits and beina called a radio broadcaster, I might as well pause to describe a few other accomplishments attributed me. Further see interviews with the Mojo Expert of Memphis and the Patient Doctor of Waycross; also Hyatt, H. M., in Index:] Well, ah've heard of people who - of course, mah father used tuh tell stories of this kind because he dealt in this matter. An' he said, if yo' git someone's foot track an' yo' do not want den round, why yo' take dis foot track of the left or de right an' yo' kin bind it with some salt an' throw it in de fire backward ovah yore shoulder an say dey can't come back. [Salt and dirt from foot track are tied up in a small paper package.]
(Which shoulder do you throw it over?)
Over the left one.
(And which track do you throw?)
Out de left foot.
(Did your father work here in Georgia?)
Yeah, he worked - he was doin' de same work that chure doin'.
Entry 1865
Like if someone leave home an' you want 'em to come back, you take an' sweep dey track right back in de fiahplace an' dey're bound to come back.
Entry 5355
Take it up - jes' take yo' a shovel jes' lak yo' take a track up. Scoop it right up an' build a fiah ovah dat an' burn it.
(What track do you take? Which one?)
Usely [usually] take eithah one. Evah one.
(After they burn that track, what will that do to me?)
Run yo' insane.
Entry 5413
Take de right track an' bury it in yore fiahplace or undah de bricks. In a few days dey'll be back an' can't go away.
Entry 5478
Ah heah 'em say, jis' lak if some people stayin' in de house an' dey don' lak yo' an' yo' want 'em tuh fall out, yo' take some gunpowdah. Yo' git dere track an' take some gunpowdah, an' mix it wit dat track an' put it up undah dere step, an' set it afiah an' let it blow up. In de night, jis' lak if dey be 'sleep, set it afiah an' let it blow up. An' iis' lak hit blow up dis mawnin dey'll have a fuss in dat house.
Entry 12707
Take quicksilver an' sprinkle round de fiahplace from one corner to de othah an' yo' can't nevah sit to it no mo'. [The bottom of the fireplace is a rectangle. To sprinkle from corner to corner is to sprinkle along the two diagonal lines, creating an "x", crossing up the fireplace. This sprinkling could be along the four outer lines and probably be as effective, but I doubt it here.]
(Why?)
Well, 'cause yo' won' be satisfied, yo'll be restless.
Entry 9458
Take an' go tuh de sto' [store] an' git chew a box of salt, where [what] yo' put in bread [not salt for cattle]. An' yo' kin take dat salt an' evah mawnin' yo' kin take a han'fula it, an' throw it in de fiah an' make a wish. Wish he'd he would] nevah come dere no mo'. An' den act lak yo' mad, when yo' throw it in de fiah, an' he won' come back dere tuh bothah yuh no mo'.
Entry 1070
You get a pair of hose an' - course if it's a man he get de white but if it's a woman it doesn't make any diff'rent in colors - an' put these stockin's on you, wear them. An' if you get up the next mornin' - when you go to bed at night if you take 'em off an' they're turned wrong side outward, you still put em on the same way the next mornin' until after nine nights and days, and then after, when the ninth night and day is over, you get a bottle of sweet spirits of niter, a little knife blade [small blade of pocketknife] of lye [the steel in the knife blade is a part of the ritel, an' you put that in the amount of water tha' chew wanta bathe with, an' make you a big hot fire. Be wearin' those socks. At the end of nine days they should have a hole in 'em, but if they doesn't have a hole in 'em you have to wear 'em until they does git a hole in 'em. An' then you take saltpeter and put it into those an' make a fire even if it's in August an' throw 'em in the fire an' say, "Rid me of my enemy." Partly why it don't make any diff'rent [it is difficult] for a woman because they're seen when they dirty. They wanta change 'em [which would ruin the rite]. But the socks the man wouldn't have to let nobody seen 'em because his trousers be's over 'em.
Entry 11503
"Take that [barefoot] track...some cooking salt, some sulphur, and some gunpowder, and mix dem together in a little bottle and set 'em afire and you'll be gone, drive you away." [Charleston 572:1.]
Entry 12633
Throw red pepper into fire and persons living there will move or guest will soon depart. [Norfolk 525:12.]
Entry 62
I wus livin' with a woman once on Mulberry Street an' this woman claimed that she could - we had a little fuss - she claimed that she could have me kilt. So she goes down on the Eastern Shore [that part of Maryland east of Chesapeake Bay] to see Mr. Bayhan' - he wus a man dey call Mr. Bayhan' [white man] - gon'a have me shot wit' a ball. He's gon'a shoot me through de ball an' I wus to be dead inside of twenty-four hours. She paid him $35. An' then he give her some stuff to come home to sprinkle all through the house. She start at de back doah an' sprinkle to the dining room doah an' starts from the dining room doah an' sprinkle upstairs - sprinkle de whole house ovah. An' he give her somepin to put under de runner where I walked when I come in de front doah - where dat I would walk over this, this would trick me. So, I worked [nights] to the steel plant, an' I came home [very early] one mornin'. She's asleep. Jis' as I opened the front doah, I start to steppin', somepin says, "Raise de runner up - jis' that way, jis' the same as if somebody wus speakin' to me. An' I thought it wus her. I says, "Frances! Frances!" No one answered. Well, I come up to a standstill. I stop [at] de doah an' looked. After awhile I started to take another one [step]. It says, "Raise de runner up. Well, then I kin'a got uneasy, you know. Then I called 'er an' called 'er, but I couldn't git no answer. Well, I say, "Well, I don't believe I'll raise it myself. I'll go across over de street," I says, "I'll git this man up" - the man across the street kept a little resturrant. So I went across de street an' got him to come over with me. I says, "Do you wan'a raise that runner for me?" I says, "cuz there's somepin told me twice to raise that runner up," I says, "an' I think my wife, '' I says, "must be asleep - I called 'er an' she didn't answer." So he said, "I'll raise it up. So he raise the runner up. It wus a black stockin', about that long, across underneath de runner. It wus a ten-cent piece in the center, an' two brass tacks in the toes an' two brass tacks in the end [the topl of it. He looked at me an' said, "Oh!" he said, "I ain't gon'a put my hands on it." I say, "Well," I say, "they say the grace of God is sufficient for all things. It can't hurt me." I says, "I'm gon'a pick it up, but I'm not gon'a pick the stockin' up, but I'm gon'a git de ten-cent piece up." So I reached over an' took my penknife [steel = protection] an' picked the ten-cent piece up an' dropped it in my pocket. I goes back in the house, I walks up an' I walks aroun' the runner, an' gits a fahk [fork]. I takes de end of the fahk an' folds it [stocking] up, [beginning at] de toe end, an' keeps rollin' it up. An' when I got it [rolled] up, you see, then I picked it up on de fahk an' carried it through in de kitchen, an' drops it in de stove an' put salt on it, touch a match to it an' starts it to burnin'. So when it starts to burnin', I goes to call her. I says, "Frances!" She says, "LET ME ALoNE!" I says, "Whut's wrong?" She says, "You's done concern with somepin that don't concern you." She says, "Mr. Bayhan' will get even wit you." Well, if ever I'd walk over it - well, she would git [hear] de shot from it, choo know. Well, [then] I got [would get] the dose. See, as soon as I touched it, why I guess it roused her up, you know. You see? (As soon as you walked over that stocking, that was to shoot the gun off down there where he was?) Yes, sure. That would kill me, you see.
(What kind of a gun did he have?)
He had some kin'a glass, suppose to shoot you through the glass with the gun. That wus suppose to kill me in twenty-four hours. But the Lord's grace is suffi- cient for all things. De spirit put me wise to it befo' I got to it. [Baltimore, Md., (157), 148:1.] [The amazing thing about this story, despite the protective fork, is a man risking his life for a ten-cent piece!]
Entry 414
Ah have went out wit some fellahs tryin' tuh dig money. A gang of us decided tuh go out an' dig money. We went out one night. Ah taken mah old car an' driven out one night an' stopped it up at de edge of de woods an' we went all down - took our picks an' shovels an' went on down an' started tuh diggin' de money. Well, we supposed to have de money once right where it was. Well, yo' make a white mark. Git chew a bottle of sweet milk an' make two or three marks all de way round with this milk - all de way round dis place, jes' lak dis table, yo' makes yo' a round one [circle of milk round the treasure]. An' dey all gits inside of that place. Well, we started tuh diggin' money an' we dug there, an' dug an' dug an' dug, till we got close to it. An' as we got close to the money an' we listened out an' we heered somepin comin' 'long dat be's a-hollerin' an it wus a big cow come right up to de - right up close to dat line an' jes' stood up dere an' hollered. Well, he left away an' heah come a great big bulldog an he gone up dere. He went away an' aftah while he left an' nobody stopped. Well, on dis side heah come anothah - heah come lion up. He come up an' dere didn't no one say anything, dey stood a-diggin' right on. Snakes an' ever'thing crawled all de way round an' dey nevah did stop diggin'. We looked up an' dere come a big ball of fiah right down an' jes' look lak it's goin' drop right down. It come down so fur an' stop an' a man spoke an' said, "If yo' don' move, ah'm gon'a drop it. Ah'm gon'a drop it on yo'." An' one de fellahs got scared an' dropped out de line an' it musta been a great big blue smoke an' a big ball, an' de money went an' we nevah did see de money no mo' - it jes' bo'ed a hole in de ground an' went on out lak dat. We didn't see no money atall - it wus gone.
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 510
I have been told that if you want to stop a hag when she comes to your house, you will take a fork and stick it in a chair, in [under] the bottom of a chair. And if you believe this party is a hag, then you will make you a big fire and you take this chair and set it close to the fire, and then you take a broom and put it at [across] the door, and then you ask this party to sit down. She will sit in this chair the fork is sticking in. Then you make a hot fire and they can't move. She will keep twisting. And before you release them, you take the broom up across the threshold before you remove the fork, and they can't go otherwise until you move this. And after you move that broom and the fork they will certainly go.
Entry 929
Twus my gate on Campbell Street where I lives at right in Wilmington. At ten 'clock - I'm talkin' about mah ownself, at what I know on Campbell Street. At ten 'clock at night I'd haf to lay down. If I didn't lay down, I would fall. But ten a'clock ev'ry night - I'd notice de clock. An' comp'ny would come to see me, an' when de comp'ny come, I say, "Now, you all set as long a' zhoo want to, because at ten a'clock I git so weak until I haf to lay down." An' I do that. One day when I come from work I met mah cousin on Fo'th Street, an' when I met 'im on Fo'th Street - mah gate fell first on.de side; too, mah fence fell. So I said to 'im, I said, "Joo come home an' help me fix up mah gate, an' alsc mah fence fell." I'm talkin' about mahself now, what I know. An' so he come home [by her house] Monday evening, he said, "Now, Cousin, two a'clock [tomorrow I got to go to work." I said, "Well, all right then; I'm gon'a cook dinnah an' you have your dinnah here [tomorrow] an' you help me fix the gate, fix mah fencei." An' we wus fixin' that fence, de time came fuh him to go. He went on. I had de shovel, I got right to mah gate, jis' as I got to come in the house, somepin say, "Dig." An' I dug, I got a bottle from mah gate, that long [demonstrates], where I'd been walkin' along. Dat wus de thing causin' me I had to lay down ten a'clock ev'ry night. An' it had sulphah in it, it had hah [hair] in it, it had bluestone in it, an' it had some kind of roots in it. An' when I took it up, I hold it right up, I says, "Oh, looka heah! Come an' see this! Somebody tryin' to cunjure me," I say. An' dey cunjured me too, beca' zhoo, zhoo know, ten a'clock at night I'd haf to lay down. An' de people come an' look at it, "Oh well, it's nothin' but childrun put that tharh." I said, "Childrun couldn't put hah." I said, "Childrun couldn't put all this kind of mess zhoo see in it; dey could not put in it." I said, "To banish it right, ah'm gon'a care [carry] it to a cunjure sure enough den dey did dat to do [to do that]." [She was going to take the bottle to a cunjure more powerful than the one who had prepared the bottle.] The people all said, "You ain't gon'a do that? I wouldn't touch it." I said, "Ah'm gon'a care it to a man that kin cunjure and cunjure right." I wus talkin' about takin' an' keepin' it - that's what I meant choo know, when I said that. I says, "No, I'm gon'a care it to cunjure right." An' so I kep' it. An' do you know that night, dat I could set up till 'leven an' twelve a'clock! I could set up till 'leven-twelve a'clock. An' so I kep' it till about on Friday evening. Dat Friday evening I made a fire in the pot in my back yard. An' I wouldn't git right over it, jis' like that [demonstrates]. I opened it like dat an' I burned it up. It wusn't long befo' de lady next do' had to go de hospital an' have her leg cut off.
Entry 1009
An' git, yo' understan', her ministratin' - a woman's period an' put it in wit lodestone an' some of her hair, rusty needles an' rusty pins, an' bury dat undah her do'step an' that would run her away. Well, de thing that ah saw wus a person had buried this undah a girl's house name Josephine. Well, this Josephine wus livin' in a house an' she wus goin' with a man an' de people wanted her 'way from this place. See. An' somehow or othah they got her stockin' top an' some of her hair an' lodestone. Wrapped that hair aroun' the lodestone an' then she had three rusty needles an' three rusty pins stickin' in through de hair; yo' understan', aroun' dis lodestone, an' buried that undah her steps. An' that wus tuh drive her away. Well, her sistah, Missus Malone, lived 'way on the south end, supposed tuh be one those so-called hoodoos could do things an' drive yo' away. See. An' she told her - she went tuh Miz Malone an' Miz Malone told her about this stuff wus buried undah her do'step an' she got this stuff out - out from undah her do'step. Ah saw de stuff mahself. An' she tole her whut tuh do with it de nex' day. She tole her tuh git up that mawnin' befo' sunrise an' had tuh git three persons tuh burn this stuff. Well, one boy dat ah remembered had burn dis stuff - co'se he's daid now. His name wus - an' he wus de one got de stuff out from undah dat step an' burn it fo' her.
(How do you mean three persons to burn it?)
She meant three persons that she knew - see, tuh git it out an' den each three of these persons do dat tuh see it burn.
(Well, about that piece with the blood - what did they do with that?)
Well, that wus wrapped in with the hair too. Dis bloody piece wus mixed in lodestone an' de hair aroun' de lodestone.
(Did they burn it at any particular time or do anything after they burned it?)
Ah re'lly don't know whut they did aftah dey burn it.
Entry 1968
Nine needles, no more than twelve. Get this wish dust, a small piece of lodestone and you take say a dime, or if you want a sixty or hundred dollar hand. I put fifty cents [half dollar coin] or one [silver] dollar in it. But just for an ordinary small hand I take a dime. I will wear it for a couple of days right in there - in the sugar bowl. [In a previous rite she had laughed boisterously because I did not know the meaning of sugar bowl. That is why I ask the following question - timidly:] Yes sir, just lav it in there, inside just for it to stay there for a little while. That's what I calls the sugar bowl. [She is the only person who used the word.] Wear it in there for a few hours, take it out of there and wear in under my arm. Get graveyard dust and get a shell off of somebody's grave and scrape some of that dust off raw, then you put it on the fire and you boil it an hour - put this shell on and boil the shell. When you first get it home, just scrape off the dry dust with [into] your needles and your money and stuff. Then you put this shell in a little boiling pot and you put it on the fire and you let it boil hard for a solid hour, and as this boils, why you make your wish to yourself. [This animal shell used on the grave as an ornament was a fresh-water bivalve mollusk of several related genera once abundant in the Mississippi River valley drainage system. Before the First World War almost every town on the Mississippi had a pearl-button factory with its huge pile of punched-out shells - shells full of regularly spaced round holes left after punching out the crude buttons. Along the river too, musselers floated their small flat-bottom boats having two racks of hooks parallel to the boat so that they could be easily baited and over the boat sides lowered into or raised out of the water. The largest shell I ever saw was 8-lO inches; the industry shells were much smaller.] When the hour [of boiling] is over, then you take it [the shell] off and you scrape off some of that [cooked] dust - you just scrape it off and you put some of that in a little bag, and you sew it [all these ingredients] up with silk thread and try and not put over fifty stitches in there. When you make your first stitch, leave the thread about that long [demonstrates].
(About as long as your finger.)
And the last one, leave it the same length, so that you can always hold it by that, because wherever there is money, that's called a Jack [see comment later]. And he gon'a kick you - it will jump. Now the whole thing is the Jack, but the loop - you see you kin catch it to hold it by that and [or] fasten it to you. Now, if you are a gambling person see, it's lucky for you - keep that on you. As long as you keep that on there, you'll have no need of playing - you jest as well let 'em hand it [the money] to you. While you are there won't nothing harm you. And now, maybe you'll say, "Oh, I wouldn't mind havin' a game in there. Don't know if they got any money or not." Well now, you jist walk around in there and you'll feel this move. [Despite informant's brilliant pun, "Wherever there is money, that's called a Jack" (slang for money), money in a hand does not make it a Jack (see margin- title Jack, pp.190-193 and Index). Only question to and answer of informant's hand turned it into a Jack.]
(How much does that cost as a rule?)
Well, just whatever you want to charge for it. Charge a person according to what you think they can pay.
Entry 2407
Yo' take five cents worth of oranges, five cents worth of apples, five cents worth of grapes an' five cents worth of bananas. Yo' take yo' a bowl an' yo' cut all those up an' have yore fiah burnin' there, an' it's a-spotin luck, fast luck. An' it's re'lly lucky. Yo' git chew five cents worth of that brown sugah agin, five cents Worth of that white sugah an' put all that together an' put it on de back of yore fiah an' make yore wish from all parts of de worl' [successively face each of four directions and wish] - jes' wish fo' diff'rent things tuh come. Yo' don't know 'em but chew jes' wishin'. An' befo' de week's out every time yo' be's jes' lak that.
(That's for trade?)
Yeah, be success - trade.
(Why do you use white sugar and brown sugar?)
Well, yo' use de white mens, yo' see, an' yo' use the brown, fo' de brown.
Entry 2420
Yo' git yo' some sugah an' sulphur an' git chew a bottle of Heart Perfume. Po' it on there, don't chew know, down on de sugah an' stuff an' about six a'clock burn dat. An' then yo' git de Bible an' yo' read de 47 Psalm an then to make them come - yo' gotta say, "May mah crowd gather together thick. May mah crowd gather together thick. In de Name of de Father, in de Name of de Son, in the Name of de Holy Spirit." An' they begin to gather thick an' yo'll have so many folks yo' won't know whut to do. After yo' read de 47th Psalm yo' say, "May mah crowd gather together thick tonight, all gather together thick tonight, thick as hops, '' an' say, "In de Name of de Father, in de Name of de Son an' Name of de Holy Spirit." An' yo' won't have no trouble. That brings in trade - I mean they come in.
Entry 2465
Well, yo' take cloves, de spice, an' salt an' burn it altogether up into a powder, understand, an' sprinkle it in de corner of de store where dey go, to de fo' corners of de store, fo' nine mornings. (Well, you said that you took a shoe, didn't you?) No, de shoe yo' know goes wit dat powder whut chew burn, yo' see about runnin' de people 'way from yo'.
(This last thing is to bring in customers.)
Entry 2657
Well, yo' kin git chew some garlic an' git chew some sulphur an' git chew some sugar. An' turn yore pan jis' befo' de sun rise - set it in yore do', set it afiah. Close all yore do's while it's burnin'. Yo' go out. Den when yo' git it blue wit smoke, open all yore do's an' de people will run ovah heah. Ah don't ca' whut chure doin', dey'll run ovah heah, comin' tuh see whut yo' got tuh drink. It'll draw 'em.
Entry 2715
Take a little sulphur and burn in yore business place in de morning of nine mornings. Open your business place and burn that sulphur. And burn that and say a little wish - wish for your money or success in there before anybody enters. And that brings you luck, that brings your trade. But burn this every morning for nine mornings. Then you take a little van-van - keep a little mop - that draw de customers. Jest mop your floor once or twice a week - Wednesdays and Fridays. That brings you trade.
(What do you mop it with?)
Van-van. That's little thin-like stuff from de drug store. Jest put little drops in yore water and mop - jest a few drops to wipe de floor Wednesday morning and Fridays.
(Do you have to mop the floor in any particular manner?)
Jest bring it in though - all in, don't carry it out. You jest come inside - starts from de stair and come inside and then you bringing your luck in. See, to draw de persons to come tuh yo'. That sulphur you burn fo' nine mornings, that keeps your luck always. But burn it nine mornings - a tablespoon or much as you want - in de place befo' anybody cross your doorstep. Don't allow nobody to come in before you get that sulphur burn.
Entry 2773
[I made no special effort to collect material about Marie Laveau, the second, or the hoodoo dance. It was too late for either one and besides I am not a historian. There will probably be a little more material about both in the text somewhere.] Well, dat's a person will do yo' somethin' dat chew go - it sup- posed tuh be mean things when yo' go to a fo'k of de road. Dat supposed tuh be very mean but den dere ain't nuthin whut a mean person won't do at times. Well, yo' take yo' a aig an' yo' soak it in vinegah an' dis cayenne peppah, but chew put de names of de party on dat aig. Yo' understand, put de name of the party on that aig an' put it in a jar an' soak it in vinegah fo' nine days in dis peppah an' salt. An' den yo' goes tuh de fo'k of de road an' make yore wish, an' yo' dance an' ever'thing, an' break it, but nevah look back at it - jis' break it an' leave it dere.
(What will happen to that person then?)
He'll leave direct - won't be a long time leaving, leave town. Yo'll send him away.
(The way she explained it to you?)
Well, she tole me dat dere wus a woman by de name of Marie Baptiste. She had two daughters an' she liked fo' her daughters tuh outdress de girls down in de 7th Ward. Dat's whare ah wus bo'n in de 7th Ward. An' she sol' herself to de devil at twelve a'clock at night wit de fire of furnace - a furnace fire, yo know, at de fo'k of de road in de woods.
(What kind of a fire? A furnace? How'd she get the furnace out there?)
[I soon realized she was talking about a charcoal brazier, when her furnace becomes a hot pot.] Well, she brought it out dere. She had it out dere an' she sol' herself to him dat she could git anything she wanted so she could go in de sto's an' any- thing she take dey couldn't see her.
(What did she do when she got out there? Didn't she do anything?)
Well, dey had some kin' of a dance dey danced, de hoodoo dance - dey danced wit a'kinda meetin' lak. Dey danced an' dat's de way she sol' herself tuh de devil an' dey had de devil tuh git her away from de devil.
(Have you ever heard of that woman Marie Laveau?)
Yessuh, ah've heard of her.
(What have you ever heard said or told about her?)
Well, dere's so many things tole about her. Well, ah tell yo', her an' mah mothah used tuh be friends an' ah used tuh be in her house. Some of 'em claimed ah wus partly christened at her house, an' she done everything she could do. She used tuh use dem furnace an' fiah too, an' hot pots on her. Ah kin carry yo' tuh de same spot of ground where her house wus on - yessuh, St. Ann between Rampart an'Burgundy.
(She was pretty good wasn't she?)
Yessuh, she wus fine.
(Did they used to have those old hoodoo dances when you were a girl?)
Yessuh.
(What did they used to do?)
Dance in dey petticoat tail an' dey shimmy tail - dance.
(Did you ever hear of them dancing a person to death?)
No, ah nevah heard of that.
(They just had those dances for good-time dances?)
De good-time dance an' dey wus doin' dey work at de meantime, but dey wus doin' hoodoo work when dey used tuh dance. Plenty tuh eat an' plenty tuh drink, an' if it wus anything tuh harm, dey would have hearts - raw hearts an' dey would eat that.
(What kind of hearts?)
Beef hearts. (Can you tell me any particular whole story about any one particular thing that you used to do?) No, ah wus too young tuh remember.
(Does any of that go on today or has it all died out?)
Well, ah think it's all died out an' dere ain't nuthin of that much now. It's gone. It's mo' de spiritual whut's goin' on now. (All that ole-time stuff has all died out? Those dances and things of that sort?) Jis' de time dey has it at de ole lake every 24th day of June. Yo' know dat's St. John's day an' dat's mah day. At de lake [Pontchartrain].
(What would they do?)
De hoodoo dance. Dey dance an' dey has a meeting, an' anything dat dey would want tuh do, dey does it that day. If it's good or bad they does it that day. An' anybody could go out dere if dey would wanta go. [After she leaves, my contact man Edward and I talk, though a part of the opening conversation is unrecorded.] Dat her name non est.
(How do you spell that?)
Ah don' know.
(Is that her real name or just a?)
Jis' a nickname we give her. [If Edward actually used the words non est, they were something our assistant Mack, old-time taximan, had picked up in New Orleans.]
(She is supposed to be pretty good?)
Yes, she's a spiritualist.
(That woman that was just in here?)
Yes. End 1584. ["Algiers, La., Fri., Feb. 23, 1940 - 1584 - old woman - several things - Ph [[something looking like Phillip - probably name of person who brought her]]." Numbers Book 1558-1605. Almost anyone would have been described as giving "several things" after following 1583, Nahnee - see her long interview. I did not know that the next woman to walk through the door would be - DARK LADY - DARK GLASSES - DARK DEEDS - See her interview.]
Entry 3088
[We are again in the presence of a celebrity - not fabulous like Doctor Buzzard, but so widely known that his name and color were confused. He was surely a white man named Harris - (see 3089, p.909; also the very end of the interview A DOCTOR AT EASE, and elsewhere). This man, claim- ing to be a faith doctor (3089) would not have sanctioned the evil said to have been perpetrated in the following story.] He went to him you know.
(Who was this man?)
His name was Buzzard, or somepin like that choo called him.
(Where did he live?)
No, it was George Harrison, who lived at Florence, South Carolina. Ever'body used to go to him from fer an' near cause he's a wonderful man. He's dead I think, but his brother or his son or somepin carried it on, so I heard. So this man had a wife once an' she was a bad woman. An' the man was kin'a 'flicted - choo know, rheumatism. An' she's young, right nice-lookin' - purty hair. An' a course he would - you know, he would put her aside he say, but he suppose to git children by 'er. An' this woman still runnin' aroun'. [Everyone] tell that [to] her husband, but her husband didn't care cuz he said he would give up. He couldn't make a livin' fer her like he ought to be, an' she would do the thing, you know, that was helpin' him. An' so he didn't care. So he was livin' an' po' [poor]-like. An' this other man was livin' next to the farm - it was ajinin' farm. He had a fine black horse you know. A big tall black man. An' she was a nice-lookin' brown-skin woman. So he was lovin' this woman. He did! He would come there an' bring 'er in de yard - well, he [husband] wouldn't say nuthin - right in his yard out there, an' drive aroun' in de buggy. She was a good-lookin' woman. So finally this woman must of thought she was gon'a die. She decided she'd make a change. She went an' got sanctified. See. An' this man a - after she got sanctified, she tell him she didn't go that way any more. Well, he didn't want her to quit, choo see. He said, "Well, you kin go that way an' keep it a secret an' - come on let's go." She said, "No, I livin' now fer de Lord." An' she lived that way two years. Well, after she got sanctified - they always say these sanctified people goes with one another. An' dey say, "Well, how you gon'a help it?" You see, he would believe that she's goin' with one de sanctified men. She told him, she said, "Well, if I do - I don't do it - but if I do - if I is goin' with him, two clean sheet can't dirty one another." That means she was sanctified, the man was sanc- tified - they couldn't move in no sin. An' he said, yes it was. Well, he didn't like it. An' so he leaved his farm one day an' ever'body missed him, didn't know where he had gone - he was livin' down on de Santee River. He come to Florence an' got this man [George Harrison], you know, to fix some [something] fer him. An' I believe he had a pitchure of her. He come up dere [to the husband's farm] one day. An' he come in [came near] the house one day an' call 'er out an' talkin' with 'er. She went an' talk with 'im. An' she never was afraid of him, you know, but she wouldn't agree to go with 'im then. An' she he said, "All right." An' he kin'a play with 'er, you know, an' throwed somepin like a dus' on 'er. Well, she said, "That's a smell. I'm curious - that bottle." But she didn't pay it no mind. But in October - well, he went on back home [down on de Santee River]. An' [before he left] she heard 'im say, "I got choo now." So he went on back home. She was sanctified. She had a fiah made in de fiahplace - it was no grate, it was a fiahplace. She fold a quilt. She fold it an' lay down acrost de fiah- place like they do in de country; an' took a Bible an' lay down there an' went to readin' it. She had a little girl about three years old, de baby, aroun', playin' aroun' de fiah. An' this baby went in de kitchen an' it stood up there an' said, "Mama." She would call 'er mama. She was 'sleep. She'd lay down there an' read de Bible an' she fell asleep. An' while she was asleep, well de fiah popped on her. This stuff that he put on 'er drawed de fiah. An' as she wake up she was on fiah. An' she jump up. She went to jumpin' up like that an' try to outen herself like that, an' de fiah jis' went on up, jis' Went on up over 'er haid, an' jis' - an' she jumped aroun'. And when they caught 'er, why she had done burnt. She was eight months gone [pregnant]. A man who caught 'er - he was from de nex' doah, neighbor - saw 'er, he ran 'er down an' ketched 'er. She done burnt to death. An' he [the dust-thrower] tell 'er, she didn't go with 'im, she wasn't with nobodys else. An' so this woman died. [This fair copy by pencil made more than 30 years ago from my original scrib- bled transcription has a penciled note of the same date, "[[Happened]] about 12 years ago [1925]] - informant married the dead woman's husband."] [Wilmington, N. C., (320), 253:1+85.] ["Thur., Feb. 18, 1937 - 320 - Grace Harvin - [[from]] Sumter, S. C. - fair to good" - Numbers Book 318-338. Not a very complimentary evaluation for a woman who gave a rare story like this!]
Entry 3100
Yo' know when ah first gone [to him], he say ah wus poisoned. An' mah mother an' father befo' dey died, ah wus ovah 27 yeahs, dey had worked on me - dey had got a doctor yo' know tuh cure me. De first doctor dey got, dis doctor dey say wus de one. He didn't do me no good - yo' know, he worked on me. So dey let dat un go an' dey got another one. An' de doctor whut dey got fo' me, dey say dat's de one had fixed it - had deviled me inside. An' he seemed lak he wus goin' he'p me an' ah stayed up, yo' know, round de home - git so ah could be up an' down. An' after ah got sick, yo' see, dey had tuh go an' git another doctor. But ah saw dis doctor in de spirit on a Wednesday night. De Lawd show me where a man come tuh me an' he pull out some of mah hair heah [demonstrates], some heah, an' ah wus.
(From the top of the head and from side of the temples.)
Dat's whut in one of mah dreams - on a Wednesday night ah dreamed it. An' he come dat Sunday. Mah cousin brought him unbeknowst tuh papa dere - jes' lak ah dreamed it on a Wednesday night. So he [doctor] came an' he axt him [father]. He [father] say, "Yes," he had a very sick girl heah. An' he tole, say, "Yes." [Doctor] say, "Well, do yo' care fo' me tuh do anything fo' yo' daughter?" He say, "Yes. So he went on back tuh Jacksonville. He wus runnin' a bar - a barroom, but dis man is daid now but he help me. He come on back an' one Sunday he pull out some hair - yo' know, Jes' lak ah dream it, an' tole me tuh hole mahself right ovah de fire-hearth. He tole mah mother tuh give me some sulphur an' some gun- powder an' one mo' stuff [three ingredients], but ah forgot. An' jes' hol' mah haid ovah it like dat chew know, an' he say it wus a spell on me. Seemed lak somepin wus talkin' tuh me lak ah wus dyin', yo' know, all de time - be scarry an' hot, chew know. Well, ah wus bein' pregnant, see. Two weeks after dis baby born, den dat turn out on me. So dey thought ah had heart trouble, an' so de doctors all examine me. Dr. Kidd, he's buried an' gone, he tole me, says, "Yo' ain't got no heart trouble." He had look everywheres. It wus a spell on me. An' so it went an' went. An' sometimes ah couldn't raise dis arm. Sometime ah couldn't raise dis one. Sometime ah look at cha an' ah couldn't talk. Some- time mah feet chew know would turn in de back an' ah jes' drag: An' sometime ah couldn't eat, an' sometime ah could eat. Sometime nature couldn't hold me tuh save her life - ah'd eat so much yo' know. An' it jes' keep on like dat chew know for about a yeah, jes' right down till dis man, yo' know, worked on me an' got be bettah. So he went tuh de no'th an' he tole mah father dat he'd tried whut all tuh cure me. But, after he got me up he nevah did come back. He tole me he'll send de money but he's de one dat worked on me - Mr. Robinson. He's daid. So ah keep on an' ah come on tuh Brunswick, yo' see, an' ah stay ovah heah an' ah went in business an' ah got married den. So dis woman - ah wus ovah on Bay Street an' this woman come an' hit me on de shoulder. An' when she hit me - mah husband sent me after dat meat yo' see. An' when ah went back an' she hit me on de shoulder - when ah come back ah wus down in de shoulder like dat, an' ah went on an' ah tole him. So he tole mah mother an' dem were. An' so every place ah moved he [first doctor?] send dem wit dis poison. She always claimed it wus a spell agin. Dey had it where it could [come to life] every once in a while. An' every Place ah go, dis thing worries me but hit moves, see, in mah stomach an' wiggles an' come up all in mah throat sometime. Sometime in mah face yo' kin see it. An' it jes' make me feel sick. But on de young moon an' de full moon dat de time it worries me. An' den it goes into dis left foot. Yo' see, it will wiggle under dere sometime an' crawl. An' when it time fo' me tuh work, it'll stop me from workin'.
(That thing is still bothering you?)
Yassuh.
(You weren't cured then?)
Dat's whut dey say. Every once in awhile ah kin feel it.
(Didn't anybody cure you?)
De man say - he he'ped me up though.
Entry 4954
Well, ah know dat if a man leave a woman, or somepin lak dat, if yuh take a stockin', de ole dirty foot of a stockin' an' tie it up in three knots, an' put it undah yore bed an' sleep on it fo' three nights, an' make yore wishes tuh come true, fo' him tuh come back tuh yuh an' be in love, dat yuh could aftah de three nights take dat stockin', an' take a box of new salt an' sprinkle it ovah dat stockin', an' den take dis salt an' build a fire, an' put dat stockin' on de fire an' burn it. Burn it In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost. Said dat would draw yuh back tuhgethah.
(Whose stocking would you use, his or yours?)
Yuh use yore own stockin'. Dey always tell me yuh use yore own stockin' fo' dat, eithah stockin'.
Entry 10078
Well, yo' ketch a cat - a black cat - an' yo' take 'im tuh a runnin' stream somewhere off in some desolated place, an' yo' build yuh a fiah an' yo' heat watah an' yo' boil dis cat. Yo' boil all de bones off dis cat. An' aftah dis cat boiled an' all de meat fall off 'is bones, den yo' take dese bones an' yo' put dese bones in a bag, an' po' dese bones in dis stream of runnin' watah. An' den yo' sit dere. Dey say dat sev'ral things supposed tuh happen uhile yo' doin' dis. Various horrible apparitions will appear trying to fright- en you.] An' all dese bones will go downstream in swift watah, an' dis one bone come back up against de stream, dat's de bone yo' git. Den yo' git dat bone an yo' carry dat bone. Yo' carry dat bone diff'ren' places. Yo' suck it in yuh zouth when yo' wanta do things, an' carry it in yore pocket in yuh han'. Dat bone supposed tuh do sev'ral things; sech make a man invisible or any othah things dat yo' wanta do.
Entry 11276
Now, in some of them, they goes in the woods. I have an old friend of mine, it is most good for those people when they get ready to sell theirselves [to the devil] to go on by another person. He will make him lay down. Then, uty when he lay down, he will call all the different insect[s], and if he kin stand fer them to go over him, he's all right. Back in 1927 I was called down here to a place what they call Cole Coran, H. Car. [Not in Dennison U. S. Postal Zip Code Directory, 1968.] While I vas there, there was young girl who had just returned from school. Well, they put ber under an evil influence: she was pulling her hair out, screaming, wanted to jp i the gell. So the gentlemen sent fer me. I goes right out and looks aromd. Sbortly after I find a piece of beef stuck on one side of the wall and the last piece vas a piece of liver. So I'd taken it all out. Somebody had taken some [of.this geat?] and dropped it in this water and [one of] them board caskets made it be- One these insects [maggots] into this meat. They were after putting ["after putting comes from Irish transcriber; leave out "after'] insects into the water what they was drinking, become as though they had little snakes, but by pitching [throwing instead of rubbing] it stuck on the sides of the wall, and on the top of the well, and didn't get in the well.
(I see.)
The arrangement [ruse] of making the person who do's all that to return to the well to show theirself up, you look to find two large oyster shells. The oyster shells may be placed into fire and burned slowly and gradually and burn 'em halfway - just about halfway. At exactly twelve o'clock at night, you takes them and pitch them in the well. The next morning you'll go out there and the person who did that will be standing up out there where you kin see them.
[441:3.]
Entry 11849
They tell me that you take de fingernails and toenails, and some of your hair right here [points to back of the head]. You totta put that all to- gether, mix it, you see, with cayenne pepper - red pepper. Go to de fiahplace, wrap dat up good, tight. Yo' wrap it up with a piece of new home- spun cloth. And wrap it all up together good and tight. You wrap it up like this [demonstrates]. You wrap it away from you. Dat's to drive you away. And take it and go to de fiahplace, take up a brick and put dat [package] down in dere, and put dat brick on top of it.
Entry 12521
Ah heard of people if dey wanted luck in dere homes, dey git up befo' sunrise in de morning an' take some onions an' some sulphur an' salt, an' set it on de fire in de stove, an' jes' de scent - de incense go through de house- round about. An' read a cer- tain Scripture. Ah don't know whut it is, now, in de Bible. An' dat'll bring yo' luck.
(Luck to the house?)
Yes sir. Dat's good, too. Mah auntie does dat all de time.
Entry 2932
(How do they burn a candle on your photograph?)
Well now, a photograph, if I want - you mean that if I want to harm you or.
(Yes, either harm you or do any good or any way.)
Well now, if it's to harm you - I tell you if it's to harm you. I tell you what they do to your photograph. I use a candle again, but I use a black candle. You see, you get a black candle. You gets a black candle and instead of writing the name down thisa- way, you write it around the candle. See, you write that name [demonstrates], like you start here, you write it here - every, about every inch, you write the name. You take the photograph and you turn it upside down, what I mean, turn it on the head, and you burns it by that black candle. You take one of - if you can get two of 'em, you get two [photographs]. It would be better. You got one there by the black candle and you [get] the other one and you pin it or shove it up under your fire- hearth, you see. It's not going to burn up under there. Just put it in that fire-hearth, you make all the fire you want. You put it up under that fire- hearth, but you put it on the left-hand corner of your fire-hearth and put it as high as you can get it. And you can make fire and everything else, it's not going to burn at all. It's going to do more harm than anything else, it's not going to do no good; if it burns, it ain't going to do no good. See. But it's best not to let it burn. And, if I was going to do that to you - see, if I was going to do that to you, I would put the photograph, the second one, on the left- hand side of my fire-hearth. And I'm got one on the mantelpiece, upside down, burning by the candle. I'm got your name and I get me what you call a melt.
(A what?)
A melt.
(What's that?)
[I wanted to be certain he is not talking about melted wax - see CANDLE SPONGE BURIED, p.848f.] That's something that looks like a - it comes from a cow, looks like a cow's tongue almost, but it's called the melt.
(The melt.)
[Melt of course is milt or spleen. For example: "If hogs are slaughtered in autumn and the small part of the milt lies toward the head...sign of an open winter; if the large part...a severe winter. At times...belief differently ex- pressed...if the milt...ends in a blunt point...a cold winter...tapers to a point, a warm winter. Milt is usually called melt are rarely spleen." (FACI, 2ed.,1965, p.28.) With the original belief, I debated some time whether to use melt or milt. Moreover, I broke it up into two parts; using milt for the first
(No. 307) and spleen for the second (No.308) - FACI, 1st ed.,1935, p.12.]
I'd get me one of those melts, see. I'd get that melt, you see. I'd get that and I'm going to spread it. I spread it. I get your name and if I can get any of your filth at all, I'll cut that [melt] open and I'm going put it into this melt. I'll put this in your [my] melt and I'll keep it hung up there for three days in that fire-hearth where your picture is. Then from there I take and I goes bury that melt. I bury that melt and when I bury that melt, I take this picture from there and I buries it alongside of that melt. And after burying that picture with that melt, I cover it and I lights me another candle, but I move that candle. The first candle I got, I won't light it there [in the fire- hearth], I'll light it in a dark place. See, I'll [put] this candle in a dark place for nine days. I'll limit it to nine days and in nine days I'll have you just where I want you. Yes, sir.
(Do you light that black candle at any particular time?)
Well, I got - I light my black candle. See, if I light a candle, I light it at nine o'clock in the morning, I light it at three, and I light it at six - that's three times a day, that's all.
Entry 5816
Some people won't have their hair cut in a barbershop at all. They'll cut it at home, afraid their enemies might get it and harm them. There are any number of women after they comb their hair will take it and put in the fire.
Entry 5832
An' den if ah wanta put a spell on a person, ah go git some of dere hair. Ah burn dat hair, take dat hair an' carry it right back an' put it down ghere yo' gotta walk ovah it. An' dat make yo' have spells. An' yo' kin even take de hair an' burn it an' put it undah de - sew it up in some red flannel an' take dat flannel an' carry it tuh de house, dig a hole an' put it undah dere where yo' kin walk ovah it. Dat put anybody tuh havin' fits.
Entry 8068
A pusson cu'd take yo' photograph an' burn it. If dey burn it, well yo' jis' absolutely goin' be a man dat git burned. If dey throw it ovahbo'd yo's prak'ly [practically] goin' de same place dat chure pichure went, yo' undah- stan'. An' fin'ly [finally] de same dat [who] threw dat pichure ovahbo'd, dat one dat, chew know, gotta come an' git chew.
Entry 8069
Ah heard dey take de photograph an' throw it in de fire or throw it out somewhere an' do 'way it. An' yo's gone. Say, dey's eithah daid or dey'll trav- el.
Entry 8070
If dey are 'way from home, dey say yo' kin take dere pichure an' burn it up, an' yo' nevah will see 'em any mo'. Yessuh, if dey 'way from home. Yes- suh, if yo' burn up dere pichure, dey'll nevah come back any mo'.
Entry 8071
If anyone take yo' pitchure, dey say dey - jis' DE VAY DEY TREAT YO' PITCHURE, dey say DAT'S DE VAY DAT YO'LL BE TREATED. If anyone take yo' pitchure or burn it up or sumpin lak dat, dey say dat yo'll be treated lak dat BEFO' YO' DIE.
Entry 8073
They take your picture and burn it, and take the ashes and take them and hide it, and you will lose your mind.
Entry 128
If you see a light and you follow that light and keep on following the light, do you think you're going to get to that light? You can't get to it. It's quite likely it's way out in the river and you'll walk overboard. If your parents are terribly, terribly smart and they should look out at nighttime and see those lights, they said, "This is a night for jack-o'-lanterns. I'm going to put an iron in the fire, my children are out, ' for feared they will get led off by jack-o'-lanterns. They used to take a poker from the fire hearth. I put it right along these ashes in the fire and let it stay right there. It will make the jack-o'-lanterns vanish, they tell me. Keep it right there until the children get back. Of course after that they had nothing to worry about.
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 250
Ah had a cousin dat wus hurt like dat - mah first experience to it. They taken some of her hair an' dey put it in de back of a frog, an' her finger- nails an' toenails, an' they got that frog an' put him into a 'bacco sack an' dey put a piece of frog bread - dere's de stuff whut chew call frog bread.
(Frog bread - what is that?)
It's somethin' grows in de woods - jest comes up jest like a sprout. Yo' ever seen celery grow? Well, yo' know how when celery come up outa de ground it's right white. Well, dat's de way dat frog bread comes up but it spreads yo' know, as it gits up outa de ground - it spread kind round like a parasol [a mushroom, always called toadstool in folklore]. Dey put a portion of dat in dat. An' afterward dey taken dat frog to mah cousin house an' dey sewed it up in de bed mattress an' dey had some pins in dat frog - [pins in dat] frog bread, tacked down. An' as dat frog - after it got in action - after dey sewed dis up in mah cousin bed - dis frog de longer it go - after it was fixed - an' as dis frog would Jump, she would fits right after one another. An' she wus jest wizlin' away to nothin'. Well, we could take her 'way from home, we could take her 'way from there an' she would git along pretty well, an' we thought she wus well enough to take back home; we'd taken her back dere an' no quicker'n she hit dat bed, she begin havin' dose fits. Dere wus a ole doctor, Mr. Marlborough.
(White or colored?)
Colored - we'd taken her tuh him. So he sont us back an' he tole her he'd be to her house de next day. Well, on de same day dat he promised us dat he would be dere, he wus dere on de noonsday hour. He goes [in] dere - he wouldn't let her see him take it out - he'd taken mah mother an' aunt an' also her husband. He went into de mattress an' he cut dat frog outa dere which dey had - dey says dey had examined it but dey refused [failed] tuh find [anything] but he went in dere an' seem to let 'em see it. So he bring it from de middle room back tuh where mah mother lived an' he'd taken it out an' he cut dat sack open an' out come de [live] frog: He tole us, says - before he ever did it - he said, "When ah open dis sack - de direction dat de ones who done it, dat direction dat dis frog gon'a try tuh go." An' sure 'nuff jest lak he did - it wus true. So he'd taken it out an' [there was] stuck in dere bluestone, stuff de color of graveyard dirt, her hair, fingernails an' all - I'll never forgit it - he po'red it down in de yard. An' he said, "Now, when ah burn dis stuff, when ah say, "strike a match to it, '" say, "hit gon'a burn like fire in all colors it gon'a be." Ah nevah see nuthin' like it befo' or since. He said, "It gon'a be a snake come heah an' dis snake he is gon'a venture to bit her" - a great long black one. He sot dat stuff afire an' it wus a long blacksnake come runnin' up an' he did his best tuh make it tuh her but he kilt it - ah reckon he jest didn't even know whut he wus doin' an' he kilt it. So he burnt dat up. He say, "In three days' time from dis day, de ones who done it, dey will leave outen de roof of dat house." De ole lady name Charlotte an' her daughter wus named Mamie, an' dey would be wanderin' from place tuh place. Course ah nevah - ah wus young den - ah nevah did learn how he done it, understand - dey have been wandering. But ah do - ah take a man oath - ah know dat's true.
The informant reports pins in the frog, followed by Hyatt's bracketed insertion and frog bread. Placement remains ambiguous; all three source layers are retained. Read the complete cousin narrative for its reported events and treatment claims, which remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 72) · Read full source (printed page 73)
Entry 274
Whenevah he be goin' tuh gamble, he jes' go an' ketch him a black cat - anybody's an' throw him in de fiah 'live an' burn him up. Jes' keep him right in de heat ever'where dey is an' burn him up. An' den dey takes dis bone dat isn't burn all de way up, jes' kinda yo' know ashes, an' take an' go tuh de mirror an' if he kin stand tuh carry it cross his mouth lak dat yo' know, if he's got dat much nerve, after dat den at night, or wait until night an' go in de graveyard. Keep de bone with him an' if he's got nerve, stay in dere all de remain of de night, an' if any animals or any spirits, an' he's ain't scared, why dat bone will work fo' him, but if he gits scared an' come out why it ain't no good to him.
Entry 293
Ah heard where yo' kin disappear - yo' disappear. Yo' git a black cat wit not a white speck on him nowhere, an' yo' make a fire in yore fireplace - wherevah yo' might make yore fire at, chew know. An' when that water git hot, yo' put dat cat in dere an' yo' put some bricks on top or any weight tuh hold it down, an' boil him alive. An' when dat cat git done, de meat will slip off de bone. An' git chew a mirror-glass, an' don't look in de pot - reach down like dis - don't tetch yore mouth - jes' came across [demonstrates] - "No, that ain't the one." Keep a-doin' till yo' git de right bone, an' yore face will disappear out de glass. An' then yo' jes' keep dat bone - yo' go anywhere yo' want. If yo' wanta disappear, yo' can't be caught by a officer or nuthin' - yo' kin disappear.
Entry 367
The piece he wanted to play was called The Fisherman's Hornpipe - seeming that he couldn't git right on his wyolin. So an' ole feller' tole him one time, he said, he says, "You go to a crossroad at twelve o'clock at night" - it's a road goin' that way and one goin' that way direction - and he said, "Take your wyolin wid jeh." And he says, "It will be a man will come. You set there and play till twelve o'clock. It will be a man will come," he said, "but don't chew mind," he said, "that." He was supposed to go nine nights. The ninth night the devil would come and start to play. He could play anything he wanted after the ninth night. Of course, he said he went. He set there and played this wyolin till twelve. He said he thought a man, but it was a bull come. No, it was a lamb. The first thing come was a lamb, the first night. He said, he passing along wery carefully, this lamb. The next night, the second night, he goes back again, sets and plays till twelve o'clock at this crossroad. The second night, he said, there was a breeze, and wind come as though the whole woods was falling, every tree was falling. And he goes back the third night and plays. The third night, he said there was a bull come through a-slinging fire, wid eyes just as red as could be. And he still set there and played. The fourth night he go back again. He said it was a band of six men come up with a coffun, set this coffun down, begin to take the leads off. Well, he couldn't stand that. He said he had to leave.
Entry 381
I went out with some people - a white man and two colored fellows and myself. We went to a place by the name of Port Allen. That used to be a [Civil] War place. Lot of Yankees was running away from there with money - supposed to be buried there - which they had found money in different states. Well, we hadn't, didn't find that so far. We got near to it but we didn't git it. So we had a shovel and we had a money rod and also we had a radio. See. And test where the money at. So the closer we'd get to the money, the more the bell would ring - that arrow would go around just like a radio. So, we dug there and so we got down to a pot and one fellow, doing time before [in the penitentiary] Was in there. He got his for murder, and if you suppose to do any kind of murder or anything, you can't get it. So, it was twelve o'clock that night, so we could not get it. So we came back the next night and after we came back the next night we dug. We left that fellow - we found out that fellow had been in trouble, so We left him and picks up another fellow. So we had a preacher with us and so he said a prayer. So we dug again until we got down to the money but there was so many different things come in front of us we couldn't stand to see. First thing came, a horse with no head on it - a horse with a lot of fire coming out; a man with no head, and a lot of bells and noise. Well, we left it - we never did get it - a great big hole. We couldn't get the money. I could get that close and could almost reach to it down there - it was about four feet down.
Entry 562
Ah heard of people usin' shoes in runnin' watah, yo' know, bury it in de creek, whare de watah runnin'. Bury it an' let de watah run ovah it. Well, ah knowed a woman outen mah home, she come pinin' away tuh nuthin' an' she wus larger den yo' an' she jes' pine away an' died. An' aftah she died, well, her people went tuh some doctah, a two-haided person, an' dey tole 'em dat her shoe wus in de creek in runnin' watah, an' dey say it wus buried jes' about a half a foot in runnin' watah, an' said that whut caused her death, caused her tuh pine away an' she wus not sick or nuthin', an' she jes' went down tuh nuthin'.
[Informant cites another case surely taken to a two-header.]
(Whom did this happen to?)
Tuh mah sister's chile - de baby, yo' know - it wus walkin', jes' a little tot walkin', an' it jes' got weak in its back. Dey taken it shoe an' throwed it in de fiah an' burned it up. Dat's all dey done. Dey didn't nevah put nuthin' in wit it, jes' taken de shoe an' stockin' an' throwed it in de fiah, an' dat made him weak in de back an' in de knees, so he couldn't stand up, stopped him from walkin'.
Entry 570
Yo' kin take a earwax an' if a girl is got de bad disease an' yo' don't Want to ask her if she have it an' yo' don't know it an' she wanta turn a trick wit chew, well, yo' go an' git in de bed wit her an' take yore finger an' put it in yore ear lak dat [demonstrates] an' jes' take dat wax an' tech her; an' if she got it, she comin' out from undah yo', she cain't stay dere. Dat earwax will eat her up. [To turn a trick is known everywhere.] An' if yo' in a house an' yo' mistrustin' if anyone in dat house is got de bad disease an' yo' in dere an' yo' think dey got it, yo' jes' take a piece of red peppah, if it's in de fall of de yeah, an' throw a little piece on de fiah, an' yo' see 'em leave outa dere. Dey goin' outa dere - cain't stay in dere.
Entry 714
There wus a woman that had gotten poisoned an' of course I knowed, you know, jis' whut to do, you know, for to save her, you see. An' I got me some stuff, you know, some swamp root an' some silkroot [silkweed] an' I put that together, you know, an' cut it all up, an' balled [boiled] it an' give it to her to drink. Of course she wus re'l bad off sick. An' so I gotten that an' made it, choo see, right away an' give it to her. An' she commence to gettin' relief, you know, after it worked. It jis' went right on through her, you know, an' she commence gettin' relief. So after that I told 'em to not to give her nuthin' heavy, you see, food to eat. Jis' give her fresh sweet milk, you know, to drink; but put de milk on an' let it boil, you know, an' skim it. An' she gotten all right.
(How did they poison her?)
Well now, she had inhaled, 'twas some dust I think, some - I think it wus snake dust. You see it jis' look like it wus jis' a powder. They throw it, choo know, an' she - it went through in her mouth.
(How do they make that snake dust?)
Get de snake an' put 'em in de fire, you know, an' burn 'em, you know - jis' have it on a tin, you know, an' burn 'em, you know, jis' like you burn a bone, you know, down into a powder, you know. An' den take it you see, an' jis' throw it aroun'. You inhale it, you see. It's re'l strong. Jis' put any other little powder in with it, choo know, to make the scent, to make you smell of it, choo see. Well, that go all through your system. [The informant, a healer, a native of Willard, N. Car., denies title of root doctor.]
Entry 792
Well, they say you take the foot tracks and they can trick you with 'em. Pick it up - take something like a shovel or something like that and pick it up and bring it. Care [carry] it to the graveyard, and they would plant it by a grave and you'll find yourself - you're wasting away, something like wasting disease, see. Well, you say, "I'm going to a doctor, a medical doctor." Well, a medical doctor don't do you no good. "Well, I think I go to a two-head doctor" = [that] mean a hoodoo. Well, you go to a hoodoo and he'll say, "Well, you're tricked." He'll ask you, "Does you have pains up your legs?" You'll say, "Yes." Then the hoodoo will come and the hoodoo will say, "Well, have you been walking somewhere on the road somewhere?" You'll say, "Yes." The hoodoo will say, "Somebody done pick up your track - well, I can cure you." That what the hoodoo will say - he can cure you. Well, you say, "I give you so much to cure me" - you know, to make me well. Well, he say, "All right." Well, I'll try - try with this hoodoo man until he will try to do me some good. Maybe he may do me good and maybe, iffen I'm got confidence in him, he will do me good. Well, my feet are starting to swelling and paining me. I would take all kinds of 'erbs and medicines from him and start to rubbing myself with them but that don't do no good. Well, I'll say I'll try another hoodoo. You see. And then this Way he will go - the swelling will go - quite natchurly most anything will make swelling go down. This hoodoo will come along and may think he can do a whole lot for you. And well, he can't do nothing for you, you understand, because my sister was sick in the bed and a hoodoo man came there - he had a grip [bag] in his hand.
[He imitates a doctor by carrying a medical kit - see Doctor's bag in Index.]
He say to me - he walks in there - my sister was in the bed and I was setting by the bed with her. [Again, he apes a doctor by having a prescription: pad.] He had a tablet like you [see later] - just buy outen the store and there wasn't nothing on it, same as new, but he had that tablet fixed so that I couldn't tell - I couldn't tell you what I was going to tell you, but he walked in there and he say, "Your sister is sick and she got a bug in her bed."
(What in the bed?)
A bug, bug in her bed. He say she got a bug in her bed.
(Your sister had a bug in the bed?)
What made her sick.
(I see.)
Causing her being sick. And he say, "I can get this bug outen the bed for your sister, but it will cost fifty dollars. So she said, "Oh, I ain't got but thirty-five cents in the house." Do you understand me, what I say? [See Deafness in Introduction.] And he said, "I can show you what I can do." He pull out the tablet and he tore the sheet off the tablet - you couldn't see nothing, it was just like you'd buy out of the store. He goes, says, "You got a little lamp?" And he goes and he burns it. He burn that sheet but it didn't fall to pieces, you know. And on that sheet it say, "You going to die - you got a bug in your bed and if you don't get him out, you going to die and your next door neighbor - a tall, dark woman, put it in there for you."
(Did you see this writing on the paper?)
Yeah, I saw it.
(He held this piece of plain paper over the lamp?)
Yeah, and let it burn, and when it burn, you could see the writing just as good as you take your hand and do [write] it. [See Writing invisible, in Index.] He say, he ask the girl, my friend, he say, "Have you?" She say, "Well, I ain't got but thirty-five cents." He say, "Oh, it takes fifty dollars to do dat." He say, "Well, come back here." He goes back there in the next room and he say, "To show you that I'm not lying" - that's the hoodoo man say that, you know. He say, "Turn your mattress back." He had two little bottles just about that big, see [demonstrates].
(About the size of your finger.)
Yeah. One had a black bug in it like a wood bug - I don't know what kind of bug, but like a bug. And one bottle didn't have any in it. He said, "Throw your mattress back." Well, they throw the mattress back and he say, "Now look." Now, I was watching him very close, you know, and he say, "Now, you see this bottle." That bottle he showed us didn't have anything at all in it. He said, "I'm going to put this bottle under your mattress and then you throw it back and that bug going to get out of that mattress into that bottle." All right. She did that. Now, in place of him putting the bottle without any bug in, he slipped the one with the bug in it, you see. And when she turn back, he said, "Now go back and turn the mattress - look." And when we turn the mattress there was the bottle with the big bug in it. I say, "OH!" And my friend say, "Oh, look there, that bug was in your bed, too." I told her, I said, "oh, don't mind that, tain't no bug in no bed or nothing like that." I watched him so close and he was watching me very close, you know, when he was doing that. He say, "Well, I charge you fifty dollars to get him out." I say, "Well, she ain't got no fifty dollars." He say, "Well, I have to put this bug back in your bed." He goes and slips the bottle with the bug in in under there and taken the one what there was none in, and when he got ready to take the bottle out, he put the bottle what didn't have no bug in. He said, "Now, the bug has gone back in the mattress - into the bed." You know. Well, that was a fake. He didn't have no bottle - he had two. And by watching him close, that's what drawed my attention to him - you know, with the bottle what's in there. [He had a tablet like you - he refers to one of my Numbers Book.]
Entry 902
I remember a story. A lady friend of mine [Miz Annie] - this wus real, too. It happen here in the city of Wilmington - it's not been over two years ago [1935]. An' a lady came to her home and she wus supposed to be a friend of her daughter [Alberta]. An' this girl [lady friend of Alberta] wus livin' in her home, roomin' in the home with this lady, Miz Annie. Miz Annie wus a friend of mine. An' so Miz Annie's daughter [Alberta] became sick an' she kept ailing all along. An' they didn't know whut wus de trouble with her, an' she wus always off the job, and didn't know whut, you know, the trouble with her. She kept so sickly, they couldn't do anything with her. So after awhile she [Alberta] went to de doctor and the doctor told her that he didn't know, he couldn't see any reason why, he couldn't account for her sickness - he jis' couldn't - she'd jis' have spells and jis' fall right down. An' so after - one evening her mother came in an' she says, "Now, Alberta, she says, "how are you feeling. An' Alberta said, "Munmee," she says, "I'm so sick I don't know whut to do." An' this same lady [Alberta's friend] wus livin' in de house, rentin'; so she went unto work. An' [while this friend wus at work] another lady [doctor] told her [the mother] - she [the mother] went to another lady [this doctor] which she knew from South Carolina an' ast this lady about how people acted when they were like that [cunjured]. So she [the mother] told her how she [Alberta] do-ed. Then she taken Alberta and carried her to this lady, an' when she carried her to this lady, the lady told her she had been hurt an' it wus somethin' buried under her steps. An' so Miz Annie came back home. An' after Miz Annie came back home and she - somepin told her to go get the hoe and dig right under her steps an' she would found a bottle buried there. [The doctor had already told her this, but somepin told her was the spirit confirming the doctor. Miz Annie and the woman in the preceding story (No. 901) could dig up the buried article without danger only because each had permission from a doctor. Permission from the spirit is also sufficient authority.] An' so she digged under there an' she found this bottle, an' it wus a bottle about that high, purta near hold a quart. After she taken this bottle up she taken this bottle over to the lady [doctor] an' dey found in this bottle - they dumped it out and it wus camphor an' hair an' pins an' a - somepin else she told me - bluestone wus in this bottle. It wus buried under de steps. An' kerosene - why, you see, that smell, odor of kerosene in it. An' after they got dis bottle up, den Alberta got all right. They burned it up, made a fire an' burned it. Ever'thin' like that tha' chew get up, anythin' like that, chew burn it. That destroys it.
Entry 1048
It was a nachur'l doll. They seem to think it was. And they had this doll baby fixed. And she went away to her mother's home and when she came back, de doll baby was in her door when she opened de door and she wouldn't put her hand on de doll. And they had this doll fixed for her and she took de doll and swept de doll in de fiah. And aftah she'd swept de doll in de fiah, three weeks aftah that, she got burned up. She burned de doll up. And they had de doll fixed so if she burned de doll up, then three weeks aftah that she caught afire and she burned up. [For an amazing example of victim fixed to burn to death, see story under margin-title Doctor Harris.]
(What should she have done with the doll?)
They said she ought to throw him away or get someone, you see, that understand that [kind of work] to take it up from there, and she don't have nuthin to do with it - jis' have it tooken away, jis' like they does now, anything that they take [and put down] and have anything [like that] taken away. [For doll baby, see following story, also No. 197, p.54, and Index.]
Entry 1099
I have known a woman who had a swelling from her knee down - from her knee down she was miserable. It hurt her, it kept her in terror, until she got so she could not walk. Finally, when the people had tried everything they knew to rub with and to bathe her legs with, her foot continued just to be swollen in such a nature of misery until she could not bear any weight on it. On a certain day an old woman came by the house. She said, "What have you done for that leg?" She asked how about her foot. They said, "We have done everything we know." She said, "Will you do this?" She said, "I will tell you what to do. You go out in an old field and when you find where these big red ants have made their nest" - it has a big hill, usually there is a lot of young ones in that hill - "you carry a pot with you, take a shovel, go around four ways around the nest and let it go in the ground. Then you just scoop that nest right up on the shovel and put it in that pot, all the live ants you can get, and cover the pot up and take it home. Put it over the fire, get some chamber lye, put the pot on the fire, put the chamber lye in, shut it up tight, let it get hot with the ants in there. When it gets hot and you know the ants is all dead and the dirt is hot through, open the pot, take a piece of cloth, spread this ant hill out on the cloth hot, apply it to the leg, as hot as she can bear it, bind it there and in her instep, bind it good and let it stand. I guarantee you that it will take the misery out of the swelling, because she has been cunjured." That was in Orangeburg County [South Carolina]. I saw the person. I saw the ant hill. I saw the poultice. And the next day she could put her foot to the floor. In four days she could walk. They repeated that twice and the leg Was healed. [New York Citv. (10, Ed.]
Entry 1112
Whut ah was sayin' 'bout luck, yo' kin go in de left-hand side of yore fireplace an' take a fire coal, take two fire coals an' wear 'em in yore - put 'em in a little sack an' wear 'em in yore left pocket an' no one can't do yo' no harm. [These fire coals in country districts were small pieces of charred wood.]
Entry 1326
Jis' lak if somebody got a spell on me or yo' an' yo' wanta git it offa there, yo' understan'. Yo' kin jis' take dat gunpowder, dat black gunpowder. Ah think it's a number seven - seven-'leven somepin such. But anyhow, de black powder. Spread it on a papah an' po' yo' 'bout a teaspoonful of turpentine on it an' light de papah, an' when de papah git up to de powder de powder will blaze up. An' whosomevah put dat spell on yo', it will jump offa yo' back on dem. (Don't you put anything else on that paper besides that?) [I was probably thinking of a name or incantation. Intention would be sufficient.] Nuthin but de gunpowder an' turpentine.
Entry 1474
(If a person has crossed you?)
Yeah.
(You go to the stove?)
Go to the stove or place where a fire what's lit, and you take you some salt, you see, and just sprinkle it over the flame, you know, and you repeat the Lord's Prayer, and the flames quiver from de salt, you know, and then you do with your hand like dat and read the 37th Psalm [demonstrates].
(You hold your hands up in the air together after you said your prayer.)
After the prayer. You repeat the Lord's Prayer and ask the Lord to give you peace of mind and, "The Lord deliver me from mine enemies. ".
Entry 1507
Yo' kin go out an' jes' lak yo' - yo' git chew some ole shoes anywhere in de streets or road, anywhere in town. Yo' burn dem - yo' take de soles off. Ah nevah have heard of 'em burnin' de whole shoe - take de soles offa dem shoes. Git chew some sulphur an' bluestone or brimstone - it's all near 'bout alike an' jest put chew a little fiah in de yard or put it in a tinpan or somethin' an' burn it out dere. An' dat keeps dem away from dere.
(What do you burn, the shoe or just the shoe sole?)
De sole - not de shoe. Burn de sole an' put dat sulphur an' bluestone or brimstone - either one, jest put it on dere. A woman showed me dat - ah couldn't tell yo' de name, but she burns dat.
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 1584
Well, yo' - jes' lak yo' had germs in dis room heah, an' yo' wants tuh git shet of de germs, yo' take some tobacco an' put it into a pan or something an' set 'em afire, a slow fiah, an' let 'em smoke yo' see, but it will kill ever'thing in de world. If yo' ain't got no tobacco, take some ole shoes an' tear 'em up an' put 'em on top of sulphur - it kills. [Tobacco usually appears in compounds - No. 1551, p.491, and Index.]
Entry 1637
Ah wus fixed. Ah wus dressed one time an' ah wus tole to take some table salt an' go roun' an' roun' mah buildin' three time a week an' jes' scatter it 'long. An' take some of my chamber lye at night an' in de mawnin' throw a han'ful in de fire an' jes' sprinkle dat chamber lye right in de fire behin' yo' an' don't look back at it - jes' back up to de fire an' throw it in an' don't look back. An' it 'move mah misery - it painful all ovah.
(You threw that handful of salt in the fire every morning [for three mornings]
and then you threw that chamber lye behind it?) Yes - fo' three mawnin's, befo' sunrise.
(And you threw that salt around the house three mornings in the week?)
Three mornin' in de week.
(One morning right after the other or what?)
Yes sir, three mornin': Monday mornin', Tuesday mornin', an' Wednesday de last momin'.
Entry 1639
If a person poison yo', give you some kind of deadly poison, yo' know, tuh poison yo', take yo' a hoecake of [corn]meal out chure flour an' take yo' jes' any amount of chamber lye dat chew have from de night ovah an' mix it up. But chew buy yo' a brand-new yard of homespun cloth [almost always homespun; cloth rarely added] an' right at chure fireplace mix it up jes' like yo' mixing up dough. An' yo' make, yo' know, jes' a flat roun' hoecake an' put it in de backside of yo' fiahplace. Dat befo' yo make yo' fiah in de mornin', yo' under- stand, an' den builds yore fiah on top of it. An' whosomevah done anything to yo' - whosomevah poisoned yo', say dat'll turn it back on dem.
Entry 2055
From a lightnin'-struck tree yo' kin take a splin- ter an' go 'head an' boil it, an' put it in whiskey or somepin lak dat. An' dere any girl or somepin othah yo' love an' give her some of dat whiskey, dat will bring her to yo' - 'cause dat's fiah, bring her to yo'. [Hands also in margin-title Wood (2) Struck by Light- ning, p.514f.]
Entry 2178
Yo' take table salt an' yo' put it in de palm of yore hand, jes' a little, an' yo' build yo' a fire. Yo' take onion peelin's an' put it in de palm of yore hand, say, "God de Father, God de Son, God de Holy Spirit," an' throw dis in de fire. "Strike de fire in mah house. Bring success an' peace an' money an friendship in mah home." Yo' throw it in dat blazin' fire. (And you take each one of those things that you say and throw them into the fire?) Dat's right - de salt.
(The salt and those pieces of onion?)
No, yo' put de onion in yore hand an' jes' three pinch of salt.
(Three pinches of salt on the fire?)
Three heads - God de Father, God de Son, an' God de Holy Spirit.
(That is to bring in customers.)
Entry 2199
Ah tell yo' whut chew do, if yo' in business fo' violation or in any way an' yo' figures de law is comin'. Well now yo' listen. Yo' git chew nine grains of red peppah outa de pods, nine grains. Git two teaspoon fulla sugah an' yo' git chew one palm of Christian seed [three ingredients] an' yo' powder dat all up togethah an' yo take an' make - yo' know, put it in a ball an' wheresomevah yo' got fiah, yo' throw it in dat fiah, an' de law will come right by de do' an' drive on 'way. [The term palm of Christian taxed my guessing ability to the limit. After efforts at various times I finally came up with palma Christi (hand of Christ), anglicized form palmcrist - the castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis). Informant's word seed probably confused me, because during my boyhood castor-oil plant seeds were called beans. They are still called castor beans, are poisonous because of ricin in them, and are nonetheless the source of castor oil. My only other folk- lore experience with the plant is a strange one: "It is against the law to cut down a castor-bean plant" - FACI, 1st ed.,1935, p.429. This could be one of those many inversions in folklore, as in life, meaning - 'It is unlawful to grow a plant having poisonous seeds."
Entry 2270
Take salt and burn it, then dampen it, let it become hard, put it in a paper, wrap it up tight, wear it in your left pocket, and they say you'll have good luck.
Entry 2595
Yo' kin take salt an' throw it in de fire if anybody come in de house; yo'll run 'em if dey come dere fo' money.
Entry 2633
Dey say dat whut dat is fer - tuh make mens come to yore house.
(What what is for?)
Burnin' ole men's shoe. When dey lonesome an' ain't got no company, say, "Well, ah'm goin' do so-an'-so. Ah'm goin' have some company." Yo' see, take dem ole shoes an' make a fiah an' burn em in de fiah, an' then throw some salt on it an' let 'em burn. An' that bring men.
Entry 2636
Well, yo' take de shoe, de man's shoe, de right foot, an' yo' put some sulphur in it an' a piece of bluestone an' yo' burn it. Put it in de middle of de floor an' burn it, an' dat will give yo' luck in yore home. Draw the crowd.
(If you are selling liquor or something of that sort.)
Dat's right.
Entry 2641
Take a man's left-foot shoe - dat's luck, see, in de gamblin'. Yo' take a man's left-foot shoe an' yo' go tuh town an' yo' buy yo' five cents worth of brown sugah an' yo' buy yo' five cents worth of white sugah, an' yo' take that sugah an' yo' put a tablespoon of sugah in yore left shoe - of de brown sugah, an' yo' put a tablespoon of the white sugah in de othah shoe. Then yo put em in de heater. See, that's why yo' gamblin'. Yo' turn one this way an' yo' turn de othah one this way.
(Here are the two shoes. Now, how do you turn them?)
All right [demonstrates], yo' put a tablespoon of brown sugah in this left- foot shoe. Yo' turn this one this way, see; an' yo' take the othah one an' turn it ovah [not upside down] that way. (Make a cross with the two shoes. They are standing up though.) [I comment on demonstration. Remember, these are old battered shoes being crossed.] Yessuh, make a cross. An' yo' burn that. Let that burn grad'lly in de house. Dat's fo' gamblin'. Dat jes' brings people - dat's luck.
(But the sugar must be in the heels of the shoes?)
Yassiree, must be in de heels of 'em, a tablespoon of sugah in each one.
Entry 2977
Somebody is burning a candle on you, and you got fire in the grate or else in the wood stove. You take a tablespoon of sugar and you put that in that fire and you take a tablespoon of salt and you put that in there. In about three minutes them candles will go out, cause I had it happen to me and I did it.
Entry 3034
(You say if you don't give him [St. Peter] this promise.)
Promise what you give him - just like if you promised him a flower or any kind of a piece of money. At that day when you make him the promise, he'll give you enough to go out and get just what you ask for. Well, you see - well then, you failed in giving him what you promised him, then he'll set fire. That candle - you see, you have some little candles setting under the saint.
(Under the saint, yes.)
Yeah, well, the saint [is] over [above candles] that - well then, everything you promise him, if you promised to give him a flower or give him a rose - well then, when the time comes to you to give it to him - and you done be successful what you have asked for - well, you come and you put that flower there, you know, in some water. Well, then you'll always have luck. But the minute that you fail in giving him what you promised - that what you - that junk what you got around there, probably you may have some paper around there on the mantelpiece or wher- ever you got it, or in the corner - you might have a curtain or something like that - well, there's some kind of way it going to blow into that and ketch on fire - burn down - and after that you have worse luck than you ever had.
Entry 3212
She could cut some of 'is - his hair from de lowah part of 'is body. Take an' cut some of it off an' she'll take it an' go out an' burn it, an' she'll take his nature 'way fo' anybody else 'cept 'er. (She will take and burn this hair she took from him, take his nature away for any other woman.) Yes.
Entry 3467
Git holt of a man's pocket han'ke'chuf an' tie it up - lak yo' wish 'im tuh have trouble in two or three places, lak yo' runnin' a business ovah yondah an' want yo' tuh lose, runnin' a farm an' want chew to lose yore farm an' yo' stock. Tie knots to evah - cuss de devil an' God an' tie a knot fo' evah- thin' yo' want done. An' take dat han'ke'chuf an' burn it up, an' dat'll make yo' have hard luck.
Entry 3788
Now, I kin tell yo' somepin dat'll make yore courage rise, if a man falls, yo' know. Yo' know some people say yo' kin fix a man where he can't have nobody but chew. But chew take a red onion an' yo' wrap it up in a wet rag an' put it in de fiah an' roast it, an' when it git done lak a roast aig, yo' take an' let it git cool. Take dat an' squeeze dat juice all de way on yore private an' yo' rise lak dat.
(That will cure it?)
Kills anything. If dey hang up de rag lak some do's, dey take de dishrag an' run yo' wit it.
Entry 3812
Go an' git a bran'-new brick dat has nevah been used, an' yo' put it in yore fire an' git it red-hot. While dat brick is heatin', he make him a pep- pah tea wid dese pod peppahs. Git nine pods an' make a peppah tea of it, an' he po' 'bout a ten-cent drink of likkah into dis an' drink it hot. Well, when he drink it hot, he urin- ate on dat brick - take it out an' urinate on dat brick, an' dat'll bring it back. Dat's one way. (That will restore his nature, his courage that has been tied up by some woman.) Yes.
Entry 4073
(Any other way she can make him come back to her?)
She kin do - she take nine needles an' nine pins an' put 'em in a bottle head an' tail, an' call 'is name evah time [she drops a needle or pin]. An' full de bottle full wit 'er chamber lye. An' cork it up tight an' make a fiah an' put dat bottle in de fiah, an' when it bust, call dey name. In 24 hours time he has tuh come tuh 'er runnin' - no mattah where he be, have tuh come tuh 'er.
Entry 5102
[Take] de lef' foot of yore shoes an' put it unnerneat' chure foot of yore baid, an' make a spirit stay away. Tuh give yuh good luck, dey [you] take yore shoes, one yore ole shoes, an' yuh put some sulphur in it an' throw it in de fiahplace, an' burn de sulphuh an' shoe tuhgethah. Dat will give yuh luck in yore home.
Entry 5141
Yuh kin take yore ole shoes an' keep it in yore house an' burn it evah Friday at twelve a'clock - burn yore ole shoes evah Friday at twelve a'clock. Jis' burn it right in de middle of yore flo' [making a quincunx, see p.710) in somepin. Shut chure do' an' walk out. [In somepin means old bucket, can or pan. Even if these are raised on bricks this is a dangerous rite whether fire started with live coals or coal oil!l But it mus' be twelve a'clock. Yuh start dat a li'le befo' twelve. Start de fiah, see, an' it be burnin' at twelve a'clock.
(In the daytime or the night?)
Daytime - twelve a'clock in de day.
Entry 5201
Well, yo' kin take de shoes an' burn 'em an' dey'll come back.
(Both the shoes?)
Yes, burn shoes.
(After you burn them what do you do?)
Yo'jes' burn 'em wit salt. If yo' jes' take salt an' sprinkle it behin' a person dey will leave. Den yo' kin take de shoes an' burn 'em wit salt an' dey'll come back. [Burning the shoes with salt - both burning and salt - breaks the spell cast that send the person away.]
Entry 5224
De lef'-footed ole shoes from a man. Now, lak if yo' be in business lak sellin' whiskey or anythin' lak dat, yo' could burn it in yore home at six a'clock evah mawnin'. An' dat's good luck.
(That is good luck to bring in customers?)
Bring in plenty customahs an' all lak dat.
Entry 5228
" Yo' would burn shoes fo' luck. Jis' git sugah, ord'nary sugah, an' sprinkle it ovah dem an' put 'em in de fiah an' burn 'em fo' any kinda luck.
Entry 5231
Jes' lak if yo' an' a man separated, an' dey say dat if yo' kin git 'is lef'-foot of 'is shoe, an' take it out in de back yard an' burn de shoe wit sul- phur, dat he would came back. (Take the left sole, the whole shoe?) Yes sir, jes' de whole shoe an' turn it down an' sprinkle sulphur on de shoe an' said dat would bring 'im back.
(Then you burn the shoe?)
Yes sir, burn it - jes' make a fire an' burn it.
Entry 5299
Dey burn shoes fo' luck. Dey'd jes' take de shoe - lak dey'd have a fiah in de fiahplace - jes' a ole pair of shoes, an' take an' make yo' a fiah. An' take an' put de shoes on top of de fiah, an' set dat [shoes] ovah dere an' den make yore wishes. An' as de shoes burns, keeps talkin' tuh 'em.
(That will bring any kind of luck?)
Yessuh.
Entry 5300
Yo' take de lef'-foot shoe at twelve a'clock at night an' yo' make yore wish tuh de fo' cornahs of de world an' pray - jes' a prayah child-lak, in yore own mannahs, see. Yore own way of prayin', see. Den if yo' got anybody dat's gone, why dey'll come tuh yo'. Do dat nine times, pray dat prayer. Co'se yo' burn de shoe once, but yo' pray dat same prayah fo' nine times at de same hour. Yo' pray it an' dat's tuh bring 'em home.
(Do you pray nine times that same night you burn the shoe or afterwards?)
Afterwards. Yo' pray it one prayah dat night an' jes' pray it till nine nights. But yo' only burn de shoe once.
(But you only burn the shoe once.)
One shoe at twelve a'clock.
[A separate rite is now added to preceding one:]
Take dat shoe an' yo' kin put some sugah an' soda an' sulphur. Put it in de heel an' shake it tuh de toe, an' push de shoe in de burnah, stove or heatah. Put de toe in first an' let it burn. Yo' do dat about twelve a'clock at night. Now, dat's good. Dat's de same thing. See, yo' don' have tuh pray no nine times ovah dat. Jes' do dat. An' dat's tuh bring people.
(You use either shoe?)
De right foot.
Entry 5307
Well, if ah wus wit a man an' me an' him disagreed an' couldn't git along, why ah'd take his track. Reach an' git it, pull it tuh me. Take it a certain time of de day, not latah den ten a' clock - not latah den ten. At ten a'clock in de day ah'd go tuh a ants bed, take me some gunpowdah an' put it in dat ants bed, an' take a match an' set it afire. Well, when dat scattah, he'd be gone.
(What do you do with his foot track?)
Take dis gunpowdah an' dis track all mixed tuhgethah.
(You didn't tell me that, you see.)
Yes sir, yo' mix it tuhgethah an' yo' set a match tuh it, an' it blow up. Well, jes' lak dat smoke goin', dat fellah goin' de same way.
(You must blow this up in a ants bed?)
Yes sir.
Entry 5354
They claim that if you take some of the dirt out of their track and put that in a rag and throw it in the fire and burn it, that they won't come back any more.
Entry 5477
Jis' lak say, if ah wanted yo' tuh leave town. Yo' an' ah have become tuh be enemies, an' ah'm gonta [going to] make yo' leave town - not gonta put mah han's on yuh. Well, ah'll fool roun' until ah see yo' pass, anywheres where yo' make a imprint of a track on de sand. Well, ah'll go an' scrape up dat track, an' take it an' mix it wit gunpowdah, an' set fiah tuh it an' she'll blow up. An' dey say yo've got'a go.
(Now, how many tracks of mine would you take, both of them?)
Jis' git some of de dirt of yore track. Dey [who?] don't say eithah one, jis' say yore track.
Entry 5484
Yo' git 'is track an' git 'er track an' git chew gunshells, an' jis' put dem two tracks tuhgethah an' stick yo' a light undah it, say, "Ah wants one of yo' tuh go tuh de east an' de othah one tuh de west." Take dat gunshell an' put one on dis side, dis gunshell heah now in de middle. An' heah one track heah an' heah de othah one dataway, say, "Ah want one tuh go tuh de east an' one t-h go tuh de west." An' call dere names. An' stick a fiah undah dem an' dey'll say dey'll go evah way. Dey can't stay tuh- gethah, dey would have tuh go.
(This is to break up a man and his wife?)
Yes sir.
Entry 5831
[Similar to the margin title BURIED HAIR, only a few examples of burn- ing hair will be given here. Many other rites are scattered through the text.] Dey take mah hair an' put it wit some sulphur an' brimstone, an' dey put it in some of yore watah an' de sand - some of dat sand out de hollah of yore track, or eithah dey take a piece outa yore sock at de hollah of yore feet [if unable to obtain the foot track]. An' put it together an' if dey want chew tuh go, why dey throw it in a runnin' stream wrapped up, an' as long as hit run, why jes' de furthah yo' will go. An' when- evah it stop, yo' will stop until it start rainin' ag'in - till de stream start washin' it, see. An' if dey wanted yo' tuh stay or wanted yo' tuh kill yo'self, why dey'd take it an' put it in - bo' a hole in a tree an' put it in dere an' put a piece back in dere ovah it tuh hold - keep de air from it. Or, eithah dey would take an' burn it. An' if dey burn it, why whenevah - at a certain time de spell, dat spell would come on yo', a real full spell - kinda out of yore senses, an' yo' stick yore head in de fiah or maybe yo' jump ovah- bo'd an' kill yo'self or sompin. Well, dere wuz a boy ah know, hit wuz a girl he wuz goin' wit, an' he wuz leavin' for de CCC [Civilian Conservation Corps, of the U. S. A.] Camp. An' she'd taken 'is picture an' she put it in a - his picture an' some sulphur an' some brimstone an' some of de hair out 'is haid an' de bow outa his hat, an' dey [wo- men] put dis togethah an' burn it. An' aftah dey burn it, dey taken it out de fiah - jes' burn it, put it in a separate place an' burn it in a little box - an' den dey taken it an' wrapped it up good an' real tight an' wore it in dey clothes, in dere undahclothes. Well, as long as she wore it in 'er undah- clothes why he stayed dere. He couldn't stay 'way from 'er house. An' when she taken off 'er cloth [holding the ashes] an' put it - she'd throw it in de fiah, an' he'd taken an' stuck 'is haid in de fiah. It taken six people tuh hol' 'im out de fiah. An' den he got away an' got in de fiah an' caught afiah. An' whenevah dey could git 'im out, he'd ketch hold of de bed, jes' lak dat [may have demonstrated], dey said. An' he'd ketch de foot of it an' draw it togethah, jes' bend it [the 2 legs of the bed together]. An' he kept on lak dat till he died.
Entry 5920
Den yo' kin take de hair from de same place out of 'is haid an' put it in a shell - take it all out but de powdah, an' put it in dis shell wit 'is name in it, an' den as yo' go an' fiah dat, dat jes' kills 'im den.
Entry 6449
Well, dey could take yore toenails an' put 'em on a fire; parch 'em up an' make a powdah outa dem, see. Dey could take a frog, take dat frog an' put 'im in somepin where he can't git out, yo' see. Dey puts 'im on a fire an' parches 'im up tuh a powdah. Dey mixes dose two things tuhgethah, yo' undahstan'. An' aftah dey mix 'em tuhgeth- ah, den dey'll take 'em an' put 'em in a red flannel bag, a little small bag, an' dey will bury dem, see. When dey bury dem, it takes effect on yo' right away. Yo' git founded in yore feet. Yo' can't git about an' yore feet will begin tuh swell on yo'.
(I see.)
[Since I did not ask for the meaning of the preceding founded, I must have understood it as confounded in your feet (found being an obsolete form of con- found); or as fZoundered (flounder = stumble) or to stumble and go lame, as a horse.]
Entry 6457
[That's a] powahful thing. Yo' kin take de fingahnails, de toenail, a lock of each individual hair.
(Yes.)
Takin' it an' put it in a li'le small can, see, lightin' fire tuh it an' leave it cook tuh a powdah. Sprinkle dat in any food of any woman an' no man kin git between yo' an' 'er. Or eithah way, yo' kin reverse it. If she do it tuh yo', no woman kin git between yo' an' 'er. (I see. I would simply take this woman's fingernails and toenails and some of her hair?) Yes, sir.
(Nothing from myself?)
Nope.
Entry 6460
Jis' shave it off, take a little, yuh know - jis' a little bit off yeh fingahnails. An' take a razor an' shave a little bit undah yeh ahms, an' a lit- tle bit of hair down dere. An' take dat an' put it in a pot dat choo not gon'a use any mo', an' put it on de fiah; a pot choo're not gon'a use any mo', becuz yuh know nobody fix anything dat yuh wouldn't wana eat [from] it. An' git a pint of whiskey, somebody dat choo know dat love whiskey. An' take dat stuff aftah yuh cook it - it'll git thick - let it drain off. An' when it drain off, put jis' a little bit in whiskey, until de whiskey won't git so thick dat he'll pay mind tuh it. An' den dat's de way yuh kin draw a person wid jeh. If yuh can't git 'em no othah way, yuh kin git 'em in whiskey.
Entry 6585
Ah heard of 'em usin' a scorpion fo' makin' live things in people. Well, ah heard dat dey take 'im an' put 'im in a open SPIDER [FRYING PAN ON LEGS] one dese ole spidahs whut has a lid tuh it. An' jis' make fire enough in it where dat he'll jis' run aroun' in dere until he dies. An' let 'im bake till he gits where dey kin crumble him up an' make a powdah. An' den dey tell me dey kin put dat on a person an' hit'll go through de skin an' come de same thing 'live in de person.
Entry 6625
Well, yo' kin use a rattlesnake haid. Yo' kin use a rattlesnake haid, if yo' git someone tuh kill a rattlesnake an' take de haid of it, an' put 'im in de stove an' let 'im jis' stay in dere undah a hot fiah, an' let it parch up fine. An' yo' kin take dat an' put it in anybody's [water]bucket - jis' de dus' from it, yo' know. Aftah yo' take an' beat it up, pound it up good, git de dust of it an' sprinkle it in anybody's watah bucket. Ary [or] a li'le pinch of it in dey food. An' it'll kill 'em.
Entry 6662
(He [my contact man] said that you told him a story.)
Yes. Well, now, heah's de story ah wanta tell yo' - sech as whut dey tell me an' whut ah learned, SECH AS WITCHCRAFT. Well, now, de story ah got tuh tell is sech a thing as spidahs. Yo' know whut ah'm talkin' 'bout, web spidahs yo' seen [not a fryingpan on legs called a spider]. Well, yo' kin take it an' take it tuh de fiah yo' know an' hold it. Tie a string tuh it, he can't crawl away, or put it in de stove yo' might say, in dere alive an' let it bake. [Here is the frequent rite of suffering before death.l An' aftah it git baked, den crush it up. Take dat an' crush it up intuh somepin an' put it in de whiskey. Yo' undahstan'. An' den yo' - ah'm yore enemy, yo' see. Well, aftah yo' taken an' do dat an' yo' kin git me tuh drink dat whiskey, well dere ah go, right dere. Dem spider gits in me an' create, an' dey gits an' eats mah insides out, yo' see. Dat's known tuh be de fact. Fo' me, ah hasn't tried tuh work it on no one. Anothah one, ag'in. Yo' kin take up dese qround dog whut chew fish wit. Some folks call 'em ground dogs, some folks call 'em ground puppies [the changa, or hellbender, a salamander, described elsewhere], see. Yo' take dat an' yo' kin crisp it up in a stove or sompin othah, an' yo' kin put it - grind it up intuh poudah, aftah yo' crisp it up. Jis' lak a locust, yo' see. Yo' kin take it an' grind it up an' yo' kin jes' put it - bury hit right at yore do'step. See, an' po' yo' about a mouthfulla whiskey on 'it, see. An' attah [after] yo' puttin' de mouthfulla whiskey on it, de nex' mawnin' yo'll wake up dere, yo'll find a thousand of 'em - young-uns. Dat's done, yo' know, it's done increase dat much. Jis' one, de one yo' take an' killed an' crisp it up, an' dig a hole an' bury it in, an' po' some whiskey on, put it down at yore do'step, an' de nex' mawnin' when yo' wake up an' go dere an' dig up undah dere, dey say dere'll be 'bout a han'fulla dem - de young-uns. Done create. Done create dat much.
(What do you do that for?)
Well, dat shows dat yo' might - yo' kin put it in me de same way. Dat jis' shoWS, yo' undahstan', JIS' SHOWS, PROVE OUT WHUT DESE THIN'S KIN DO. DEAD THIN'S DAT COME TUH LIFE.
Entry 6677
See, de othah night ah had a young lady. Her an' 'er husban' went out tuh a dance, a party, all well an' hearty, but dere wus anothah girl dere got de [these] two in company wit dis - both in love wit de same boy. One slips a dose intuh de othah one. Now, how she did dat - she had wasps an' ants in 'er. Yo' take de wasps an' yo' set 'em in a tin cup an' yo' set 'em on de fire, stove or somewhere in de oven alive. Yo' fasten 'em up in dere an' let 'em stay in dere until dey are cooked, burn up, so dat yo' kin take 'em jis' like cigah ashes an' jis' crumble 'em up-like - jis' like dose ashes dere [in my cigar tray on interviewing table]. Well yo' kin take dose ashes den. Take de ants likewise if yo' want tuh. Or yo' kin jis' use one [wasp or ant]. An' jis' make a powdah outa dem. An' den yo' jis' [put] a li'le in a piece of papah, han'ke'chuf or anything an' take it on wit yo'. Well, yo' might ask fer a glass of watah, an' dey will be sellin' ice cream, cake, beer an' one thing anothah. Dey all settin' aroun' dere an' yo' slip aroun' an' yo' have yore glass settin', settin' dere talkin'. Yo' may done drink some outa it. Somebody stand- in' up behind yo', an' yo' don' pay no attention, or may walk by - may be standin' roun' dis side of de table. Somebody walk up behin' joo an' begin talkin' tuhyo' an' yo'll turn yore head an' dey reach across an' jis' drop jis' a pinch in it. Well, no soonah it hits, in de co'se of a second or five seconds, it's all vapor- ated an' yo' can't tell it from - it's all de same color yo' know, dere is no way of seein' it. Well, now yo' drink dat. DIS GIRL SHE HAD DOSE THINGS IN 'ER, AN' SHE COME TUH ME. DEY BROUGHT 'ER TUH ME FIVE 'CLOCK DAT MAWNIN'. HAD GONE INTUH FITS, HER HANDS TIED BEHIND 'ER, AN' A STICK ACROSS 'ER MOUTH. An' dat's hOW she got it. She got hers in ice cream.
Entry 427
(The Rev. Young is going to tell his story again about his experience in New Orleans.) [The preceding words are not for Mr. Young who heard them, but for the concealed microphone - a notation to remind me later that his story the preceding day had not been well recorded. My previous knowledge of his adventure is the reason why I can prompt the rerecording.] This man was named Scott - that lived at Moundville, Alabama - an' he came to New Orleans and was stopping at de Chicago Hotel, run by a man by the name of A. O. Smith on de corner of [name began with P] and Liberty Streets. He come to New Orleans to see one of these wizards as they call them [never so called], or either fortune-tellers or hoodoos, and he was talking to the proprietor, Mr. Smith, relative to having someone who knew New Orleans who would take him around. He [Smith] told him he knew a young man who was in school at Leland University, and that he would possibly be there and that he was just the man he was looking for. So, while they were talking, I happened up that afternoon. I simply happened up and Mr. Smith says, "Here's the very man we Was talking about" - introduced me to him and said, "This is Mr. Scott from Moundville and he wants to go with someone who knows New Orleans, to go about with him." Well, first thing he explained the nature of his business to me, and said whatever ah charged him for mah time, he would give it to me. He was looking for a man that Would help him to find some money that was supposed to be buried on his premises, on his property. The first thing he wanted to do was to find him some of those barrooms where he could find him some gin, and he claimed that gin was lucky to him, and after clearing about a quart of this gin - drinking it - why we went round sight-seeing in New Orleans and visited a deal of places up until about possibly ten-thirty or 'leven 'clock that night. Then we went out, way out Bienville - near Galvers Street - way out - seventy-five blocks away, possibly - way out in New Orleans, Way out to Bienville Street - dat's about two blocks from Canal Street, parallel to Canal Street. We got out there, ah suppose about ten-thirty or 'leven 'clock and knocked on a door and dey - mostly all downtown houses in New Orleans have dese blinds and shutters, and de people is very superstitious - it's a very hard matter to find anybody round New Orleans. If you knock on a person's door and dey'll ask you who you looking for and sometimes you's talking to dis party, and dey won't answer you. And if dey are somewhere else in de house dey'll call 'em and perhaps yo' gone, and if you wanta see dat person perhaps they'll call you back. So [before] we went in and - his wife said, "Oh, sure it's you, Percy?" Ah said, "Yes." She said, "Come on in." Ah said, "Ah got company, someone to see Professor Frank." She say, "Why he's in bed asleep." Ah said, "Well, this is rather important and I would be glad should you call him." She say, "All right." So she went and called Professor Frank and he came out dressed in a very gorgeous robe, seem'ly made of red velvet and large arms - had a cap on same as that which a priest wears, and had dis man to come and kneel. [Since I did not ask for a description of this cap "same as that which a priest wears," I evidently assumed that it would be a biretta rather than a zucchetto and that the color would be black; this article and color being more accessible to him at a Roman Catholic religious shop. But I had not yet visited New Orleans and had much to learn - the cap was probably red.] De room was lighted with two large candles on either side of the mantlepiece - red candles - de carpet on de floor was red, and then they had a large altar over in de corner. It seem to set the room off katycornered, and there was a stool [prie-dieu] by which a man could kneel down upon as the people do in some of the churches to pray. This man knelt down on this stool and he told him to put his right hand on his heart and his left hand on a book which was supposed to be the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses of witchcraft and superstition. Then he mumbled some words, turned his back to dis man and looked up as in meditation and mumbled something and turned and told him dat he would seek what he was lookin' fo'. This altar I didn't describe it as I had yesterday - the robe [frontal] on de altar was of deep, dark red velvet with fringe all round and worked wit gold and various colors of stars, and de moon. It had a large gold and silver horseshoe mingled with seem'ly various colors - ivory.
(You spoke of that awning [his word] being held up, yesterday.)
Yes, this awning [canopy] over the altar was caught up right in de center in front, seem'ly by dis horseshoe and den draped down to a point on either side and went almost round de - in fact, it covered de altar. This altar Was made very similar to that of a pulpit - suppose it was about two and a half or three feet and about eighteen inches wide - something like dat - and he stood with dis heavy robe on him - this large robe girded round him in fringes on de end.
(It was the kind of a robe that a priest throws around him?)
Yes sir. And he had the bottom of his hand up this way - his right hand - he was seated in front of a table. Now dis table was something similar to a living- room or a parlor room mahogany table, seem'ly about four feet possibly and about eighteen inches in width, very heavy carved, de legs - I didn't say dat yesterday but it was large ole antique furniture. On this table was a large red covering with fringes that went up and down in the center. It didn't exactly cover the table. On this table was a large reading lamp with a shade seem'ly probably of gold, and he went behind dis table and sit down in large reclining revolving chair. But before he sat down in this chair - no, after he sat down in de chair, he pulled out a drawer in dis table and got out a kind of pipe - seem'ly it was gold - had a little crooked pipe stem to it [surely a calabash - my first pipe] - got some what we call moss tobacco or cut-plug - something similar to cut-plug tobacco and filled his pipe with tobacco continuously looking at this man, who sat dere and seem'ly half out of his wits and trembling - looked upon dis man as some supernatural being or some man dat was extraordinary - out of the ordinary person. He continuously looked at him searchingly, and dis man would look up at him guardedly. After he had filled his pipe with tobacco, still looking at dis man, he got out a - out from underneath his robe - the robe was lined with heavy satin - ah don't think I said that yesterday - he pulled out dis gold match- lighter and some way pushed a spring and out come a blue flame which seem'ly had something else in it - resembled that of lightning - still continuously looking at dis man. After lighting his pipe, put this cigarette lighter out and stuck it back in his pocket. He sat down and looked at this man and told him what he came there for. First he told him that his mother was dead and that he lived with his father; that he Was in a business and that he was very successful in this business, and he had a large amount of money and had come to New Orleans looking for him and that he Would find there was heap much money on this property of his buried. Seem'ly it was probably buried there by the Indians who seem'ly had formerly owned - lived in that settlement before it was thickly inhabited or populated.
(Then he sent you away for the night, didn't he?)
Yes sir. He had us to leave with the understanding that at ten 'clock de next morning he would come back and not say a word to anybody and bring $75 with him, which dis man did. We meets at de hotel and de next morning ah brought him back, since he didn't know New Orleans, and we came back - made it our business to be there exactly at ten 'clock. Came there and then he took him in his back yard. They had a rod that resembles a lightning rod, something like a lightning rod.
(What was the shape of this rod?)
Hit was round and at the ends it went down in an inner case and was made so it went down in an inner case and was made so it would go up and down at a certain length, a certain depth.
(Yesterday you said it was like a drill.)
Yes sir - it was like a drill in one end and it was curved like curved wire - like a curved lightning [rod] wire.
(How long was it?)
Oh it was possibly - probably six feet near as ah kin judge. And he went in his back yard and had some wires attached to it [the drill] - he apparently had these wires [also attached] on de wall of his house [in] back- yard, but it seems he attached them to some other wires connected with, possibly the electric wires, and place this machine out in de middle of de yard. Had it to drill itself - worked it a certain way that it worked itself down in de yard, and stood off from it, waved his hand like magic and said some peculiar words three different times, and then flames of fire like lightning flamed up at the top of [this] rod - flamed up three different times at de top of this rod. Well, the man as well as mahself, we stood there amazed because it was - well, now you understand it. We, when we went out of his house - dere was a little alley between his house and the next house - the houses in New Orleans are built very closely together - went out in the street and right in front of his home was a gutter that jes' carries off the Water, a ditch, very seldom cleaned out and there was Water in it, stopped up - stagnant water dere most all de time. Stuck dis rod down in de Water, but he never left the rod off the wire as he went through the yard - that wire was coils you know.
(He kept on to this wire - the wire was still attached to the house?)
Yes sir - still attached to the house and he uncoiled it. as he went on through the alley and sent this same rod - it was made to go down in de ditch of water, and said those same words he said in the back yard and waved his hand over this wire and then the flames came up seem'ly out of the.water through this wire. Jes' how it was [done I] don't know [!ii]. But after that he said to this man that regardless of where dis money was buried, if it was an old well, if it was in Water anywhere, or it was on dry land, dis machine would be sure to find it. And this man gave him the $75. He gave him that when he first went in the house the second day. And he was to go to this man's home at Moundville, Alabama - this side of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, up on de Alabama Great Southern Railroad between Meedan [?] [Meridian, Mississippi] and Tuscaloosa [Alabama]. And sometime that afternoon they left all of a sudden for Moundville where he was supposed to go to find dis money.
(This man went with him?)
Yes sir, this man went with him. [As the reader has already suspected, when the professor "waved his hand like magic his wife inside the house pulled the switch!] (You were telling me yesterday about this candle-burning: You said it is very prevalent along the Gulf here and New Orleans to burn candles.)
[This was several weeks before I reached New Orleans on my first trip.]
Yes sir. (What was your idea about why they burn candles in other parts of the country; you told me that yesterday.) Well, because de religious idea seem'ly is borrowed from de Catholics who burn candles in their religious ceremonies. A deal of dese people are persuaded, some of them are Catholic persuasion and some of them belong to the Catholic Church. Those who do not belong to the Catholic Church, as the Catholics to some extent predominate along the coast and in New Orleans, through Mexico, down through Central American - these peoples ideas are molded by their religious worship. These superstitious get the idea that they use these candles - they use highly perfumed candles. (You were telling me about the perfume they use over there in New Orleans - what was that?) Van-van they name it. The name is van-van - it's a highly perfumed powder jest a little above the odor of oil of peppermint - oil of cinnamon. It has a Wonderful pleasing effect on people who smell it. The people around New Orleans, white and black, around certain districts use that in scrubbing their doorsteps and houses, and even pouring this van-van which is very expensive oil - perfumed oil in the water with which they scrub their floors and even sweept off the brick pavement around their doors. They claim that it brings good luck. Racehorse men and racehorse women who play lots on racehorses are known to use this perfume greatly on their clothes. It's a very frequent thing to meet people with their clothes highly perfumed with this van-van odor. (You were telling about the women in the fast houses; do they use that in some way?) Yes sir - very much so. How do they use that? They use it perfumed in their bath water - they use it also in having their maids to scrub their houses. It's also used in these candles. Some of these candles that they burn, they are very expensive and they are perfumed. They burn that candle and practically shut that room up practically all day. Well, everything in dat house is perfumed with dat incense or whatever they call it.
(What do they do that for?)
That brings luck - that makes dem very successful or lucky, and nine times out of ten luck comes their way.
[After my informant left, I comment to the microphone.]
(This is the Rev. Mr. Young telling some of the things he told me yesterday - I just wanted to make sure I got them down.)
supposed buried-money premise in a rerecorded treasure-search account. The story was rerecorded with prompts based on a poorly recorded prior telling; no verbatim-audio fidelity. narrator-described apparent flames in a wired demonstration. Preserve the rerecording and separate Hyatt wife/switch explanation; the editorial mechanism is not an independently witnessed fact. reported repeated unknown words during a criticized demonstration. Preserve staged/criticized context, narrator uncertainty, wires and Hyatt separate switch explanation. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 128) · Read full source (printed page 129) · Read full source (printed page 130) · Read full source (printed page 131) · Read full source (printed page 132)
Entry 6895
Den yuh kin git some root whut dey call de blacksnake root, grain [green] root, an' arrowroot, an' High John de Conkah. Well, dat's de root, dat John de Conquah, dat is goin' tuh conquah mos' anythin', any kinda HO0- DOO dat come. DAT'S A Did yuh git chew [down] [blacksnake root] grain root, an' de arrowroot, an' John de Conquah? DAT RooT'S VERY EXPENSIVE AN' AH KNOW ZACTLY WHERE TUH GIT IT, see. Yuh kin [take] dose roots an' boil 'em tuhgethah an' if anybody wuz HOoDOOED, if mah lady wuz HOODO0, take some of dat root when it's dry an' beat it.up an' give it tuh a lady in some ine an' dat'll perform. Yuh kin see it, scorpion drived an' - given in powdah tuh someone - movin' in 'er laigs. Git dat stuff an' boil it an' make tea out it, an' in ten days dat git de pain outa yuh body. Dat came out. One time she couldn't walk straight. Evah time she stand up she fell on de floah. Ah goes tuh dat dere fellah an' ah says, "Look, ah wan' chew tuh drive me out tuh de country. See yo' got a li'le hatchet." Ah want tuh get me a hatchet an' he gave me de hatchet, an' ah went tuh de red oak tree. Ah trimmed off de white bark an' de black bark ovah it an' cut down tuh de juicy wood. Ah cut me fo' chips out on east side. Ah goes tuh de west side of de tree an' ah cuts me fo' more. Ah cut de chips off de east side firs', den ah go tuh de west side. Den ah git me some blackberry root, chew undahstan'. Den ah git some mul- lein an' ah take dat home, put it tuhgethah. Ah gits home an' ah tell mah wife, ah say, "Look, git me about two quarts of vinegah." An' she put dat on de fiah an' boil it, boil it an' boil it. An' she let it cool. Den she bathe me from mah haid tuh mah feet [downward bathing so that it will go out through his feet] in de tub, an' ah ain't had a pain in dis laig since.
Entry 6905
If anybody come tuh yore house dat is not right in heah, dere's sompin lak dat wrong, dey swole up, git chew some salt an' black peppah an' throw it in de fiah an' jis' go on out. (You mean if he has a disease, a veneral disease?) Yessuh.
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 7240
Well, mah sistah got hurt once in 'uh han' [hand]. Also one a [of] mah brothahs got hurt. He [doctor] come tuh de house. Mah daddy went [to Ouincy] an' got 'im. An' he tole fathah, say, "Yo' make me a fiah in de stove." He got nine needles in a li'le bottle of watah. Ah don' know whut else he done tuh 'uh. He say de people's been here [who caused her trouble]. An' fō' many mō' minutes dat thing got tuh boilin'. He says, "Dere's a woman goin' come in, ast yo' tuh give her somepin." He say, "Don' give her nothin. She goin' come in aftah some salt." Dat woman did come dere an' it jis' pō'in' down rain. She come in de rain, an' ast mah daddy fer tuh give her a li'le bit of cookin' salt. He tole 'er, "No, ah'm sorry." "Well, all right, goodbye." An' she went right off in de rain, see. Well now, HE WUS TAKIN' DE SPELL OFFEN MAH SISTAH AN' SHE [visitOr] CARRIED IT RIGHT BACK WIT 'ER. Dat's true. [The preceding story, simply and briefly told, is one of the finest statements in Hoodoo. I consider it a work of black literature, beautiful, saying much with little. Consider those two groups of five words each: it jis' po'in' down rain when the woman arrived, immediately repeated as she come in de rain. Within a few minutes the whole world changed. Before the woman's arrival the rain poured, after her immediate departure the rain fell gently, because she carried it [the spell] right back wit 'er. Remember, the informant is speaking extemporaneously. Try to rewrite this story using the same number of words. The doctor's equipment also amazes me. Nine needles in a small bottle! Yes, the woman was a confede- rate, quite worthy of the doctor. After her request for salt is refused, she answers, Well, all right, goodbye. Simplicity is everywhere, exaggeration no- where. Some day I hope a black Lady Gregory will discover this tale and trans- form it into a vehicle for great black, not white-folks acting.] [For a parallel to the preceding story, see NEVER LEND TO A WITCH, in which the witch also comes to borrow salt (FACI 2nd ed., p.875, story of Germanorigin). In our present hoodoo story we have, not some neighbor dropping in to borrow; but the appearance of the mysterious stranger, an awesome theme as old as history.] [A penciled note of mine on the transcription reads R.D. (= root doctor) near Quincy, Fla.]
Entry 7251
If yuh evah wanta cross [the spell] anybody hurt, where somebody done witchcraft 'em - yo' undahstan', yo' don' do did but three times. [In the cure Something must be done or used 3 times.] Now de spirit brought dat tuh me an' ah see de way it works, see. Yo' do dis before sundown. Yo' go out an' any sort of green grass - yo' know whut moody grass is. Yeah dat's dat flat grass, sompin lak ole flat grass dey call moody grass. Chew know whut dat is. An' yo' whut a dog fennel is. All right. Now yo' do dis befo' sundown. Yo' turn yore face to de east right in dat grass an' yo' pull up one bunch. Pull up dat bunch of moody grass, dat flat grass. Yo' pull up dat an' call anybody, jis' anybody yo think what done it. See. Now, if dey ain't did anything tuh yuh, hit goin' give dem good luck; but if dey did sompin tuh yuh, hit goin' back tuh 'em. Ah know dat by experiment. Yo' pull up a bunch of de grass an' call dere name, yo' pull up anothah bunch an' call dey name, yo' pull it up three times an' call dere name [three times] an' say, "Ah wan' chew tuh take yore trouble offa me, In de Name of de Fathah, Name of de Son, Name of de Holy Ghost." An' yo' lay it out, see. Yo' dig a li'le trench, lay dat grass in dere an' yo' call dem people name an' talk tuh 'em lak yo' talkin' tuh 'em. Yo' take some red peppah, some cooking salt, yo' put it on it. Yo' pō' jisa li'le bit of kerosene on it an' yo' take an' stick a match tuh it. Put a piece of papah where it will smoke a li'le. See. An' while dat thing burn, yo' continue callin' dere name. So yo' call it nine times an' tell 'em yo' wan' it so. Say, "Ah wan' chew tuh take yore trouble on back, In de Name of de Fathah, Name of de Son, Name of de Holy Ghost." An' yo' kivah [cover] dat up an' step ovah it backwards, an' don't look back. An' it ain't goin' be but nine days befo' - if dey did it - dey goin' go down vury sick, an if dey ain't right sharp dey goin' die. But it goin' be offa yo'. See, it will be gone from yo'.
(I see, throws it back on them.)
But chew do dat wit dem green weeds. See dem weeds goin' die an'...
(You do this with that moody grass.)
All right yo' git dat bunch of moody grass, an' den yo' kin git a dog fennel or: any kinda othah green weed.
(What do you do with that other weed?)
Well, yo' jis' call de name, but yo' gotta have dis dog fennel an' dat moody grass. See, yo' gotta work three. Yo' know anything de spirits do is three of it all de time: Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost.
Entry 7252
Ah heard dat dey goes out an' gits incense an' dey burns incense. An' aftah usin' incense in dere house, dey goes tuh work an' dey git dem ademity cards - imadenithy. [At a guess I would say these are identity cards, cards containing pictures of people, which the rootman shuffles to increase the number of customers. This is a rite to increase business.] Why, dat's from de rootman. He'll go out an' he git dat an' he'll chew [it], an' evah time he chew dat way an' he'll spit. Evah time he chewin' an' he spit, why it draws a crowd mo' largah an' largah an'. dey content.
Entry 7376
Ah heard sev'ral diff'ren' p'ints about dat. Now dey says jes' lak if someone killed somebody else, an' yo' wants to fin' out who killed dat indivijal. When yo' git where he is yo' goes an' lay yore han' if he layin' on 'is back, lay yore han' an' drill it up three time lak dat from 'is face down to 'is nostel [nostril] an' say, "It will be a hot heat' - when yo' drill yore han' three time up an' down 'is nostel [nostril]. Well, turn 'im ovah an' right to [at] de back of de haid, git jes' a little pinch of dirt from outen dere. Take it to de house an' take yo' a pinch of table salt an' put it in dat, an' tote it wit chew fo' foah days. Aftah de foah days is up, walk an' throw it in de fiah, an' whosoevah killed dat indivijal, dey'll pass yore home - undah six days dey'll appear in yore home. Dat's de one dat killed de indivijal den. (WHEN YOU FIRST GET TO THAT DEAD MAN, YOU TAKE YOUR HAND AND JUST RUB IT DOWN OVER HIS NOSTRILS THREE TIMES - DOWN OVER HIS WHOLE FACE. Dat's right.
(Then what? It'll feel warm you say?)
It will feel warm on de third time, an' den yo' jes' take right in de back of de head, if he is laying down on de dirt or anywhere - take out a pinch of sand, if he's layin' on de ground - from undah his haid, any kin'a dust from undah his haid. Care [carry] it home an' put chew a pinch of salt in dat an' keep it until de third mawnin'. De thlrd mawnin' throw it in de fiah an' dat indivijal dat done de killin' on de sixth mawnin'll be to yore home.
Entry 7878
If dere anybody in yore house an' yo' wanta git dem out an' yo' ast dem tuh git out an' dey wouldn't git out. Well, yo' jis' take yo' some graveyard dirt an' red peppah an' salt an' burn it all. An' make a good fiah an' put it right up on top of de stove, an' let it burn an' don't have no mo' worry den. Git dem away.
Entry 8092
I heard 'em say dat dey kin take a photograph an' burn de cornah of it.
(Burn the corner?)
Burn de cornah, bend de fo' cornahs of de photograph dat way. Take de photo- graph an' jis' take it off an' jis' burn de cornahs. Strike a match tuh it an' burn de fo' cornahs. Take a stick an' pick dat up an'...an' throw dat in de fiah. "Fore de end of de yeah, why somepin will happen tuh dat man or dat woman. I've seen dat thing done mahself.
Entry 8547
If a person - jes' lak if yo' don't like them or anything like dat, well yo' write dere name on a piece of paper an' yo' take gunpowder an' sulphur an' bluestone an' burn it in de fireplace an' dat will cause dem tuh be in hard luck.
Entry 8795
Somebody [wrote them] lettah. An' dey take it an' look at it an' see where it came from. An' if dey don't wanta read de lettah, why jes' take it an' throw it in de fiah an' burn it up, an' don' read it. Say it will make yo' tremble in de han' an' yo' can't do no plain [legible] writin' any mo'.
Entry 8803
If a boy is goin' wit a girl an' she writes tuh 'im an' she don't like "im, she take dis lettah [from him] an' burn it up. Throw it in de fiah an' burn it, an' he'll nevah go near 'er any mo', cuz she don't lak 'im.
Entry 8804
Jes' lak ah'd set down heah an' write a lettah. Well, me an' 'er [livingl togethah. Bell, perhaps ah may not send dis lettah nowhere, yo' see, an' ah'm gone. Ah run away an' leave 'er an' leave dat lettah dere. Well, if she wanted [to] git me back, why she would take dat lettah, yo' see, an' write 'er 'nitial on it; set dom an' burn it up in de fiahplace dere to ashes, an' take one-half of 'em an' at "em in de bottom of 'er shoe an' weah it, an' de othah half of 'em an' put in dat lettah an' send it tuh me. An' when ah git dat ah will come back tuh 'er.
Entry 8809
Den ag'in, ah heard a boy say dat he was goin' wit a girl an' dis girl Wrote 'im a lettah, an' he wasn't on such good terms wit dis girl. An' he took dis lettah an' burned it on de fo' cornahs, an' sent it back tuh 'er tuh let 'er know he didn't want to be bothered. Dat's supposed tuh give her all kinds of bad luck.
Entry 8936
They take some sulphur and set it on fire and put it through the chicken coop. They tell me that sulphur [stops] 'fusion [confusion], the noise of the chickens, an' yo' kin go right in there and get up all chickens. [For another chicken-stealing rite, see 8932.]
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 9028
[This rite could also have been indexed under many blowing breath ex- amples in Hoodoo.] Yo' take dirt daubah nest. Yo' kin be in jail. Ah've done done dis. Yo' kin be in jail an' yo' kin git chew a piece of dirt daubah nest, but don't let it fall. [This is one of those don't-let-it-touch-the- ground rites.] If it fall, don't chew bothah wit it. Cheo git dat [nest] chureself. Yo' mix it up wit table salt an build yo' a li'le fiah, an' yo' burn it as de people do in ole ancient time, sacrificin', In de Name of de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost. An' make yore wishes fo' whatevah yo' want tuh be done. An' yo' keep a-blowin', an' evah time yo' blow, say, God de Fathah, Son an' Holy Ghost till words 'mount tuh nine times. An' evah time it'll be yore way. An' if things ain't yore way, evah time yo' burn it, if things ain't zactly, yo' burn it ovah ag'in an' keep a-burnin' it ovah ag'in till things come zactly yore way.
(This is in a court case, you say?)
Yes sir. [For the mystery, awe and magic concerning the dirt dauber nest, See especially the interview, 'TOMB OF DE BABE OF BETHLEHEM," pp.1325-1335, v.2J
Entry 9106
Get the judge's name and the jurymen's name, an' yo' take yo' - whilst de case goin' on - yo' gets dat an' yo' make a hot fire. An' yo' take yo' a hot pot of watah, an' yo' take dat name an' put it in dere. An' man, have it boilin'! An! just like dat, de co't goin' to keep upstirred all de time. Keep it upstirred an' dey can't do nuthin. Dey won't nevah come to no agreement. Gotta have dat watah boilin' wit de name in it. Yo' see! Drop a li'le sugah in dere, yo' see, an' just keep on boilin' up, an' dis court will just keep upstirred all de time. An' at a certain time yo' take de watah an' yo' throw it. An' when yo' throw dat watah out, de judge will throw dat case out.
Entry 9459
If you had an enemy call upon you and you did not desire his visit or attentions, when they are beginning to leave, without letting them know what you do, sprinkle salt on their back and sprinkle salt across the doorsill. And let it remain twenty-four hours, then sweep it out the door and across the sidewalk, and take it up and burn it up, and that person will never visit you any more.
Entry 9461
Dey say if a man is away from yo' an' yo' want him tuh come back, yo' git a new pack of salt dat has nevah been used out of, an' yo' burn it an' call his name, fo' him tuh come. An' jes' nex' yo' leave outa yore house, start where he left an' sprinkle dis salt, an' den turn round an' walk right back in dere, an' call 'is name an' throw some in de fiah. He'll come back ag'inst his mind.
Entry 10060
Ah hear'd if a man wanted any luck, wanted tuh learn how tuh be a ex- pert or a musician, or if he wanted tuh be a expert gamblah or what not, dey goes out tuh dat crossroads fo' nine mawnin's. An' de ninth mawnin' when he go out there - but befo' he go out dere, he goes den an' he git 'im a black cat. Ah bettah [begin again] so yo' kin undahstan' it good. Befo' he goes tuh de crossroads dat nine mawnin's, he goes de firs' mawnin' an' he git 'im a black cat. An' he takes dat black cat an' he cares 'im out dere wit 'im tuh de crossroad nine mawnin's. An' when he cares 'im dere nine mawnin's, de ninth mawnin' when he git dere, dey says dat de devil 'imself meets 'im dere. An' dey says he'll tell 'im anything dat chew wan'a do or anything yo' wan'a know. Says, he'll give me anythin' between de sole of yuh haid an' de crown of yuh feet. [With a mixup like this between sole [soul] and crown, devil still must have been working.] He says, "It shall be granted tuh yo'." An' so when- evah he do dat, he takes dis black cat, which he's got alive, an' he gits 'im a pot.
(After he has gone there nine mornings, he takes the cat and gets this pot?)
Yessuh. An' when he gits dis pot, den he goes den tuh a stream of watah dat's runnin'. He makes 'im a fiah on de hill right up above de watah. An' when he makes dis fiah an' git dat watah boilin', he throws dat black cat in de pot alive an' lets dis cat cook alive. An' when de cat cooks until all de flesh has come off de bone, he takes de carcass of dat cat an' throw it in de runnin' watah. An' all de bones an' all de ones dat goes down de stream, he let 'em alone. He takes de - an' de bone dat runs up de stream, dat goes back up de stream de object [opposite] way, why he takes dat bone den an' he totes dat in 'is lef'-breas' pocket. An' when he tote it in 'is lef'-breas' pocket why anythin' he desires den, he'll git dat.
Entry 10062
Whut chew call gittin' de black cat bone. Yo' take him intuh de fo'k of de road. Yo' take 'im out tuh de fo'ks of de road an' make a fiah, an' a pot, an' boil it. An' den yo' would take all dese bones, when it boil all tuh pieces, tuh a runnin' stream. An' yo' would put all dose bones in de stream an' de one dat floats up de stream, dat's de one tuh git. An' aftah dat dey'll go back tuh de fo'ks of de road nine nights. Go back evah night fer nine nights an' talk wit de devil. Yo' go dere an' meet de devil dere. An' den aftah dey do dat fer nine nights, dey is through. Dey kin do any- thin' dey wanta do.
(Well, what time do they go out there at night?)
Roun' nine 'clock.
Entry 10157
You take the photograph and you take a new glass of water [new glass fllled with water] and a new saucer, white saucer, and you take the photograph yoa turn it upside down on top of [against] the glass of water. You take a F] red candle and you light it and write [on new paper] his name nine times demeath and write yours nine times on top, and you burn that [candle] three das a day. (What'll that do?) That is to bring him back, bring him to you. (Now I place the glass of water and this photograph I turn it upside down?) You hand [lean] it up with the feet up [head down] and the glass of water in the center of the photograph [photo centered against glass] and the name underneath it and the candle right in front of it. The name is under the glass. You write the name nine times on a piece of parchment paper, and nine times write yours on top. See, you always got yours on top and you got him underneath you. And put the paper under the saucer, and the water in the glass, and the picture upside down. And you burn that candle three times a day - a red candle. You burn it at six in the morn- ing, at twelve o'clock [noon], six in the evening; only three times a day.
Entry 10183
If they're burning a candle on you, you burn - now this is the same thing you kin do. You kin burn this same red candle. You burn this red candle, you stick it in 3 pins. See, you fightin' against them. You says, "I wish my enemy would leave me alone." An' then you go an' throw you a handful of salt in the fire an' you says, "I wish my enemies quit working after me an' leave me alone In the Name of the Lord." An' take you a bath in some saltpeter, blue- stone an' sugar, an' repeat the Lord's Prayer 3 times, see. You see, you burn this candle, that would set them down. Or else, you kin put 'em down sick. You kin git a purple candle an' you light it an' you make your wish an' put some salt in there an' spit in it, see. An' you burn it on 'em again an' you says, I wish ohosomever this is that's workin' after me will leave me alone, "' an' spit in it. You see, that'll drop 'em. That'Zl drop 'em. That'll put 'em down sick. That'll make 'em drop. An' continue to burn brimstone [not men- tioned previously in this rite but surely in some pre- vious part of interview]. See, that brimstone is the best thing in the world, that brimstone. An' sugar. Continue with that sugar in the fire, see: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. [Mem- phis, Tenn., (960, excellent hoodoo woman, my rapid hand transcription of cylinder missed by my transcriber, 1544:9.]
Entry 10260
Yo' get chureself nine matches.
(Nine ordinary matches?)
Nine ordinary matches and burn each one, an' cross yo'self down dere with dose matches an' read de Ten Commandments. An' every morning you do that for nine mornings, an' the ninth morning, why, you find it different; your nature's come back. "Cause ah've been done that way once an' ah knows. (Just to be sure I understand. Here are the nine matches. I light each one and let it burn [so that each match will become a pencil or mark- erl. Now do I take each match and just make a cross on myself?) Make a cross on it [penis]. (Cross it nine times [all together] with each one of these burnt matches and leave a black mark on it?) That's right, make a black [cross] mark on it. [Somewhere else I may have discussed the match - especially one with a red head - as a phallic symbol. One match is used each day and one cross only is made - 9 matches and 9 crosses.]
Entry 10302
Wipe man with cloth, heat and dry near fire, put under head of the bed [Wilmington, 130:9].
Entry 10627
To keep de law away? Wal, yo' kin take a red peppah - John de Conkah Peppah dey call [it], got de leaves [picture of pepper and leaf?] on de box of it.
(Where do you get that?)
Kin buy it. Go tuh any drugstore.
(They call it John the Conker Pepper? It looks like red pepper?)
It looks like red peppah. An' put sart [salt] into dat. But doesn't use it fer anything else after dis. Take it and go scatter it all around de place dat you are in. All around de place what chew in and takes a shoe sole - jes' like a shoe. Take de shoe sole an' de Eve-an'-Adam root. Built yo' a fiah in yo' yard an' put dat salt, dat shoe sole an' Eve-to-Adam root in dere an' burn it. Aftah hits burnt, jis' sweep de yard. But yo' let de ashes be neah de fence or street as yo' kin. Ah've never had none to go in yet; nevah had no law to go in no place yet.
Entry 10885
Yo' know a cat an' a dog don' lak one anothah, hardly evah see one dat's friendly. Yo' take some hair offa de dog's back an' offa cat's, an' yo' could mix it together an' put it in yore fiahplace an' burn it, or in yore heater or whatevah yo; got, an' dat'll make folks fall out. (Would I burn that in my house or take it over to the house where the people are that I want to fall out?) If yo' at they house an' they gotten a fiah, put it in they house.
Entry 10894
Any kind of cat hair and a he dog and a she cat to run a person away - break 'em up.
(How do you do that?)
You take this hair and you mix it all up together like that - the hair of the dog and the cat. The dog and cat don't mate together. Call this man John. Jis' say, Mary, you and John can't stay together. Well, then you get this gunpowder and you get nine pods of red pepper, and you put that all together. Don't burn it in de house. Make a fire out in de yard and burn it, and make your wishes and they gone apart.
Entry 10900
Say, for instance, if you was mah husband and you was living with another woman and ah didn't want chew to live with this woman, and I could get familiar enough with this woman to get in her house, or get someone to go to her house. I would cut the hair from under the chin of a dog, right under here [dem- onstrates], and under the chin of a cat, and under their tails, and wrap it up into a cigarette paper. And when I go to their house, have occasion to smoke or do something, if they have fire in the grate, I throw that hair in the fire. Put a little pepper in it - red pepper. And they positively will fight, [even] if they haven't been used to it. They will continue to fight and be in confusion all the time.
Entry 10941
Ah would jis' simply - ah would make me a smoke, an' dat would knock evahthing in de haid. (How do you make that smoke?) Ah would make it wit de fish livah an' heart. Ah would take de fiah an' ah would put de heart in a saucah an' leave dat set fo' 'bout nine days. An' aftah dat ah would take a furnace an' ah would take jis' a li'le small pinch of it. An' it drives all evil spirits clear away. Absolutely.
(What kind of fish do you use, any kind of fish?)
Catfish. De oldah de catfish is, de bettah it is.
(Now you make this smoke, then what do you do?)
Dat explores all ovah de house where yo' live. De party dat wants tuh git chew out, dey cain't be successful.
(If I want to stay in the house, I make that smoke and they can't move ne out?)
Can't move yo' out.
Entry 11035
I've heerd of 'em usin' chicken feathers - feathers, bluestone an' saltpeter an' sulphur. Yo' place dem things together an' yo' would take 'em an' burn 'em into yore house. Jest say, fo' an instamce ah wanted to make yo' leave, ah could take all dat stuff a' place it into de house an' burn it fo' three days, an' dere ain't no way in de vorld yo' kin stay in dese house. Yo'd have to leave, ain't no joke.
Entry 11263
They tell me you git two rocks and you begin to work dat stuff. If you git this gold-finding hand that I spoke of, begin to walk backward and for- Ward from de front to the back door, and TALK TO DIS POT AND DEM ROCS WILL BOIL DE WATER IN DAT POT.
(You do what?)
You kin walk backwards from de front door to the back door, after you git dis gold-finding hand, and you kin boil water in de pot without a fire.
(Boil water in the pot without a fire?)
Boil it over. [Norfolk, Va., (Doctor Paul Bowes) 460:5; 462:2; 464:2.]
Entry 12190
Keep a horseshoe fo' good luck. (That is all you have to do?) Dat's de only thing ah heard dat yo' kin do wit de horseshoe. Make a fiah an' turn it upside down an as it burns, sprinkle salt on it an' make some wishes with it.
Entry 12290
Go tuh any groc'ry an' git chew a new piece of cord dat haven't been used, whut chew tie up packages with, an' jes' lak anything dat yo' wish, an' nine is yore... [What? Number?] Take nine tuh do it. Yo': can't do nuthin until nine days. Jes' lak yo' git up dis mawnin', say, "Ah'm goin' start dis mawnin' an' ah want sech- an'-sech a thing tuh happen.' Jes' tie one knot [in] it an' make yore wish re- gardin' tuh whut it is. An' de nex' mawnin' de same thing fo' nine mawnin's. It'll come true.
(What do you do with this string after all these knots are tied in it then?)
Let it hang right dere, an' when de nine days up, an' yo' sure yo' got de nine knots, jes' take it an' git chew some sulphur an' some salt an' burn it right in yore fiahplace.
Entry 12317
Now, yo' wish tuh git a girl or yore boy fren' back tuh 'em. Yo' go ahead an' go tuh a fat-lightah [pine] stump of a tree dat de lightnin' struck. An' yo' takes an' makes nine pegs. An' aftah yo' make dose nine pegs, yo goes back tuh de fo'ks of de road an' yo' makes three wishes. Dat's de way it wuz tole tuh me. Make three wishes an' aftah yo' make three wishes, yo' takes two pints of whiskey wit chew, an' aftah yo' make de three wishes, den yo' take an' yo' lie down on de flat of yore back at de fo'ks of de road, an' yo' drinks one of dose pints, an' yo' po's de othah one on de nine pegs. An' yo' git chew a match an' yo' scratch de match, an' sets dat whiskey afire an' burns up dose pegs right dere. Den dat cause de girl or de boy, which one yo' made de wishes fo', tuh come back undah yore control.
Entry 12415
I'll tell you what chew do with matches, I believe that's true. Take 7 match stems and pour niter on those matches. You see, you cross those matches, you cross those 7 stems. Cross first one and another, just cross 'em in a pile. An' you make a wish for something. You set those matches afire. But chew have to do that thing every morning for 7 mornings.
Entry 12956
Put salt in old shoe, name him while burning this in fire, and he'll have to come back. [Wilmington 134:6+85.]
Entry 2951
Well, whenever they're trying to harm you, if it's with a candle, you take the Bible and you get up every morning fust before sunrise, look to the east and you make a prayer. Then you read a verse in the Psalms, the 9lst Psalm, which is supposed to be one of the strongest Psalms of David. You read it - a verse out of that back- Wards. Stead of reading it down, you reads it backwards every morning for nine mornings straight.
(Would that make the candle go out?)
Yeah, reading this Bible backwards for nine mornings, that'll put that candle out and set the house on fire.
(I see. And set the house on fire?)
It'll set the house on fire.
(I see, I see.)
Cause they generally have the candle in a closed space and wherever that is, the heat'll be so that it will ignite. The way the candle'll do it, it will bend over and eventually burn the paper - whatever they got under there. Sometimes they writes your name for nine times on this paper, backwards and forwards, prob- ably crossways. But you must use an indelible pencil, see. And sometimes the candle drops over - it's always a matter that it looks like it's a accidental way to do. It'll drop over and probably burn the scarf or ketch the paper wherever the wax have run, you see, and it will set fire. I've seen it happen many times.
Entry 4069
Takes dat person watah an' go to de fiah- place an' throw dat in de fiahplace an' den nevah look back at it. Dat'll run yo' crazy. Jis' throw it right in de fiah.
(That will harm the person whose water it was.)
Entry 4070
Den yo' kin jis' take his chamber lye an' jis' put it in a bottle an' put it down undah yore hearth right by de fiah yo' know, where it won't break. [They] say put it down in dere. Dat is if yo' wants tuh kill 'em or do sompin lak dat - wanta make him lingah or suffah 'fo' [before] he die, an' cuzin' [causing] dat watah tuh dry up in dat bottle from de heat. An' dat's how it dry up in 'is bladdah.
Entry 4389
Well, dey go right dere an' take yuh urinate [= excrement here] an' take dat stuff an' dey got anythin' ag'inst yuh, take dat stuff, an' yuh git some red peppah an' care [carry] it or take part of it, care it on off, put it on a bark - see a bark, a piece of pine bark will burn up. An' yuh burn dat when yuh git all dat stuff down dere. An' yuh sprinkle some of dat peppah - take dat odor away from it. Take dat thin' an' keep it in a can an' run yuh stone crazy. [For the use of tin can, see margin can titles soon to follow.]
Entry 4390
Dey say dey take some of yore Waist an' take an' burn it an' put red peppah in it, an' - it won't lock yuh bowels but it'll jis' burn yuh, hurt chew. An' if dey wanta lock 'em, jis' take some of it an' burn it, an' take an' put it in a bottle an' stop it up an' throw it in de rivah in a runnin' stream of watah, an' dat will lock yuh bowels.
Entry 4391
Ah heard dey kin take yore bowels an' put some hot cayenne peppah on it an' burn it an' den take it an' bury it an', yuh undahstan', yuh couldn't pass no mo'.
(That's to upset [lock] the bowels.)
Entry 4392
Yuh know, lak goin' tuh make a passage, yuh know yuh take some of dat an' burn it, see. Yuh take some of dat an' burn it. Co'se dat will make it so dat it will lock it tuh yuh. It'll lock it by puttin' peppah an' stuff in it, mixin' it up wit sompin else.
Entry 4394
Yuh kin take a little salt an' black peppah an' put it in 'is passage, yuh undahstan', an' take an' burn it, an' it stops 'is bowels.
(Locks his bowels?)
Locks 'is bowels. Dere yuh are.
Entry 13263
If yo' wanted tuh bring in customers, at six a'clock in de mawnin' burn yo' a little sulphur - 'bout a teaspoonful fo' nine mawnin's, an' stop nine, an' jes' keep aburnin' it lak dat, an' yore customers will come in jes' plentyful. [Savannah 2174:7.]
Entry 13264
Yo' burns dat in yore house every mawnin' IN DE FO' CORNERS OF A ROOM, de sulphur, in de fo' corner of a room every mawnin' at six an' every afternoon at six. That's luck an' draws business. That's really good.
Entry 13265
Takes a box of sulphur an' burn it ever' mawnin' fo' 'bout 6 mawn- in's, an' he can't come in.
(Keep the law away.)
Entry 13267
(To keep these spirits away what do you do?)
Use sulphur an' gunpowder, jes' rub ovah yo' an' burn it in de house, dey shore wouldn't come in. After yo' do dat yo' git chew a... [I turn on machine again to catch cussin'.]
(What about cussing them?)
Yo' have tuh cuss 'em all right tuh keep 'em away.
Entry 10041
(You have to go out to the crossroads and you have to go into the right hand fork of that road.)
[I am repeating what informant had said before recording began.]
Yeah, right-han' fo'ks of de road. An' he'll put de cat in de pot. Fill de pot up wit watah an' build a fiah roun' de pot. An' when dey gits through build- in' a fiah roun' de pot, dey'll sit dere an' dere be things comin' from evah which way - evah which direction. Don' keer whut come up. Dere people sudden comin' up wit no haids - alarms, bells, an' all dem kin'a things. An' yo' know, jis' when dey git dere, dey jis' changes all kinda color. All ole daid mens gittin' up out de grave an' walkin' down dere.
Entry 8781
Dese witches, dey use tuh do dat. Now, dey go tuh work an' cut out a figure, yo' undahstan', an' name it joo.
(Out of what? Paper or something?)
No, dey mos'ly [make it] outa wax. Dey'd make it outa wax an' name it joo, see. An' dey set dis back befō' de fiahplace jis' tuh heat chew tuh kill yo'. An'stan'dere an'melt it down. Dey still keep callin' dis yuh, callin' yuh all de names, bad names, dey could think of. An' evah time dis would melt yo'd git dat much worse off, an' when dat all melted away yo'd melt away wid it.
(Where did you hear this?)
Ah hear'd dat in - dat was in Leesburg, Virginia.
(Who told it?)
Oh, dat was a ole fellah, a ole [former] slave fellah, tole me dis.
(Where did they do that?)
From de way he spoke dey done it aroun' Virginia, dere where he was.
(Some of the old colored people do this?)
He said it was an old lady aroun' dere, ah fergit now whut 'er name was. Ole Nancy Parker, ah believe it was.
(Was she a colored woman?)
Yes, sir. Make this image of anybody. All yo' had tuh do was tuh go an' tell 'er, yo' know, whut chew wanted done an' she'd make dis waxen image, see, an' name it chew. An' make it an' set dere befo' de fiahplace an' let de heat, yo' undahstan', melt dis wax down.
Fire is the retrieval label for fireplace heat in this secondhand account; direct flame contact is not stated.
Entries from source headings
These entries are listed under the following headings in the source volume:
- FIRE - UNDER TREE - TO SMOKE DAT CLOTH — Volume 3, entries 3877. Source context: THE PHYSICAL HUMAN BODY ITSELF → BLOOD → "HER PRIVATE TIME".
- FIRE - RED PEPPER INTO - IT AND SALT AT DOORSTEP; DOWN TUH DE GROUN' AN' TRAIL IT ON TUH DE CORNAH — Volume 5, entries 9577. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → SALT AND ITS COMBINATIONS.
- BLACK PEPPER - SALT - 3 MORNINGS INTO FIRE — Volume 5, entries 9653. Source context: ADDITIONAL RITES AND BELIEFS → SALT AND ITS COMBINATIONS.
- NEW RED ONION - PUT IN FIRE WITH SUGAR - WISH — Volume 5, entries 12518. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".
- RED PEPPER SPRINKLED INTO STOVE OR FIRE - LAW AWAY — Volume 5, entries 12603. Source context: "CHANNEL DE WORLD".