Subject:Frog
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Entry 3099
[Pauline lived on an island 6 miles from Brunswick, Georgia, where I Was then working. What an opportunity to have explored that marvelous coastline as I had done at Beaufortl But I resisted the tempta- tion, refusing to break my rule - not to interview white doctors. I have two accounts of Pauline, both taken from broken interviews. In the first, we had been talking about Pauline - I am unable to find this - and then later I ask the following question.]
(Are there any white people that work here now?)
[Informant returns to Pauline.]
She lives on Bly's Island.
(Oh! She is still here. I don't want to talk to her but I just wondered.)
[Brunswick, Ga., (1201), C400:7 = 2017:7.]
iTne second account of Pauline comes from a man who has already given us in- formation about Doctor Buzzard - see 3071, p.893.] A white woman.
(What was her name?)
Miss Pauline.
(Where does she live?)
She lives heah at Bly's Island, a large island right cross tuh de rivah on de road to Jacksonville.
(Oh, just near Brunswick?)
Yes sir - six miles out chere [on the road] tuh Jacksonville. Well, mah mother done taken me out dere. Well, soon as ah got dere she set down an' talk tuh me. She asked me if ah evah worked any place an' ah tole her where ah worked. She asked me, "Did yo' have any enemies round dere?" Ah said, one woman wus a cook dere an' she wanted concernin' me tuh have somepin tuh do wit her - me an' her had tuh make beds in dis, yo' know, to dis home ever' mawnin' together. Ah wouldn't say nuthin to her. She said ah tried tuh play cute. She de one dat put down de stuff at de back gate of dis white tourist home where we were workin', an' ah step on it wit mah right fut gettin' ovah de fence. She done put it right whar ah got ovah de fence at ever' mawnin'. Me an' her wus de first ones dere. So after she seen me - see, ah tried to step on mah left fut, if it done kilt me. See, after two yeahs an' a half ah wus dried up to 135 pounds. She [Pauline] tole mama tuh let me come dere an' she would give me medicine. She taken sulphur, turpentine an' some kinda cocklespur weed - cocklebur weed - taken de cocklebur weed an' made a medicine out of it. [Three ingredients.] So she made a medicine an' ah started to taken dat cocklebur weeds an' sulphur an' turpentine. An' tole me tuh wear three pieces of Irish potatoes - white potatoes in each one of my shoes. So after dey figured - it came on to 'fect mah othah fut an' mah hips, yo' see, an' ah wus dead from heah down [demonstrates].
(From your hips down.)
Yeah, from de hips down. So after dat ah wore de Irish potato an' thing. an' ah begin tuh git bettah. So she tole me not tuh drink no whiskey. So ah stop off from drinkin' some whiskey an' got tuh walkin' an' ah put down de crutches. Yo' know, ah could walk wit de walkin' cane. Ah put down de crutches. So ah begin tuh drink whiskey at night wit de othah boys roun' heah. So dat throw me agin. Dey had tuh take me dere agin. She tole me ah had been drinkin'. Well, when ah got dere dat time, it had done came up into mah shoulders heah - see [demonstrates], it had me, ah'm daid in mah left ahrm - come up mah left side. So she had tuh work fast. Dey had tuh keep me out dere tuh her house fo' three days. So we had tuh pay her wit three pieces of silver money - ah had tuh find three silver dollahs somewhere. She charge only three dollahs - don't care how big de case wus - had tuh pay her wit three silver pieces of money. That concernin' de three links of chain also.
(Of Mary - that Mary wore around her neck?)
["Dat concerning de three linked chain dat Mary wore pertaining tuh de Bible" - from his interview in INTERVIEWS.] Yes sir, dat [represents] three silver dollahs dat ah had tuh pay her wit. De firs' time paid her wit a silver dollah, an' after ah went three times, had tuh pay her de three silver dollahs. So dat's de whole case of it, until ah taken up dis last bottle of medicine. Ah didn't drink any mo' an' dey said ah wus cured of it. Den ah had a fren'. He wus poison by a girl on a piece of cake. But he wus crowin' lak a rooster - jumpin' up an' down. An' ah tole him concernin' dis same lady - tole his mothah. An' she taken him out dere an' she pay her with three silver piece of money - carried him three times. See, each time it wus a dollah. When she carried him de last time, dat's when she gave him some kinda medicine an' out of his throat came a frog, little small wiggle-tail, little small snake. [Three things came out of his throat.]
Entry 947
On the 13th of the month - that's befo' de new moon, yo' go out an' kill a frog and place him in de sun and let him dry and if any affected part about chew, why dat's poisoned or anything like dat, yo' lay dat frog on it and it'll ease it. That's a sure cure.
Entry 1164
A black hen, now, dat's for when anything - a snake or rattlesnake bites you. Wanta see what a rattlesnake is, you jes' go out here in de woods. If you is goin' huntin' purtty soon you see a rattlesnake down here [in this part of the South]. You know a rattlesnake look green-grayish; you know you can't hardly know it's a rattlesnake lessen you look down good. Well, if he bites you, if you kin git to a frog or a black hen and cut him open while he is alive - cut him open and put him on dat, it will draw all dat pizen out. [The blood is the essential element in these split live-animal rites, which cure just about everything.]
Entry 1264
If you'd git a toadfrog - if you swole up in your joints or something like that and you can't git it 'way, and if somebody tricked you. Well, you git you a toadfrog and cut him open, put it right on that place until that will come out, and jest whatever it is - if it is yellow or green or whatever it is - makes it come out in dat frog.
Entry 1265
Jes' lak ah could take a frog right now - yo' supposed to be plagued with spasm or fits. Jes' ketch a live frog an' split 'im open - slap it right on dere an' tie it an' dat'll kill de fits.
Entry 1267
Dey'd use a toadfrog - if yo' kin git a toadfrog - if a snake wus tuh bite chew - most any kinda snake - if yo' kin git de frog at de time an' split him open an' tie him on dat particular place why yo' would git to some doctor or 'nother, see.
Entry 1271
Well, dey use toadfrogs for fitses. Well, someone might put a fit on yo' - on anyone. Dey takes de toadfrog - takes de toadfrog 'live an' take an' tie him right round yore neck an' yo' worry de frog an' de fits will go right out of yo'into de frog an' it'll run him crazy an' he kill himself.
Entry 1281
If any harm done to a person in de bed, yo' put dis frog in dere 'live an' when de frog dies, dat disease dere he would have consumed dat - whatevah dey have spread in de mattress fo' yo', fo' tuh make yo' sick or tuh make yo' in bad luck. Den dat's all ovah. When he dies he supposed tuh carry it away with him. Yo' put him alive yo' see.
Entry 1282
Jes' lak a person got de asthma - he ketches a frog an' take an' ketch him 'live an' take an' hold his mouth open an' blow de breath in his mouth three times, an' she give dat asthma to de frog, she won't have it any mo'.
Entry 1284
Jes' lak if a person have whoopin' cough, take de frog an' cough in his mouth three times an' roll him in yore han's three times an' bury it undah yore do steps. De next mawnin' yore whoopin cough will be gone.
Entry 1412
Jes' lak if yo' got a boil or anything come on yo' dat de doctors can't cure it. (It usually comes from what?) It's some witchcraft or somepin lak that. Well, yo' use a penny.
(How would you use that?)
Well, yo' take dat penny an' for instance jes' lak yo' fix a poultice - it may be a salt poultice, it may be a poultice of snuff, or [corn] meal, or either a piece of bacon; well, yo' lay it on dere - or either a frog. Yo' may even cut a frog open an' lay it on dere. A frog supposed tuh draw out any kinda poison or a sore or anything like dat dat's not nachur'l. [For frog in cures, see No. 1263, p.441f., and Index.] Well, yo' take dat penny an' yo' lay it next tuh dat place where yo' place dat frog or anything [poultice] whut chew put ovah it - on top of it - hit will draw it out.
Entry 1875
Ketch a frog an' put him in yore pocket, a live frog, an' run yore han' in yore pocket an' no one else kin win. Sometimes boys jes' fo' devilment throw him on de table an' let him hop round dere. When he hop, he goin' hop right back to yo', an' yo' put him in yore pocket an' nobody can't beat chew.
Entry 1877
Ah've heard of 'em usin' frogs fo' luck. Yo' know, jis' lak yo'd be shootin' craps, yo' know, an' yo'd ketch yo' a live frog yo' know an' put him in yore right pocket an' tote him roun'. Dat's luck - yo' use dat fo' luck. See, yo' keep him in yore pocket an' when he dies, yo' see, dat makes de luck. An' yo' tote him roun' den an' aftah he dries up an' ev'rything den he ain't no mo' good, see. But as long as he live in yore pocket yore lucky, see. An' aftah he dies, he ain't no mo' good - yo' have tuh git anothah one.
Entry 1879
Jes' as ah first said a while ago - de most luck ah evah had in mah life wus gamblin', ah used a live frog. Whensomevah ah go into a game, if ah could locate one, see, ah jes' take it an' put it in mah pocket; an' if yo' bettin' an' yore playin' poker, why dat frog will tell yo' - yo' know whut ah mean, he jumps when it's time tuh bet. Long as he stay still, why don't chew bet anything. It's common, but it's true.
Entry 1891
Graveyard dirt, it's good fo' gambling.
(How do they use it?)
Well, yo' take yo' some graveyard dirt an' yo' run yore hand jest as fur down as yo' can an' git some fresh dirt, chew see, an' put it in yore pocket an' git chew one dese toadyfrogs an' put him in yore pocket. Well, if yo' go to skin - gambling, somepin lak dat, yo' know, well yo'll break everybody in dat game, if yo' got some of dat fresh graveyard dirt an' toadyfrog in yore pocket.
(Do you put this in the same pocket?)
In de same pocket - in yore right pocket.
Entry 1897
Yo' kin take a frog an' go to a show or somepin lak dat where they has these magic things, yo' understand. Well now, dat cause all dat magic - dat settle in yore eyes an' yo' kin see whut tricks dey doin' an' all lak dat.
Entry 6537
Yo' kin use de bat de same way yo' do de frog or de snake tuh make things go in people. Well, yo' jis' dry dat yo' know an' powdah it up [and drop in victim's food or drink].
Entry 6561
Yo' wan' to put lak a person's - somepin in 'em. Well, yo' take a frog while deys alive, put 'im in somepin an' let 'im fry brown, brown, brown an' trun [turn] 'im an' let 'em git dry. If yo' are drinkin' wit de person, yo' take dat dust an' sprinkle dere [drink] wit it. Dat powdahed frog come tuh be alive again, de small ones, an' it comes tuh workin' inside of yo' alive.
(How could you get that stuff out of you?)
Well, I nevah knew how did yo' git 'em out.
Entry 6801
If yore leg is swollen through poison, split open a live frog and tie on.
Entry 6804
For sunstroke or brain stroke, put live frog in your cap an' keep on head until frog dies.
Entry 6805
To break chill, wrap live frog in piece of paper, breathe into his mouth. He takes the chill.
Entry 10000
Take fo' instance, we had a carnival - a show. All right, in ordah to have luck an' win with pract'ly evahthing dat chew have in de show, whenevah ah would go tuh throw at de darts or try tuh win a doll or somepin, well ah would jis' slip a frog in mah hip pocket or eithah a turtle or toad or somepin. Well, quite natchral evahthin' dat ah would take a chance on ah would be successful in it.
(Do you kill this turtle, frog?)
No, jis' keep im live.
Entry 10011
Dey kin take a frog an' go intuh a show an', if dey workin' any slight of han', why dey can't work it. See, as long as dat person have dat frog in dere. [Brunswick, Ga., (1207a), 2042:6A.] [My former material about the black cat lucky bone appeared in volume 1, pages 74-97. These rites of course do not include anything from volume 2, a collection of interviews only, or from the interviews in volume 3, pages 1859-2339. Even the material I did print was difficult to arrange in any logical order. Instead of the brief margin titles and underscoring of essential ideas in volume 1, I have made the present margin titles more descriptive of contents.l
Entry 9871
A lady told me that if I want my next door neighbor to be moved, to get a frog. And you whip him underneath her step and make him stay there until he dies. And when the frog dies, that the neighbor would move. You beat him an' make him go under the step and if he comes out, make him go back again and leave him stay under there until he dies. And when he dies and dries up why that will make the people move away.
Entry 9879
An' if a woman got a husban' an' he got a outside woman, git a female frog an' a male frog. Yo' hang de female frog up firs' an' den hang de male frog right up where yo' [he] kin scratch her right on de back lak dat... [I interrupt.] (Wait a minute) [and then turn off machine and infor- mant starts again]. If a woman got a husban' an' he got a outside woman an' yo' wanta break 'em up, wanta make dis man beat dis woman up an' quit 'uh. Yo' take dis female frog an' yo' hang it up firs', right where dis he-male [demonstrates].
(You hang up the female frog with the head up or down?)
Hang 'uh [her] haid down, by de two laigs lak dat [demonstrates] wit a string. Yo' put 'uh up undah a tree. Take 'uh tuh a oak tree, tuh de lef' side of a oak tree. Yo' hang 'uh laigs up lak dat an' hang it in a way where yo' kin hang de he-male frog's laigs right up ovah de top of dis female frog. An' [as] yo' put it dere, yo' say, In de Name of de Lord, ah put dis heah tuh scratch until yo' die. Well, dat frog will scratch right dere on dat [female frog representing the] woman until she dies. An' de wife will nevah have no mo' trouble wit 'uh, an' huh husban' at home wit 'uh, an' have all de money an' evah'thin'. (You tie this male frog up so that he'll scratch the back of this female frog and kill it?) Dat's right, kill it. Jis' let 'im scratch dere an' tell 'em, Ah hang yuh heah in de Name of de Lord tuh scratch until yo' die. [This rite would have been more potent if the frog had been named the Outside woman - if name known.
Entry 9978
Hear dem use it fo' nuthin but luck. Yo' kin take a frog an' carry 'im to a game an' put 'im in yore pocket, chew know, an' go dere an' jes' bet jes' as much as yo' wanta. Long as dat frog kick in yo' pocket, yo' win evahthin' yo'self.
Entry 9979
Ah know dey said dis about a skin game. If a man love tuh skin an' he goin' tuh a skin game, he'd walk along an' he'd pick up 'im a toadyfrog an' put it in a papah bag. An' he'd walk intuh de skin game. If dis frog doesn't move, he gon'a lose ev'ry penny he has. An' if dis frog move - if dis frog kick - he jis' as well put 'is money on de table 'cuz he goin' tuh win.
Entry 9994
Take a frog an' put it in yore pocket an' den yo' go in a show an' de actahs cain't act.
Entry 1906
Take one dose big black frog, an' take him ovah de bed an' whup him - whup him till he cry. He will cry jis' lak a baby - ahh, ahh, jis' lak a baby. Take dat frog an' throw him right farwards in front of you an' de man will live. [Here a frog is used as a hand for curing an illness (see pp.441-445). The ailment is first transferred from patient to frog and then the disease-spirit is whipped out of the frog. This could be an elaborate rite with much talk, depend- ing upon the operator. For transferring disease to a chicken, see No. 1000, p.384.]
Entry 701
They say some people had frogs. I don't know whether you ever heard tell of frogs that been put in 'em. See. The doctors couldn't do 'em no good. They didn't know what they had their ownself. Well, there was a old lady, she's dead now - reckon you've heard tell of her, Mother Catherine.
(Mother Catherine?)
Yes, sir. They went to her. She was living way down in St. Bernard Parish. [The State of Louisiana is divided into parishes instead of counties. St. Bernard Parish, nearly touching New Orleans, extends eastward to the Gulf of Mexico. It is almost surrounded by water and full of coastal islands. I like the informant's nostalgic words ''living way down in." Mother Catherine must have lived in a naturalist's paradise long since surely taken over by automobiles, pleasure boats and weekenders.] They went to her and she told them what to do. She gived them descriptions of what to get. Now they got - the first thing they got was this root they call sasafax [sassafras]. That was only to make a tea and to purify the blood. She told 'em, say, "Get you some sasafax and boil that sasafax, put it in a bottle and get you some whiskey and put on top of it. You drink that sasafax for nine mornings and after drinking the sasafax for the nine mornings," she told 'em, she says, just like this, "you get you some asafitadee, get that, take a silver dime and scrape it and get the dust from it with a bottle milk, and you use that for nine days." That would be eighteen days. And cured her within the eighteen days time. Got the frogs out of her stomach, you understand.
(I see. Mother Catherine is dead now, isn't she?)
She's be dead quite a spell now.
Entry 793
Lak ah'm comin' heah an' yo' think yo' got frogs in yo'. Well, ah goes out an' git me about five or six frogs, an' ah come in an' have 'em in mah pocket or either tie it up in mah sleeve, up undah dere some- where, an' ah tell yo', say, "Now, whut's de mattah wit yo'?" Yo'll gi' me a hunderd doliahs if ah git 'em out. Yo' say, "Well, if yo' tell me whut's de mattah wit me, ah'll gi' yo' a hunderd dollahs." "Yo's fulla frogs." Yo' set down dere an' ah say, "Well, now, yo' set wit yore back to me," an' yo' git a ole slop jar an' have yo' settin' ovah de ole slop jar - well, yore back's to me. Well, ah'll draw dis heah string out an' let all dese frogs fall out down on dat flo' roun' yore feet an' up undah yore feet. Den ah tell, "Now, git up," say, ''now look down dere." An' all dem frogs, little ones an' big ones be's hoppin' round down dere. An' den yo' say, "Lawd have mercy, ah didn't know all dem things wus in me." She ast me whut's de mattah wit her. Maybe her feets were swole or somepin, an' [I] give her somepin yo' know tuh take dat swellin' out of her feet, an' in de next few days dat swellin' be's gone an' she - well, ah gen'rally tells 'em it's frogs. "Well, ah'll take dese on back to advertise - to show whut ah done." Well, she won't be thinkin', or he, whosomevah dey is. Dey go to anothah man an' he got snakes or lizards. Well, he got a gang of lizards an' he has 'em in a little bag up his sleeve, small an' big, an' he [patient] be's layin' in de bed hurtin' so an' gruntin' so, an' de othah ones gone outa de room, an' he'll dem loose up dere in de bed, so he kin ketch 'em. Jes' come in an' jes' raise de cover an' dere's de lizards an' scorpions an' things all up undah de cover. Yo' got money then - two or three hunderd dollahs. [I do not have this woman down as a doctor. She could have been a small-time worker or just a skeptic who thought live-things-in-you was by trickery.]
Entry 1529
I remember one time of a gentleman in our home taken violently sick and what was the ailment nobody knowed. They had the medical doctors to come to him and they seemed to do him no good - the medicine they gave him put him in a rage. So then they decided to go and get some root doctor and see if they could do any good. So at last one day they found a man named Doc F., who came to see this man how he was. And after getting there he walked into the room of this sick man and asked his wife, "How's his urine?" And she told him the best she knew how. So he asked her did she have a Canadian piece of money. She told him yes. So he asked her for a dime of Canadian money. She got it and gave it to him. And he compound this piece of Canadian money into dust, mixed it with whiskey and gin and vaseline, and gave it to this man to drink. He dranked it. He stayed with the man all night. And during the night he gave the man two doses of purgative medicine, and the next morning the man was under complusion to have a discharge; and after having this discharge, they found ground puppies, frogs and snakes, and everything of this kind in his urine pot. [Old Point Comfort, Va., (27), Ed.; Dinwiddie Co., Va.,1916.]
Entry 1559
(Well, what kind of medicine would take that - get those things off - that snake out of there?) Well, ah tell you what you kin do. You ever hear tell of slippery elm, nightshade. Well, you take slippery elm and nightshade and running water, them's three simple things, and you kin take a tea- spoonful three times a day and run eny kind of poison out cheh, yes.
(Now, what do they do with that - steep it in there or boil or what?)
No, ah don't know anything about roots. I don't know anything about dat but jest the slippery elm [also called red elm], the nightshade and the spring water, and then that'll run 'em out cheh. And then when they'd come, you'd put that, whatsomever pass from you - ground puppies, frogs, in my instance I had a turtle was in me - and then you throws it in de running water. And as fer as that goes, long as that keeps arunning and molt in de river or in de canal, or wheresomever you put it at, long as that'll keep agoing, the person will keep agoing. Then when that lodge - you know, everything lodges in the water, in de seaweeds or something, you see - well, then that will be the end of the person what did that harm to you.
Entry 1874
Now, ah'm goin' tell you dis one from experience. Dis is mah own - heah's mah han' tuh God. God don't like - He don't like a liar, neither do yo' an' me. If yo' ketch a frog, yo' will have luck. Ah used to try tuh shoot dice. Ah was in Georgia, what chew call Macon, Georgia, about loO miles from Atlanta. Ah worked on a farm wit a man that had big skin games. Yo' evah know whut skin games are?
(What is a skin qame?)
Jis' have a deck of cards an' split [cut] 'em off an' ah turn yo' seven spot an' I got a ten, I'll bet chew a dollar dat mah ten falls, yo' win; if de seven fall, ah win. Dey call dat skin game. An' yo' wanta be lucky now.
[For skin game, see margin-title Frog - Georgia Skin, later.]
Ah was pickin' cotton fo' a man an' he wasn't payin' but 4Oc a hundred, an' swindlin' me wit de game, an' ah had to cook fo' mahself [buy his own food and cook it]. So Saturday night come an' we'd check up an' maybe whut ah done bought an' had cook, ah'd have 'bout two-three dollahs fer de skinning, an' ah jes' losin' mah money. One de boys said, "B, ah'm goin' put chew onto something - ket' chew [catch you] a toadfrog an' keep in yore pocket." Well, ah'd seen a little ole toad in de road dat hops about at night an' ah picked up one an' he wet in mah han' - ah always hear dem say dey make warts - an' ah put 'im in mah pocket. He felt cold as ice when ah got 'im, an' ah put him in mah pocket among some quarters an' nickels an' dimes what ah had an' ah went. De people had a big candle in de woods settin' down in de road - no, dey didn't have a candle, dey had a bottle wit a rope in it an' oil in de bottle makin a wick wit it, setting dere. Dey was down on dere knees gamblin'. Well, ah went dere an' held mah two hand - ah cleaned up ev'ry nickel an' dime dere was. Ah put so much money on dat frog until ah mashed 'im - killed 'im in mah pocket. Ah had all de silver, wag nuthin but silver at dat time - it wasn't no 20, 30 or 40 dollahs but ah broke ev'rybody dat night. An' ah always thought a frog was lucky. Ah had so much on him he got tuh jumpin' in mah pocket right in dere on mah money. [A frog or toad does not jump because the money is heavy; he is giving a warning we shall learn later.] An' ev'ry time ah got down dere to make a bet, ah more den apt to ketch 'em - if ah fall twice ah'd ketch it three times. That was luck.
Entry 1905
[I don't] know anything about a gamblin' proposition 'cause I never gambled in my life, but I have heard of people gambling and I have talked with gamblers. They claim they go and get somethin' that you call a moojoo. What it is, I don't know. They get a green frog, I think it is and split him open and put that thing into the frog and sew de frog back up and then they wear it in they pocketbook and say Just any point they wan'a make, they make it. What else they do to it, I couldn't tell you.
(They do that for luck in gambling?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 2742
It's a gift - ah been doin' it all mah life. (This woman [an author] says that down there when a doctor of this type has any disciples or anybody he is teaching - when they are initiated - Do they have some sort of initiation ceremony? Or something like that?) Yeah, they have that shore. (Do you know anything about what they do?) Well, ah tell yo'. Now we have - ah have had a school right to here. People say they are gifted - they got a gift. Well, ah'll try 'em to see if dey kin see it - to see if they know anything. Well, if ah see the same thing they say they see, den ah know they have a gift. Well, den ah'll go on a'develop 'em. I'll even show 'em articles in de Bible to read to git dereself in dat position. [See my biblical comment p.361.] Yo' see, then after they study that and they know it fluently - and den ah write down to de Temple an' git a diploma an' give 'em, see. Den dey kin go about an' use de Temple's name.
(Where is this Temple by the way?)
St. John's Temple. That's what we call a great hoodoo place. You will find that when you go down there. You jest ask anybody and they say it's one of the largest places there of its kind.
(They teach there? Is it a church or what?)
Yeah, it's like a church and dey have a lot of understudies and they heal there. They do everything. An' people go dere. They have more white than they do colored. (Did you ever hear that in these initiations they have a altar and burn can- dles and that sort of thing?) Oh yes, I have the same thing. Ah have it now at mah place.
(Sort of an altar?)
Yeah, ah have a altar wit saints and candles and oils and different things.
(If I came around to see you, would you let me see them?)
Sure ah let chew see - sure. You come around and yo' kin see it any time. Ah'm dere every day but Sunday.
(Do you have a special room or something of that sort?)
I have a whole basement downstairs - whole basement wit all mah business in it. Ah have one at de church too. You kin come to mah church sometime and you will see how ah perform.
(Yes, where is your church?)
Things ah knows from mah own experience.
[He conveniently missed my question. I do not repeat it.]
(All right suppose you tell me one of those.)
Dey take your photograph and dey turn it upside down and take a pink light and burn it to it fer nine nights and nine days, and dat will worry your mind. Maybe dis woman or somepin dat love you - it would cause your mind to keep coming on her all de time. Yes, she can. Dis woman she takes his name and she write his name nine times, she write her name nine times across this. And then she takes a pink light and she turns this light on top of this piece of paper. When de drippings of dis candle covers this full name then he will be back. Well, you would take St. Anthony. You would take St. Anthony and you would take three lights which would be a green one, a black one and a yellow one, and you would burn this light every night and every morning until these lights burn down completely. That would relieve you or your mind.
(If someone was trying to harm me. Well, what do you do about St. Anthony?)
St. Anthony, dat's a saint. Why you take him and burn dese three lights to him and ask him to....
(Oh, you have a picture of him?)
Oh, yeah, a picture of dis saint. You take St. Peter. St. Peter is a saint that is used fo' all thieves. Yo' take a brass key and you put dis key in de Bible and then you call names. Any- body that lives in dis house and yo' suspicion that anyone in this house did dis crime. Yo' call dere name and de Bible will tell you. It will turn on de one dat stole these things when you call de name, de Bible will turn an' fall.
(Well, what do you do with that St. Peter?)
St. Peter is on a picture. You only stand him and light a light, jest a white candle, and then use dis big brass key which is de one dat gives yo' de secrets to thieves.
(I see - you put that in the Bible.)
Say they have a thing that they call guinea seeds - supposed to control and give you power. You take one of those seeds and chew it up fine and jest as you about to enter and start to talking to this party, you spit this three times in front of 'em and say to yourself what chew want them to do. And they claim that they have to do these things.
(That is used when you are going to get a job.)
Now dey claim fer frogs - in order to have someone that chew wanta trick - put frogs in 'em - you take a frog and you will boil him. After you boil him you take this water and they claim that nine drops of this water into your drinking Water will create frogs to be crawling inside of you.
(Is there any way to get those frogs out?)
The only way to get 'em out would be jest the same way as they got 'em in. Well, in other words, dey say they'd boil de water for you to drink, and well dey would boil more water for you to drink again and den de frogs would come back [out]. [For Doctor Sims, see No. 34, p.23, and Index.]
Entry 3040
(What about St. Peter?)
He'll do evil for anything you want done. He'll do it for you.
(St. Peter will?)
Yeah, St. Peter will do that. Well how, for example? Well now, if I wanted St. Peter to do something for me, I would take a pin and I will scratch my finger, or either my own self, and let it bleed, bleed, bleed, and I'll take a pen and write. And I'll write a letter with my own blood and I'll take it to the crossroads and I'll leave it there, and I'll get him fin'lly to do anything I ask him to do. He'll do it and then after that I kin do anything, too. See.
(You write a letter in your own blood and go to the crossroads and leave it.)
Yes, I'll leave it right there, I'll leave it.
(Then what? Then, what about it?)
He'll find it. St. Peter, he'll find that.
(Then what will he do?)
Anything that I ask for I'll get - see, don't care what it is.
[While my machine was turned off, informant began a candle rite.]
(Burn a candle to him and ask for that from St. Peter?)
Yes, after you - take a frog, get aholt of 'im - ev'ry mornin' take a broom and whup 'im, call 'im all kind of name an' whup 'im out the world till he [St. Peter? come up?] an' he'll [St. Peter will] answer you an' ask whut you want 'im to do. [Here, a well-known rite of whipping a frog is confusing - I return to the letter.] (Now, wait a minute - about this crossroad business. What would you say in that letter you would write?) Well, you would say, "Well, St. Peter, I want this woman do such and so. I want you to give me this and I want this done, and harm this certain fellow and move that man out of my way, ' or something like that. "I want you to do it." (And after you write this letter, do you have to go before St. Peter's picture to do anything?) No, you have to have him on your wall - have him on your wall to do that [letter at crossroad]. Keep him on your wall. Just keep him on your wall or highboy or bureau, or over in front of your door.
(Do you have to talk to St. Peter or anything before you write that letter?)
' Well, if you talk to him once, he tell you what to do. Then, get your blood and write him [a] letter with your blood. Put it up on the wall of - up over the door and he'll answer. He'll do anything you say. (I see. Well now, how do you work this up on the wall - in putting this picture on the wall what do you do to it?) Well, you get you a broom and just wham him out, just call him all kinds of names. "I asked you to do something and you didn't do it." Just whup him with that broom and he'll do it.
Entry 6567
[Numerous examples of animal brutality and torture have been given in HOODOO. Here are several more examples.] I've seen a woman - she did dis when I wuz quite a kid. I seen 'er when she did dis - I wuz runnin' roun' 'er house - I guess she wuz payin' no 'tention tuh me amongst de othahs. She'd taken a frog. Dis frog - she taken dis frog an' SHE'D TAKE AN' STARVE DIS FROG, a li'le bit'a frog- a li'le, li'le frog. Yo' know de li'le bit'a frog dat jumps in de garden sometime or in de grass. She take dis frog an' she take an' starved 'im. An' she - I don' know whut she used tuh keep de frog in. She nevah would give him nuthin tuh eat, an' wouldn't allow us tuh give 'im nuthin tuh eat, yo' know. Well, she dried dis frog out when he died, dried 'im out an' powdahed 'im up. Aftah she dried 'im out good, she take an' powdah 'im up. Aftah she take de powdah - she took dis powdah an' she put it in some food [and put live frogs in the person].
Entry 11290
Doctor King's account of himself begins: from Columbia, S. Car. When 8 years old to Beaufort, S. Car. Not much in this for an extract. Of course he Worked or studied with Doctor Buzzard (341:9). Next comes the stationary root previously mentioned (342:1). Put black cat bone scrapings on a photograph, if you are looking for a man [a criminal, etc]. The picture turns light or dark, etc. [according to your question]. A year later I would have learned more from Doctor King about this. Later I added, "Be careful in using this unless a par(allel) secured!" Nonsense: This was the doctor's own method (344:1). A rite about snake eggs used to kill person (344:3). To take out frogs caused by frog eggs. Black seeds from a watermelon, horse hoof dust, a tea made from. I comment doubtful. Nonsense! (345:1). "Yo' kin take a woman or yourself, either one, an' if yo' git some hair from down there an' stop it up in a bottle with kerosene on that. Take away all your courage - away from you (347:1). Rub kerosene on woman's privates, takes her courage (347:2). Doctor King also appears in No.830, p.288, v.1. If I failed, remember that Doctor King was in a hurry, on his way to see a patient, but would meet me again the following day. He took a disappearing root!
Entry 11676
If somebody put a spell on you, or evil verk [work] on yuh, ah kin take yuh any night at twelve 'clock an' go tuh de fork of de road. An' lak at a certain time [I will] fetch yuh on back home an' fix de door tuh yuh step - an' den yuh'll go back- ward an' go tuh yuh baid- room an' git a pair of 'is socks or some othah thing. An' nine days aftah dat yuh would be off from home. Nine days aftah dat yuh'll commence tuh... [I inter- rupt.] (Well what would you do at the crossroads? What Would you do down at the crossroads to cure a person?) Why yuh want me tuh tell yuh secret information? (I'm not going to be here to go into business again- st you or anything of that sort, you understand. [Long silence and I continue.] You see, what you tell me is confidential. It doesn't go any farther, you see.) Well, I'll tell yuh anyhow. Now yuh, if anybody harm yuh, hurt chuh, an' yuh Wan'a put a spell on dem [this is called "returning the spell"]. Yuh go an' git a frog, one frog. Git chuh nine, nine eightpenny cut nails. Yo' know what a cut nail is?
(Yes, a square nail.)
Mm [whatever that means!]. An' go carry it tuh de crossroads, jes' go ovah de dirt where his feet print [leave footprints]. Do lak dat [demonstrates] an do lak dat [demonstrates again] an' be raising de nail.
[I describe his actions.]
(The person puts his hands down on the ground.)
[The hands are spread out flat on the ground.]
Gotta have [demonstrates] ground gotta go through his hand, you know [demon- strates].
(Through his fingers.)
[He continues to demonstrate.]
Yuh put yuh fingahs here and den yuh put de nails right here.
[Demonstrates a hammer.]
(A special hammer you use for that purpose.)
[While this is going on.] De devil will come along. Nevah go up to him. Go back home as slow as yuh kin an' carry dat nailed-down [prints] an' take de sand wit it. Nail dem tuh de steps an' yuh do de same thing. Let him go in de house backwards. As he go at de step goes on up, go in backwards an' lay down [to rest]. He gonna git up early - sunrise. Aftah sunrise de nex' mawnin'. An' den yuh give him a quart of vinegah an' sulphuh, an' in dat bottle. An' put it dere an' throw it in runnin' watah, den dat will [begin to work]. An' in nine days time, if he ain't too long [gone, he will begin to recover].
[While machine stopped I ask a question.]
No, yo'll start at de do' an' den take five more [steps] an' git some vinegah. Tie it right togethah wit a piece of cord string an' put about a spoonful of sulphur, wit a quart of vinegah. But chew have dat fixed. Now you have dat fixed a couple of days, yuh undahstan'. Den aftah yuh do it, git de person an' let 'im take a dose three times a day.
(That'll cure him?)
In nine days now dat person week is up an' de reason it is done. If it's recently done, dey has de party dyin' in t'ree days. [Presumably the longer the spell in time, the longer it takes to cure it.]
(The person that put the spell on him.)
Yeah, goes back [to him] see. [This is called returning the spell and by other names.]
[To be on the safe side I continue.]
(As I pass, I put them [my feet] down there and make my footprints and my handprints right at the crossroads.) Right at de cross of de road [making this the center of a square and a quin- cunx rite] and come right back to de steps and do de same thing. An' he'll [doctor] have to carry yuh back as yuh go backwards an' lay in de baid.
Entry 11747
Dey tell me dey will git some graveyard dirt an' go tuh a wasp where wasps make a nest at - an' aggravate some of 'em an' kill dem. Den dey go an' git de frog an' aggra- vate de frog an' kill him. Den dey go an' git a snake an' aggravate a snake an kill him. An' den dey would take de head offa all of "em an' burn 'em. An' aftah burnin' it, mash it on up into a dust an' mix dat graveyard dirt wit it. An' if yo' go dere an' have yore hat wit chew or anything lak dat, an' dey kin git a little of it in yore hat. Aftah puttin' yore hat on, dat's all dey have tuh do tuh git it in yore clothes somehow or 'nothah, an' it'll be in yo'. Weah dat in yore clothes. An' at de young moon, dat's de time dey have tuh do it, on de young moon, an' as de growin' of de moon, why it will grow in yo'.
(What will grow in you?)
Dat wasp an' dat snake an' dat toadfrog.
(That puts live things in you?)
Dat put live things in yo'.
Entry 9874
Jis' take his name on a papah an' open de frog's mouth, an' put dat man's name down dat frog's throat, an' jis' hold 'im right dere until he dies. An' den pass outa de house an' throw it somewhere neah de house, an' den he hops lak a frog.
(That man will hop like a frog.)
Yessuh.
Entry 702
Old Miss J. was mad at me one time and she said, someone overheard her, she was going to fix me. So she got a bottle and she placed a snake and a little frog all in this one bottle and buried it under my doorstep. Lucky for me a man told me it was there. And I know what to do for that. I went out into the woods and got me some old black oak tree bark and turpentine and came back to the house step and placed it on the step. Next morning when I woke up and that bottle was right on the ground. There was a snake in there, a frog in there. [This must have been powerful drawing medicine to draw a buried bottle out of the ground.] And I said, "Mercy, what can that be?" Then I took some salt and turpentine and put it on the bottle to keep from being cunjured with those germs. So I took the bottle and shook it and out came the snake and frog. And I said, "That won't do. I don't know they might come back." So I put this salt and turpentine on the frog and he curled up, and I put the salt and turpentine on the snake and he died. So that stop that cunjure. [In case the reader was a little sleepy during this remarkable rite or awed by the powerful drawing medicine, may I point out there was no buried bottle under the doorstep; the man-told-me-it-was-there threw the bottle under the door- step during the night. The powerful drowing medicine was suggestion and a trick. We will come to a small collection of tricks later.]
Entry 711
Jes' lak somebody's got a snake or a frog in dey foot, somepin lak dat, yo' go to a stockyard an' yo' git chew a cow dat's jes' dropped manure. Pick it up in a shovel an' carry it home an' git chew fo'teen pods of red peppah - red peppah. Then yo' git chew thirteen pods of green peppah befo' it turns red. Yo' set down an' cut it up in round pieces in dat fertilizer. Yo' put three han'ful of table salt in dere - cookin' salt. Yo' put it on a fiah an' put yo' a quart, from a quart to a half a gallon of watah in dere an' boil it. Yo' git yo' a fiannel rag an' place dat roun' dat person's foot an' whut's in dat feet is comin' out in two day's time. But chew must put it on there hot an' yo' change it three times a day - mawnin', noon an' night. An' if it's a frog in dere or snake, it's comin' out.
[Informant now tells how the snake or frog was put in the person's foot.]
When yo' git 'em that way, ah tell yo' whut chew do. Say, fo' instance, yo' take a person's name an' yo' take de size - de numbah of de shoe dat he wears an' yo' write that on a aig, a fresh yard aig - it matters [not] whut kinda aig it is, jes' so it's fresh. It's got'a be a yard aig, though. Write that on there. Yo' take that an' carry it an' bury it undah dere front steps. If dey got a front po'ch, bury it undah de front po'ch, if dey ain't got no steps. An' when that begin tuh form in that aig - when that aig begin tuh form, den it will begin tuh form in yore instep or your feet. Dat de onliest place it's gon'a be, is right on de instep right in heah. It'll begin tuh form there. When it grows tuh be de full length of that aig, it's in yore feet de same way.
(You put something in that egg did you say?)
Jes' write dey name on dere, whut chew want, an' yo' must bury dat aig - bury it in somepin that it ain't gon'a rotten, lak a fruit jar. Yo' see, yo' take a rubbah - same lak yore wife put up fruit, put rubbers on the jars. Yo' put that aig down in there. See, it don't break it - put it down in there nice an' put the name on there whut chew want. See. Then yo' put the top on it an' go to these person's house - if yo' cain't git in there, pay somebody to do it - an' dig a hole an' put dat down dere an' cover it up an' level it off good. An' when dat frog or dat snake begins tuh form in dat aig, it will form in yore foot, de same way. Well now, de onliest way dat chew kin git rid of that, if de doctah don't operate on yo', is to take dat fertilizer - dat cow fertilizer. (What would you write on that egg, for example? Suppose you wanted to do that to me. What would you write on that egg?) Well, ah would try an' git chure name - jes' git chure name an' says, "Perform in his instep, right or left feet, frog or snake or lizard." See, den ah plant it down dere. But it's got'a be a fresh aig - matters [not] whut kinda hen it come from, but it's got'a be a fresh yard aig.
Entry 931
Well, once she got poisoned she wus poisoned an' she stayed sick about two weeks, an' aftah she start feelin' somepin jumpin' in her stomach. It start in de mawnin' at five a'clock - it jump in de mawnin' an' it jump in de evenin' at five. So she say dat she feel somepin lak a frog or somepin in her stomach. Well, dey decide tuh git a man to come an' look aftah her. So dis man came an' look aftah her an' he tole her dere wus a frog in dere, an' he give her some medicine dat mawnin' an' he tole her dat when he jump up five a'clock dat evenin' dat he'll git dis frog. So when he jump five a'clock dat aftahnoon - five a'clock, he caught de frog an' he take de frog an' he carry it back wit him. An' he tole her that she wus dressed by her own husban' - dat dis woman take a frog an' she squeeze him in her han' until he dies. An' aftah he dies, she take him an' put him in de stove an' parched him up to a powder. Den dat night when she wus wit her husban' she put it on him, an' he went an' live wit dis lady an' dat's causin' she got dis frog. [Dressed by terrapin, see No. 10, p.7.] (Oh - this other woman who wasn't the wife put this frog on the man. Then the man went home and then she [the wife] got that stuff?) Dat's right - the man - she [wife] got dat stuff. Den aftah nine days it come a frog in her. It jump in de mawnin' at five a'clock an' in de evenin' at five. An' dis man came an' he caught it.
(Well - do you know what the man did to catch the frog?)
Yes - he give her some medicine. Ah dunno whut kinda medicine it wus.
Entry 964
Dere somepin did to mah sistah. She go fo' a ice cream sodee on a Friday night an' de othah girls dere didn't like her at all. So she went dere at night an' dey served her ice cream an' dey fixed her a saucer of it, an' after- wards she remembered dey speci'lly bring her saucerful. An' after- ward, purtty soon after she leave, de side of her laig all commence painin' her all de way up. An' purtty soon dey had taken an' carry her home, couldn't walk, where she got sick an' de doctah 'tended her [and could not help her]. An' dat laig had swole so, jes' to de knee - swole so dat it jes' be a bag of skin dere an' yo' see somepin like somepin wus crawlin' up an' down her laig. So mah father, he goes an' git him a ridge bass - a root worker, an' he looked at her an' he give her some tea, some kinda tea in a jar an' tole her she'd be all right in about eight or nine days. Didn't [give] her no 'tenshun an' she seem to be gittin' worse an' worse, an' in about a week an' a half he came dere - it wus in de mawnin', said, "Ah come tuh cure de girl." Father say, "Ah hope so - she didn't rest any last night an' she not restin' now." An' he give him three little tablets 'bout de size of an' aspirin tablet but they were black. He tole us, say, "Git the slop jar." She taken de three, an' in about five minutes time she commence gaggin' an' she gagged up a pure green frog: She re'lly did dere in de slop jar. Ah wus standin' right dere.
(End of 1429.)
(That story he told me about the envelope - throwing it up in the air and having it disappear - he said that the root doctor was old Doctor Harris down in Florence, S. Car.) [Fayetteville, N. Car., (1429), 2579:13.] [Folk Medicine I will divide into two subsections: (l) Principles of Healing, beginning here, and (2) Cure and Protection, which begins on page 410.] [A considerable amount of material about principles of healing, cures and protection has already been given. Here I would like to emphasize two things - folk cures about which we have heard little; and the fact that disease, sickness, pain, bad luck, everything in witchcraft and hoodoo is a spirit.] [The problems of health are many, difficult and expensive. It is unfortunate that they should also be encumbered with prejudice and superstition. Concerning the latter - believers in witchcraft, hoodoo and magic throw a halo about their heads, claiming as their authority the Bible, the Word of God: - (l)he [Manasseh] observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards (2 Ch.33:6) - (2) Saul had put away those that had faniliar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land (1 Sam.28:3)- (3) Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live (Ex.22:18).] [One informant expresses the attitude of witchcraft and hoodoo believers as well as the view of Biblical fundamentalists:]
Entry 967
[Someone begrudged] me because ah was gittin' 'long pretty good and dey didn't wanta see me git along, you know, and so dey used some kin' of insex [insects] on me. (What happened to you?) Well, ah got so ah could hear things hollerin' all de time any - katydids was in mah haid, those ole katdydids - frogs was hollerin' like dey does in a pond yo' know - ever' kin' of thing was hollerin' in mah haid - jes' had me goin' crazy.
(What did you do then, about it?)
A fortune teller lady come dere and made me use dis here cow water from de cow on mah haid and she killed 'em.
(Well, just how did she use that?)
She had me tuh git it - ah don't know whut she did with it, but she give it tuh me and ah had to wash mah haid; took mah hair all out mah haid it did and ah commence gettin' bettah. She killed 'em. Ah could see 'em all runnin' about in mah flesh - yes sir, dey was jes' runnin' about in mah flesh - could see 'em - people could look at 'em.
(How long did you use this cow water?)
Ah had to use if off and on about six months 'fore ah got results out of it.
(Did you bathe your head every day?)
Ever' other day one - one the othah of 'em - but she told me to bathe ever' day until they got bath-ed down and when they got bath-ed down, she started to use it ever' othah day.
(Did that happen round here in Mobile?)
No sir, ah was in Marengo County, Alabama. It's been now jes' about twenty- five years ago.
[I must have asked how these live things were put into her.]
Take a frog, yo' know and tie him - tie all his feet, tie the frog hog-fashion [= hog-tie = tying all 4 feet together]. Dey take 'im an' put 'im somewhare down whare he can walk over 'im, an' dey say in 9 days dey come alive an' be in yo'. Dey say dat's how dey put dem in me. Dere's a [another] lady come an' tuk it up right whare ah walk out over 'im. (You have to walk over this before it gets into you. That's supposed to go into you.) Dat's de way she [an enemy] had me fixed up.
(How would you get rid of a thing of that sort?)
Well, dat's whut [why] she had me us.in' dat cow chamber lye. An' she had me to use de othah, too; make a pad an' put on heah - dat whut killed 'em.
(What other do you mean - the dung of the cow? Put it where - on your head?)
[This is not a leading question because she had pointed to her head when saying put on heah, but I want her to say head for the record.] Yes, she had me a big round thing made, an' I had to wear dat up on top of mah haid. An' I tole 'er ah hated to wear dat stuff on top of mah haid. She said ah had to do anything to get well.
Entry 1283
An' then yo' kin cure disease with that frog. A frog is wonderful tuh take off spells.
(How would they do that?)
Well, now, yo' kin ketch a frog an' yo' kin let the party that has the spell Spit three times into that frog's mouth an' blow their breath three times in it an' then yo' kin - when they do that yo' read the 23rd Psalms. See, read the 23rd Psalms an' after yo' read de 23rd Psalms, yo' let them take that frog an' throw it ovah dere shoulder jest as hard as they kin an' don't let that frog come back towards where that sick person is standing - keep that frog off from that sick person. An' that frog will carrv that disease off. Yo' kin take off witchcraft fo' anybody wit dat.
Entry 1334
They tell me you can take a frog, catch a frog alive, and you put him into any kind of a pot or skillet and you parch it until it come to a dust, and you sprinkle this over the food - you know, just parch it until you can just make a dust out of it and put it in the food. And when they eat it it become live again in 'em. They do the same thing wit a snake or scorpion.
(How do they get those things out of them?)
How do you get 'em out? You takes sweet milk and something they call hog hoof - that's a powder you get it down here at the Cracker Jack Drug Store and you put it in there and you boils it. See, get fresh sweet milk. Well, you put it in there [the hog hoof powder] and you boils it up. Well, you drink that and you vomit it up.
Entry 1409
If anyone poison yo', yo' take de frog an' kill de frog, or either yo' kin, if yo' got nerve enough to gut him 'live, jes' take all his guts out an' cut both side of him off - all dis flesh an' stuff off. Jest leave his back an' his hind leg an' his front one an' his head - jes' cut his belly off an' put it into dis bottle wit vinegar, red vinegar, an' after yo' put it in dere, yo' put some artichoke, something dey call artichokes. Put dat in dere wit some red cayenne peppah. Put dat in dere an' some sulphur an' set it fo' nine mawnin's - nine mawnin's, an' then yo' drink that three times a day or at night - when yo' want to. That will relief anything dat evah happened.
(What does an artichoke look like?) [It is just as well that I asked.]
Artichoke is somethin' dat grows somethin' like a potato but it's knotty. Ah got some home. (Green - green on the outside isn't it? And you pull off the leaves like that?) [I must have demonstrated.] It's most lak a Irish potato. Yo' see some Irish potatoes got little knots in 'em, comin' out - well, it's jes' lak dat. (Does it grow out of the ground?) [I should have said, does it mature above- ground.] Yes sir - under de ground.
(What color is it?)
It's white. Yo' don't have tuh peel it, yo' kin jes' wash it off an' scrape it lak dat an' yo' kin eat it jes' lak it is. Jes' it ain't got no nice taste to it; it jes' fo' lak vinegar an' peppah an' onions an' stuff dey put in dere wit vinegar. It something lak somepin dey sprinkle ovah greens, yo' know whut chew call dat.
(Sauces?)
Yes.
Entry 1882
Well, they say if you take a frog and make him drunk and go to the game and, you know, have him in your pocket. Well, if you are going to play wrong, well that frog will move and you'll know what to do - you'll know that you fixin' to bet some money in the wrong place.
(That frog warns you?)
Yes.
(He'll move around?)
Uh huh.
(How do you make him drunk?)
Well, just take the teaspoon and pour the whiskey down in him.
Entry 1887
Yo' takes a frog an' yo' kill him an' lets him dry, takes an' sews him up in a shammy skin, an' feed him with whiskey. Well, that's supposed to be a very, very nice toby fo' gamblin'.
Entry 1890
Yo' kin git graveyard dirt an' a frog an' take this frog an' put this graveyard dirt an' dis frog an' de lodestone in yore pocket an' dress it ovah wit whiskey. Den yo'll be lucky.
(Lucky in what?)
In gamblin' or runnin' a house or most anything - restaurant - anything yo' doin'.
(You put all this in a little bag?)
Yes, in a little red flannel rag. Sew it up an' it'll make a hand - jis make a hand out of it.
Entry 1894
(What would they do with the frog?)
You kin take a frog if yo' are betting cards and - jest like ah and you is in a skin game of betting, wal ah've got a toadfrog in mah pocket. Ah don't keer how lucky yo' is, ah'm goin' beat yo' out chure money long as he don't holler. If he hollers I quit betting and turn him loose and let him go.
Entry 1895
Use toadfrogs fo' luck lak if yo' wanta go to a spinnin' wheel an' win lak in dese carnivals - in dese big shows dey have dose spinnin' wheels. Says yo' take a frog an' go to de spinnin' wheel an' jes' befo' yo' go tuh turn dat spinnin' wheel, run yo' han' in de sack an' git chew some of de money off de toadfrog an' yo'll be lucky with it.
Entry 1898
Dey tell me yo' kin take a toadfrog an' go into any kind of a show or anything like that, even in a gambling room, anywhere yo' mind to carry 'em like dat. Said jest if someone come in dis town an' yo' wants tuh break up de show or anything like dat, say if there's any kinda lodestone dey have workin' round dere an' yo' wants to find out whether it is lodestone, jest ketch yo' a toadfrog an' go in dere an' dey say de toadfrog will eat all de lodestone dey carries in dere an' dey jest can't act.
Entry 1900
Yo' kin ketch de frog an' yo' cut off his left hind laig whilst he livin' an' turn him unloose an' wear it in yore pocket. Mah brothah got one in his pocket today.
(What will that do for you?)
Say that makes yo' git 'long - anybody yo' kin walk up dere an' ask 'em fo' money an' dey'll give it to yo'.
Entry 1904
Jes' say yo' speedin' wit chure automobile out dere an' de law run down an' subpoena yo' fo' co't in de mawnin'. Dis evenin' jes' go out dere in de woods an' git chew 'bout fo' or five big spring frogs. Put 'em in yore bosom. Yo' put 'em in water tonight an' in de mawnin' when yo' - befo' yo go up dere, put 'em in yore bosom an' when yo' go up dere befo' him why dere won't be nuthin tuh de case - it throwed out.
Entry 3198
If a man gwine wit a woman. An' he'd ketch a toadfrog an' wrap 'im up in 'is pocket han'chef an' tote him in 'is pocket. An' when he have connection wit dat woman - she'll not know whut he doin' - take dat han'chef quick outa dere an' dry off dat woman. Dry 'er off wit dat from dat frog. An' de nex' man come dere, he'll be all right till time he gits up dere, den he fall. He cain't he'p it. But yo' gotta do dat mo' den one time. Jes' as it happen [do it each time it happens]. Dat's fur as ah know 'bout dat.
Entry 3202
And there's a way where women dress their husbands when they don't want them to go with other women. Well they do that by catching a live toadfrog, and they put the toadfrog alive in a container and put a top with a brick on top of it so he can't jump out, and they cook that frog down to just natural grease, and fer nine nights they dress their husband's private with that grease from the frog. It doesn't make any diff ren' if he washes the nex' day, she continues to do that every night and when she doesn't have anything to do with him herself, because it would be detrimental to her, too. And when he comes in contact with this other woman, aftah nine days, the same amount of nights she greased him, there'll come a ball on her privates like your fist and it baffles the doctors, they don't know what it is, because it's somepin very unusual. The toadfrog is used for lots of things.
Entry 6200
If yo' wanta git a person out de way, dat's whut de ole folks have said. De person dat yo' wan'a git out de way, yo' git some of 'is hair an' take it tuh de woods, an' git chew a augah an' bo' a hole in de no'th side of de tree, an' git chew a frog an' put dat frog in dere on top of dat, an' git chew a wedge an' put dat wedge in dere an' drive it in tight, an' evah day yo' go back an' tap dat wedge. Well, when dat frog dies, why dat person die. Well, yo' git 'im out de way, yo' undahstan'.
(When the frog dies, that person dies.)
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 6539
Yo' kin go tuh work an' take de chicken haid. Dry it intuh a powdah, crumble it up an' make a lotta things jis' lak peppah outa it. Place it intuh anyone's food, an' when yo' place it intuh dere food, dey person eat it, amn' nine days aftah - nine days, dey'll fumilate [formulate], dey body will be full of small ones.
(Small what?)
De li'le chickens, or li'le snakes, or ll'le frogs, or li'le bugs - jis' whut- somevah one [animal] dat chew use.
Entry 6546
Yo' kin git de blood from a frog an' yo' kin put dat in whiskey an' let em drink it an' dat'll cuz frogs tuh be in 'em.
Entry 6550
Dey use a frog. Kin take a frog an' kill 'im, an' git a drop of 'is blood an' a drop of someone's blood an' put it tuhgethah. An' put it in some coffee or whiskey or tea or sompin lak dat, an' give it tuh dem tuh drink. Well, dey'll be poisoned an' go crazy an' yo' have tuh send 'em tuh 'sylum.
Entry 6551
Git a red frog an' git some of de warts off 'im, an' some of 'is blood. If yo' kin slice him in 'is hind laigs dere, yo' know, git some blood outa 'im dat way. Take one of dese Warts an' boil it an' make yo' a tea outa it. An' take some'a de blood an' git intuh dis tea an' give a fellah a dose of it, he will become nervous, jis' lak he would have de St. Werdis [Vitus'sl dance. His arm or 'is hand or wherevah in it takes place at - he be settin' still an' soon as he gittin' settin' still, be jis' all ovah shake lak dat [demonstrates]. But yo' gotta git one of dose ole red toads dey call 'em, dese red speckled ones - git one of dem.
Entry 6552
Take a frog or a lizard. Yo' know a frog is spawned with a little egg. Yo' kin take dat. It will more or less go to de bottom. If dere anybody yo' wants hurt, yo' kin take it [frog egg] an' dey'll drink it, an' dey'll form an' dey'll grow in 'em - grow in dat person. Ah have seen 'em. An' yo' kin take snakes' eggs an' do de same thing, an' dey'll crawl aroun' in a human bein's body.
Entry 6553
They take a frog and they keep that frog until he has eggs. And when the frog has the eggs, they take those and put in the beer, and they will give that to the enemy to drink. Well, inside of about four or five months, those eggs will hatch and in the person's stomach, and they will have frogs in their stomach. And there is but one way to get those frog eggs out of that person's stomach, out of the belly to keep them from hatching. You would have to go under a operation. The way you can get them out without going under a operation is if you learn they are in there before four months. You can easily get them out with black molasses and burnt sulphur, becuz that ties them up, that brings them right out when you are passing. You pass them right out.
Entry 6554
Git a frog. If yo' kin git de insides of a frog an' kin manage tuh git jis' a part of 'im intuh de pot - somepin neah 'is heart, which is de livest part of 'im aftah yo' kill 'im - an' yo' put it in de pot an' dat person eat it, dey say den he'll begin tuh have young frogs in 'im.
Entry 6555
Take de frog an' dry it. Aftah dryin' de frog, make a powdahs outa it an' sprinkle it intuh dere food an' feed it tuh a person. Aftah de birth - an' nine days aftah time [9 days after the feeding]de frog will begin tuh grow young ones on de inside of de othah person. In nine days time.
Entry 6557
Ah know a woman had a frog in 'er throat an' it wuz put in whiskey - [I mean] in dat frog dust - an' aftah dey drink it, it formed dem live thing in 'er. It formed an' it grow back tuhgethah. Dem frogs grow. She had one right up heah in 'er throat an' it choked 'er tuh death finely [finally]. An' evah time she drink whiskey see, an' she wuz jis' crazy about whiskey, well dat thing would come up an' nearly choke 'er tuh death. Died!
Entry 6558
Well, ah heard dat yo' kin take de toadfrog. Yo' kin take de toadfrog an' ketch 'im alive an' put 'im in somepin [on or near the fire] an' let 'im git done, where yo' could jis' powdah 'im up lak yo' would powdah. An' put 'im in some whiskey an' give tuh de person an' it'll turn tuh frogs.
Entry 6559
Git a frog an' kill 'im an' let 'im dry up tuh a powdah, an' cook it in bread or anything an' give it tuh yo' in medicine or whiskey or anything lak dat, an' event'ly [eventually] dat powdah will 'cumulate an' HE'LL COME BACK A LIVING FROG, AN' YO' KIN FEEL 'IM MOVIN' RIGHT UP AN' DOWN RIGHT UNDAH DE SKIN.
Entry 6560
Lak if yo' wanta put frogs in somebody, yo' ket' chew a toadfrog an' gut 'im an' hang 'im up an' let 'im git pumb bone dry. Jis' dry 'im from a plumb hard dry. Yo' go dere an' yo' take him in a han'kerchef or sompin an' yo' beat dat frog up - beat 'im up real fine, jis' fine as yo' kin git 'im. Well, jis' lak yo' come in an' say, "So-an'-so, [I won' chew come have some dinnah or sup- pah wit me." Always have dat fixed fo' 'em. Yo' wan'a git dem frogs in 'em. Jis' sprinkle it in dat soup or jis' any othah kinda meat, an' dey eats dat stuff, while dat frog will jis' create in 'em. Now, hit ain't goin' work outa dem, it's gonna stay in 'em.
Entry 6562
Ah've heard tell of 'em usin' frogs fo' diff'ren' things. Now ah've heard tell of 'em - yo' take a frog an' yo' wanta put a SPELL on a person, poison a person. Yo' take a frog an' kill 'im an' let 'im git dry. Den yo' parches 'im where yo' kin powdah it up. Yo' take dat powdah an' put it intuh whiskey or watah or yore coffee, an' let - yo' know, from time tuh time, let 'em drink offa dat. An' it'll create frogs in 'em.
Entry 6563
You skin the frog, dry the hide out, parch it, an' then you kin put that into somepin to drink to give a person. That'll make frogs come in them.
Entry 6629
Ketch a frog an' take a snake wit 'im an' yo' hang 'em up tuh de chim- ley. Let 'em stay until dey are, yo' know, dey are dry. Let 'em dry - snake, frogs an' lizards. Dat's what dey all puts in yo' dey tell me. Take 'em an' tie 'em up an' put 'em up in de chimley where dat smoke will dry 'em. An' den dey git tuh work an' powdah 'em up - jis' powdah 'em up soft an' fine. An' yo' takes dat - dey tell me dey take dat an' put it intuh whiskey or anythin' an' give tuh yo' tuh drink off it. An' yo'll drink it an' dey'll become live in yo'
Entry 6670
Ag'in dere was a woman dat had frogs put into her - not frogs but turtles. She was about to become de birth of a child. Dere was a ole wo- man dat lived next door to 'er an' by 'er being in that condition she Was quite disagreeable. And dis ole woman was supposed to be a hoodoo woman an' SHE WISHES THAT THE CHILD SHE WOULD HAVE WOULD TURN TO A FROG; BUT INSTEAD OF THE CHILD TURNING TO A FROG, DIS WMAN HAD DE CHILD AND THEN HAD THIS TURTLE AFTER. that's a fact because there was thousands of people went there to see it. It happened down in Louisiana, down in St. Bernard's Parish. Dat's where dat hap- pened. [Doctor Sims (see later), good as he was, surely misses the point here. The hoodoo woman did not fail. She changed the twin, the second child, into a turtle! If this story is true, someone had a quick hand.]
Entry 6681
Yo' kin take a drop of frog blood, an' a drop of snake blood, an' a drop of dese here wood sawyahs. He's in dis ole rotten wood, wit a flat haid. (He's in the wood, sort of a worm. What color is the worm?) White, with a flat haid. Take dat blood an' put it on a sandwich an' give it tuh anybody; an' if dey eat dat, dose things will grow in 'em. (They take these drops from each one of these three things and put it on the sandwich, separately or what?) No, put 'em on dere tuhgethah.
Entry 6807
Cook frog alive, add vinegar, when salve cold apply for venereal dis- ease.
Entry 7501
Jes' take of dat dirt, yo' know graveyard, an' a frog. Yo' lay 'im on his back in dat dirt an' yo' put some weight on 'im an' cover 'im an' let 'im stay dere, so he cain't move no ways. Well, he's stay dere - see, he'll smothah in dat. Well, he's comin' back an' he'll find out.
(Well, where are you going to put this frog?)
Undah de steps. Yo' put dat weight ovah 'im, lay 'im on 'is back. (What do you do this for? For what purpose?) Tuh make him come back, de murderer.
Entry 8017
Take de frog an' put 'im in a box, an' take a piece of yore clothes an' put in dis box wit it, de clothes dat's nex' tuh yuh.
(Put his frog in the box and put some of my old clothing in it?)
Yes, put some of yuh ole undahclothes pieces, yo' know dat chew have worn, in de box wit dis frog. An' wrap 'im up airtight an' put 'im somewhere where no air kin git tuh 'im, an' yo'll pine away. (If I wanted to fix you, I would put some of your clothing with this frog?) Uh-huh, some of yuh clothes [not informant's!], an' fix it so de air cain't git tuh it.
Entry 9864
[As another protective device by using a frog eye, we have the follow- ing rite:] If someone wants tuh harm you, to keep 'em from harming you, you must get a frog. You gets a frog and you kill de frog. After you kill the frog, you just take the heart and the gizzard out. You take the heart and the gizzard out. [I failed to ask for a description of a frog gizzard, probably assuming stomach was meant. The true gizzard of course, is the second (posterior) stomach of birds.] Then you dry it - you dry it right in the sun-like. Just good sunny days put it out. After you dry the frog eye and it's heart, you take...
(Just a moment, you said the frog's heart and gizzard before?)
Heart and gizzard, yes.
(Yes.)
[Yet, I still think the word is eye rather than gizzard.]
After you dry it thoroughly, then you put it - you could put it in your purse and just tote all the time and no one can harm yuh.
Entry 9869
You get the frog and you whip it and you beat it, and you put it under the person's step before it die. And, I guarantee, that will make 'em move.
(I see.)
Entry 9872
Now yo' kin cure disease wit a frog an' yo' kin make love wit a frog.
(How do you make love with a frog?)
Well, now yo' kin take dat frog an' cut dat frog open an' it's a li'l stone, a li'l rock, a li'l stone-lak dat's in dat frog. An' yo' kin take dat li'l stone an' any woman dat chew wanta git up tuh 'er dat yo' cain't git tuh, yo' wanta git up tuh 'er, yo' jis' take an' yo' have dat stone in yore hand - anywhere dat yo' could touch 'er. Yo' could shake hands wit 'er, er anywhere yo' kin touch 'er wit dat stone in yore han'. Yo' got 'er yore way. [Informant does not know that this stone-lak is supposed to come from a toad, not a frog: The foul Toad hath a fair stone in his head, from John Lyly, Euphues, p.53, (1579); an old belief made immortal by Shakespeare in As You Like It: Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head. Act ii, sc.1, L.12. (1599).]
Entry 9877
A green frog. All right, yo' kin put dat green frog - take him an' othah 'im in a towel. (Smother him in a towel.) Smothah 'im. Jis' smothah 'im an' yo' take dat same - den yo' take 'im an' cut 'im an' let 'im bleed, an' drop jis' nine drops in watah, er in whiskey, an' let 'em tuh drink it. An' dat frog'll come in 'im, jis' hatch in 'im jis' lak it would in de watah. [Live frogs will be born in the victim.]
Entry 9878
[This belief contains 2 parts, as the separate references indicate.]
Git dat green frog. Yo' ketch 'im out de swamps. Hang 'im up by his laigs until he dies. Let 'im hang right on dere until he dry up in good fashion, an' den yo'll pulverize 'im dat way. An' if yo' jis' wanta come in dis house, yo' don' have tuh do nuthin but put it on [in] a li'l' quill, yo' know, a li'l' pipe stem an' whuff [infor- mant blows]. De do' open an' yo' come on in an' do whut chew wanta do an' go on back out an' close de do'. But chew must have dat thing whut ah tell yo' 'bout on yore thumb so nobody can't see yo'. Yo' kin jis' go in anybody's do' yo' wanta go in in de night an' nobody can't keep yo' from goin' in dere. Yo' jis' - hit'll unlock.
(What do you blow that dust on?)
Blow it right through de keyhole an' yo' hear it [the lock] clack-clack. Yo' walk right on in an' do whut chew wanta do an' come on back an' close de do' an' go on 'bout chure business. But chew must git a green one. [Brunswick, Ga.,
(1223), 2079:6.]
[Here is what informant had previously told me about dat thing...on yore thumb so nobody can't see yo']: If yo' jis' [want to] pass by a crowd in de street or anywhere, git chew a real black cat dat ain't got no spots about 'im an' cut his ear off, an' boil it in a black cow's milk - jis' a li'l bit chew know - an' make a stole [a stall = covering or sheath for finger or thumb] lak yo' fingah stab an' put it on yore thumb. An' when yo' gits ready tuh go by dat crowd, slip dat ovah yore thumb an' nobody see yo' when yo' pass. [Several examples of this stole or stab from a black cat's ear are given elsewhere. I described this informant in note as a small-time R.D. = root doctor.] [Brunswick, Ga., (1223), 2076:2.]
Entry 9882
If yo're poisoned yo' use a frog. Yo' take dat frog an' yo' cut 'im half in two, an' lay 'im on de place where - yo' know, jis' lak it wuz a li'l swollen or sompin lak dat some place. Yo' lay dat frog on top dat place an' de one dat chew had a idea dat did do it, yo' jis' cuss 'em out an' tell 'em, "Ah want chew tuh be jis' lak dis frog is, daid an' in he-ell." An' he'll swell up jis' lak de frog would. Jis' lak yo' are, dat's jis' how it would be happen tuh dem.
Entry 9887
A frog? An' if yo' have bone felon on yuh fingah lak ah had on dis one heah - an' yo' take dat frog whilst he's alive an' yo' split 'im open an' yo' run de fingah dat ails yuh, see, intuh 'im. Dat will draw de misery out.
Entry 9892
Yo' take dat frog an' yo' write dis name on a piece of papah. (What name?) Anybody's name. An' yo' tie it roun' dis live frog an' carry it an' throw it in de runnin' stream of watah. Tie it tight where de papah won't git off in a runnin' stream of watah. Dat's a party dat yo' wanta do harm tuh. Well, dat'll carry him right on off in dat rivah.
Entry 9898
Tuh make dem have a tendency tuh love anyone - yo' know, gain de in- fluence of anyone yo' wanta love - yo' gits a grown live frog. Let 'im be well- grown, healthy. An' gits yo' a pastebo'd box an' a darnin' needle an' thread. An' take yo' a pair of scissors an' cut a deep hole in dis box, an' yo' put dis live frog in dis box, but let it be at de twilight of de night. An' take yore scissahs an' cut holes in dis box. An' den take dis needle an' thing an' sew up dis box. An' take it an' don' say nuthin tuh nobody. Yo' take it an' go tuh a ants nest an' den yo' put it right in de ants nest. An' den aftah seven days yo' go back tuh de frog an' den de frog will be a skeleton. An' den it's two pieces about de skeleton yo' want. One look lak a fish scale an' one look lak a fishhook. An' yo' git dem two pieces an' yo' keep de fish scale. An' den yo' take de fishhook an' jes' lak if yo' wanta - intend tuh love anyone, yo' pin it anywhere on 'em fo' about thirty seconds, an' yo' tote it den. An' 'long as yo' keep dat fish scale yo'll have dem undah con- trol an' do anything yo' want 'em tuh do.
(What do you do with that fishhook?)
Yo' take that fishhook an' put it on his shirt or anybody dress or anything. Yo' know, hook it roun' dere. Yo' leave it dere fo' thirty seconds.
(Then what do you do with it?)
If yo' wanta yo' kin take it off.
Entry 9901
Yo' kin take a frog an' put 'im in a pot an' boil 'im. Git chew nine red ants an' put in dere. Aftah yo' boil 'im, yo' take de frog out an' strip 'is laigs. Jes' lak yo' ketch de frog in dis han' [demonstrates] yo' ketch 'im by his laigs an' strip 'is laigs. Pull 'is laigs through de soup - de watah dat boilin'. [I describe informant's demon- stration.] (You hold him up by the legs and pull his feet down tovard the body.) Take dat, aftah yo' git de meat off - take his haid off - strip 'im enough tuh git de meat off wit'out teahin' 'im too bad. Take him an' git chew some cologne an' some linseed oil. Yo' 'noint 'im good wit dat linseed oil an' cologne. Take an' tie him in a bag. Put dat bag undah yore mattress. If yo' wan'a keep it from fallin' out, [put] 'tween de spring an' mattress. Gits a cloth an' put it up 'tween de mattress an' he [man] lie on dat.
(What will that do?)
Dat will keep 'im wit 'er.
(Do you take this meat off all the bones or what?)
Jes' offa one, his lef' hin' laig.
(And you put the whole frog under there?)
De whole frog undah de baid. An' take de meat dat chew got off 'is lef' hin' laig an' one dose bones, an' tie hit an' weah hit between dere in a bag. Weah it roun' 'er waist in a bag, let it hang down in front of 'er.
(This is to keep the man.)
Reep de man, yeah, at 'er place.
Entry 9902
In gamblin' if yo' wanta be lucky aroun' a skin game, yo' take yo' a frog an' kill it an' go tuh ant's bed, dem ole big red ant, an' put 'im in dere, an' leave him fer nine days. An' he goin' be hard [a skeleton], dem ants goin' eat 'im all up. Jes' take dat frog an' tote 'im in yore lef' pocket. Dat's one of devilest hands yo' evah see.
(You are going to be lucky.)
Yes, sir, yo' goin' ruin dem gamblahs. [Jacksonville, Fla., (549(, 687:7.]
Entry 9903
There was one trick they had. They used to ketch a frog and take this old frog, kill an ole land frog, an ole toad. And put him in a little box and make holes in it supin like yo'd a pepperbox. Little ants would crawl in there and them ants would go in there and destroy the body of this ole frog. And after he was dead, eat him up. You put that box into run- ulag water, whare there's a place of water running right steady down, until it washed all that ole filth, that ole eat-up flesh, away from that frog, yo' know, and leave nuthin but de bone there. And there was a certain bone there, I don't know what it was, but I've heared them tell it. There was a certain bone in that frog that they'd take that out and go around de girl's house. And if she was walkin' around, cookin' an' doin' anything, she had no knowledge of what was goin' on, why you could hang that in her dress.
(Hang it on the clothesline?)
No, her dress on her. She'd have a dress on. But, if you's to take that ole bone and stick it in her clothes somewhares, she passin' around de house an' you's settin' there talkin' with her, and she couldn't git clear of you.
Entry 9904
Well, you take a frog, you take you a nail, or take a knife and peg him down alive jes' like that with a peg right at your house. Take some sugar and just sprinkle it good, you see. The worms, the ants and things will eat all the flesh off it. And after they eat all the flesh off it, you will find a forked bone at the back tail of it. Then you take that oil of clover, van van and fast luck, see. Now you take that and sew them together and make you a little bag, and put it in your pocketbook. But that fast luck. you must keep a little bit out when you going out, on the side, and scrape in your hand like this [demonstrates]. That gives you gambling hand; power in gamb- ling.
(Is fast luck a liquid or a powder?)
That's lickrish [liquid]. When you put it on your hand it burns shoe [burns you]. Now, when you look at it, when you put it on your hand and rub it, you see that curl up, sort of yellowish. It gives you satisfaction.
Entry 9910
Yo' know dese ole rough frogs dat hop. Well, yo' take dem an' yo' put 'em in a tin can an' cut some holes in dere. An' yo' git a bone out dere dat shape lak a fishhook. An' yo' could hang dat on anybody's clothes an' dey'll follah yo' regardless who dey is woman or man, an' love yo'.
Entry 9912
Dat is tuh have yuh husban' undah yore feet, treat 'im lak yo' wanta an' yo' kin do as yo' please. Catch dat frog or yo' kin kill 'im alive an' take dat bone out. (What kind of bone?) De laig bone. Yo' takes one of dat left laig. Yo' skin 'in an' yo' take dat backbone an' dey gen'ly [generally] keeps it in watah. We got a case of dat by us right now. Keeps it in watah in a quart preserve jah. An' each in dere wash, gits dat an' wash 'er husband's clothes in it. If it's nothin but a undahshirt an' he wants a clean undahshirt, she does dat. An' dat po' fellah is jis' a footstool.
Entry 9916
[Despite the excellent hoodoo woman from Memphis in the preceding rite, drinking frog-water could be dangerous]. To put frog in person, boil frog and put this water in person's food.
Entry 9918
Well, once a man went picking huckleberries an' he got bit by a rattle- snake, so he run to a woman's house an' de woman said, "Ah'll git a bullfrog right quick." So she went out in de bushes an' caught a big bullfrog an' cut 'im an' jes' laid 'im right on de place where he was bit at. Let dat [bullfrog] blood run down on dat place. An' so he made it tuh de doctah an' de doctah saved 'im.
Entry 9920
Yo' kin take a hen aig an' rub it ovah de stomach of a frog an' den cook it in anybody's food an' dat will kill 'em.
(Cook what in the food?)
Cook de aig. Jes' chip de aig in de food an' it will kill 'em.
(You just rub the whole egg?)
[My whole egg could include the shell!]
Yeah, jes' rub de raw aig ovah dis frog's stomach an' dat will kill 'em. [In- forant surely means toad, an animal considered poisonous in folklore. The words r aig indicate that the cook, after cracking the egg, lets the yolk run down orer the belly of the animal and then cooks it for the victim.]
Entry 9924
Ketch a frog an' put 'im on somebody, yo' know, an' when he makes watah, dat makes de warts. [Warts are usually attributed to a toad, not frog.]
Entry 9929
Ef yo' got any idea dat anybody's doin' anythin' tuh yuh, yo' kin take dat frog an' keep 'im in de house fuh nine days.
(Keep him right inside of the house?)
In de house - fuh nine days. Well, aftah keepin' dat toadfrog fuh nine days intuh de house, dem people whut tryin' tuh do yuh hahm [harm] dey'll come tuh yuh home evah - each an' evah day an' try tuh bahrah somepin from yuh. Don't nevah len' dem nuthin, see. If yuh len' dem anythin', dey kin do yuh anythin' dey wantuh. Long as yuh don lend nuthin it's all right.
Entry 9944
Now, say if yo' should go wit anothah woman - anothah man wife - an' dat man [husband] fix somepin an' put it tuh de fo'k of de road. An' den he [this husband after other man's wife] started out dere at night. He said de thing look lak it wus a frog. Yo' mou, dese frog dat got big eyes. An' [he] said dat he had two sticks an' he Uhipped 'im [almost] tuh death. An' when he come home mah mothah got up dat maunin'. [She did not get up as a rule when he came home late.] He wus layin' on de po'ch jes' as drunk as he could be. [He] said he didn't know whut wus in 'in, but it wus somepin look lak a frog had two sticks. An' he [frog with two sticks] whipped him [man who came home late] to death. But he [man] didn't live [Frog] killed 'im. [Informant thinks the frog Was cunjured up by deceived hus- band or rootman employed by him, but a better theory would be Doctor Alcohol produced frog with two sticks.]
Entry 9948
Dey take dat ole toad- frog an' stew 'im up, take 'im an' stew 'im up. An' yo' know de people dat is dirty. Dey take dat"ole toad- frog an' stew 'in up an' put 'im intuh sompin tuh eat, what chew eat, but chew won't know anything about it. Ah have had 'em do dat tuh me, yes sir. Dey take dat ole toadfrog, yo' know, an' skin 'im an' dry 'im, an' mix it wit somepin tuh eat what dey cooks. Ah reckon dey done me dat way. An' yo' know when dey stew 'em - it lak stew, jes' lak dat - yo' take a ole bullfrog, ole long bullfrog, yo' know, an' skin 'im. He looks lak a chicken [after he is skinned]. Well, dey take de ole othah toadfrog an' stew 'im up. Cook 'im right along wit somepin tuh eat. An' yo'll take it all right. Yo' go dere an' eat at night. Den when yo' come in dat nex' day look lak yo' gonna jes' go fer 'er an' eat 'er up - jes' lak yo' wanta eat 'er up. Make yo' crazy about 'er.
Entry 9950
Well, ah've heard about their using a toadyfrog to hurt chew. Or it be a matter if a person is gone away and you want them to come back. You'll get a frog and you write their name nine times on a piece of paper. And open the frog's mouth and you put this paper in the frog and you close it up. And let the frog stay for nine days and the person will return.
Entry 9952
Yo' kin take a green frog. Yo' know, when a green frog git on a leaf, yo' kin take him an' ketch 'im an' put 'im in yuh pocket. But yo' git chew a bran'-new silk han'ke'ch'ef an' yo' put - yo' wrap 'im up in dat silk han'ke'ch'ef, an' put 'im intuh yuh pock- et. An' weah dat han'ke'ch'ef lak dat a couple of days, wit dat green frog in it. Jis' lak a girl don' want chew, don' lak yuh or somepin, an' yo' wanta make her lak yuh. An' yo' take 'im out of dere an' take de han'ke'ch'ef an' yo' whip it on 'er jis' lak dat. She go wild about chew.
(You whip her with the handkerchief?)
Yes, jis' fan it on 'er, yo' know.
(Just fan it on her?)
Yes, an' she git wild about chew. Dat green frog.
(What does the frog do to that handkerchief?)
Ah don't know what he do, but he makes love - make her love yuh.
Entry 9958
Ah hear'd dat yo' take a frog fo' gamblin'. Anyhow, yo' take dat frog am' throw 'im down, an' yo' be - make yo' lucky, have all de money in de house.
(You turn that frog loose where you are gambling?)
Yes, right undahneat' dat table where yo' gamblin' at.
Entry 9962
Put little rain frogs in a bag of new yellow cloth or new homespun, make a double bag [from double or folded cloth], make wishes, wear for money and success. [The meaning of rain frog probably varied in different parts of the coun- try, but in my part: "To hear a rain frog (tree frog or tree toad) calling is the sign of rain within three days." (FOLKLORE FROM ADAMS COUNTY ILLINOIS, 1st ed., p.10, No.259.) This tree toad is said to be trilling (calling with trills) for a rain (2nd ed., P.20, Nos.525-526)].
Entry 9963
Kill a frog while he's hot. Take a frog while he's hot an' kill 'im an' split him open while he's hot. An' take an' rub yore han's on 'im an' rub down yore han's lak dat. An' yo' go out tuh any card game yo' wanta an' yo' be successful. Git chew a live frog an' split him back open, an' rub yore han's on 'im down dere.
Entry 9967
Yo' kin take a frog an' put 'im in yuh pocket alive an' yo' kin go tuh a skin game an' yo' kin win all night long. Yo' kin keep dat frog, put 'im in a papah sack an' keep 'im till he dies, continue tuh keep 'im, an' yo' kin make any woman in de world do jes' lak yo' wan' 'em. (How do you do that?) Wal, yo' jes' keep dat frog - yo' see, yo' ketch 'im when he's live an' yo' gamble by 'im. An' den, if yo' keep 'im until he dies an' jes' put yuh hand on dat - he'll dry up tuh a powdah. He ain't nuthin but a powdah. Ah know yo've seen 'em layin' out in de road some- vberes daid. An' yo' kin jes' put yuh hand on 'em an' jes' lay it [hand] up on a woman, on 'er haid or face, anywhere, an' yo' can't run away from 'er. She'll do anythin' in de world dat yo' say.
Entry 9969
Yo' take a frog and dry him. You take a frog and wrap him up and let hin die himself. Don't you kill him. Well, when he gets dry, you tote that in your pocket. You can take that and you can do anything you want with that frog. Just like if you a dice shooter, or anything I like that, you rub that [dried frog]. Jis' put it in your pocket and take and put your hand on that [frog] and go to work and shoot dice. Be lucky. Jes' like if you had one game, and if you don't have success with that, turn your back on that game. And select you a card place, if you play cards, and you'll lose one or two games and you know that you ought to win, turn your back on that game.
(How do you mean turn your back on it?)
What I mean, walk away from that game and go to the next game.
(I see, if you have this frog in your pocket.)
drying/state of the wrapped frog after the stated let-die instruction. Keep Don’t you kill him and let him die himself as the source’s wording; do not describe the text as harmless, or replace it with active killing. rubbing the carried dry frog before dice play. Resolve the pronoun from actual complete narrator context, not only the bracketed gloss. conditional lack of success at gambling and changing games. Preserve don’t have success, the card-game losses and the practical walk-away explanation. expected winning contrasted with one or two losses and leaving the game. Preserve if you play cards, one or two losses, ought to win and the instruction to move to the next game. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Entry 9970
Well, yo' kin take a frog, jes' a or'nary frog whut jup 'round de iouse, see. Yo' take dat frog alive an' yo' kin put 'im in a containah or jah or anythin' an' yo' kin jis' take alcohol, any kind of rubbin' [lotion] or any- ching [and fill bottle] an' let 'im stay in dere till he petrify. Well, yo' kin take dat frog an' put 'im in yore pocket an' yo' kin weah him in dere an' yo'll always be lucky. (With what in particular?) In keepin' a job an' stayin' in peace wit people an' havin'- yo' know, jes' socialize wit 'em.
Entry 9972
If yo' gamblin' an' yo' in bad luck, yo' go 'head an' git chew a frog an' tie 'im up, or tie him roun' yuh wrist, or in yuh pocket some place, an' dat'll also increase yuh luck.
(Kill him first?)
Don't kill 'im at all. Jis' keep 'im dere an' if he don't do no good, let 'im loose; but it have been said dat's a good remedy [for gambling].
Entry 9974
Dey take dat frog an' put it in a piece of paper an' put it in a back pocket, an' if yo' should go out gamblin', every time dat frog jump in your pocket, you bet or throw dice, why yo'll win.
Entry 9980
Jis' lak a fellah's gamblin' an' wan'a han' tuh gamble an' lak dat, he kin take - he wants tuh win in gamblin' - take a frog, one dem small green frogs, an' put 'im in 'is pocket. Put 'im in a papah sack an' put 'im in 'is pocket. Rub 'is han' ovah 'im about three time an' den put 'im in dat papah bag. An' put 'im in 'is pocket an' go on tuh de game an' break de gaime.
Entry 9981
If yo' wanta be a gamblah an' win good, yo' git chew a frog an' put it in yore pocket, an' put a little table salt in it [pocket]. See, if dis heah are de gamblin' hall, yo' know, yo walks in, an' if yo' vanta beat in de game, yo' jis' valk on in wit both hands in yore pockets jis' lak dis [demonstrates]. Stan' aroun' a little bit. Aftah shile maybe yo might be holdin' de cards or whutsomevah de game dey playin', yo' kg, an yo'll win evahthin' in dat house. But dat frog gotta be live.
(Do you put this salt on the frog?)
Yes.
(Right on the frog?)
Right on de frog. Keep 'im live in yore pocket. [St. Petersburg, Mla.
(1024), 1657:9.]
Entry 9982
(What sort of toadfrog? What sort of frog do you take?)
Jis' or'nary frog. Yo' take him an' yo' kill 'im an' yo' jis' salt 'im down. Ah 'magine yo' gits a five-cent box of salt. Jis' take an' scattah dat salt, jis' wad 'im ovah dit it tuh de time yo' think yo' got all dat salted don. An' yo' put 'im in one pocket an' yo' put de salt yo' didn't give tuh 'in in de othah pocket. An' if yo' go in a room roun' anywhere dey gamblin', jis' take dat salt, an' if yo' lucky an' got money, take dat same salt an' put it ovah 'im lak dat [demonstrates] an' dat'll give yo' luck. But chew have tuh pve salt in yore pocket.
Entry 9985
Ketch a frog an' tote 'im round in yore pocket an' feed 'im offa flies. Keep 'im in yuh pocket fo' 'bout nine days an' tote 'im roun', an' dat's good fo' gamblin'. Anybody dat likes tuh dey carry frogs.
Entry 9987
Tuh git luck fo' gamblin' yo' goes an' git chew a toadfrog. If a man is a gamblin'-man, he goes an' gits 'im a toadfrog an' take dat toadfrog an' ketches 'im an' goes tuh any drygoods sto' [to distinguish from Wetgoods store!] an' buy 'im a box of black peppah an' red pappah an' some table salt. An' he put it in dat frog's mouth. An' when he put dat in dat frog's mouth, de frog'll go tuh coughin', an' he [man] come on back tuh dis gamblin' - where he be gamblin' at - an' he take dat salt an' throw yuh [his] han' out lak dat [demonstrates] tuh throw dat salt all ovah de whole crowd. An' dat frog he'll go tuh coughin' wit dat peppah an' will start tuh movin' roun'. An' he wins at evahthin' da' 'tis [that is] in de game. Jes' gits 'im a toadfrog, jis' a hoppin' toadfrog. Toadfrog anywhere hoppin' 'long - anywhere, jis' pick 'im up. Jis' reach down an' grab 'im an' take dat frog an' rub 'im in yore han' lak dat [demonstrates] an' go on tuh a game. An' go buy yo' some black peppah an' take it an' throw about a box in 'is mouth, an' shet 'is mouth up an' go on tuh de game. An' git chew a handful of salt an' when yo' git in de house, yo' take dat salt an' does lak dat [demonstrates]. An' when yo' do's lak dat, dat frog go tuh coughin'. When he go tuh coughin', well dat starts evahbody tuh lookin', an'evahbody lose all dey winnin's.
Entry 9988
Live frog, rabbit foot, lodestone, steel dust, red pep- per - in red flannel bag. Frog is put in alive.
Entry 9999
( Get a rough frog, a toad, stick pin through throat, pin to wall until dead, let dry out, carry in pocket. Show people will not let you in if they know you have a frog.
Entry 11700
An' in gwine in gamblin' rooms, yo' kin jis' take a piece of garlic or a live frog in your pocket an' yo'll have luck throughout de game. [Memphis
(937) 1517:4.]
Entry 12005
If you bottle a person's hair with snail-shell powder and frog powder, you will run your victim crazy. [Fredericksburg by Ediphone.]
Entry 12988
Yo' could take a lizard or a snake or a frog or anything like dat an' Perish it tuh death. Jes' put it in a can or sompin, yo' know, an' let 'im die. Sell, when he die yo' could, yo' know dry it up. Yo' could make a powder out of hin like dat. Well, den if yo' kin git dat in anybody's food, he gonna have dem Live things in 'im - hit'll come back tuh life. Yo' see, dey grow. Well, not de thing dey is tuh git dat out of him - jes' say, if yo' put it in 'im or anybody else put it in 'im, an' dey come tuh yo' [author become a root doctor] fo' tuh git it out of 'im, yo' git chew a silver piece of money. An' yo' wash dis heah, every edge, if yo' use a dime or a quarter or fifty-cent [piece] or anything. Let it be solid silver. An' hit every edge dat dey is round dere. Well yo' give him dat silver [intern- ally] an' dat silver will git dat out of 'im. Hit'll take every bit of dat poison out of 'im.
(You have to hit every edge. With what?)
Yes sir, hit every edge [of the milled coin] with a file. Git chew a brand- new file dat has nevah been used an' yo' hit every edge - jes' a little grated silvah an' [and you give it internally to your patient poisoned by lizard, snake or frog].
Entry 9946
Dat's tuh bring a man back home. Well, dey takes 'im an cuts 'im half in two - dat's de tadfrog - cuts 'im half in two an' buries 'im around de house. Dat is supposed cab bring de man back home. Jes' one toadfrog.
Entry 9955
They kin take the forg an' bury it undah yore do'step. Bury it undah there an' cause yo tuh have hard luck.
Entry 1263
[Three men together are talking about two absent men:]
Ah've [informant] seen a [doctor] man take a [culprit] man's shoes an' seen 'im, you know, dressin' dem. An' so dis [third] man axed 'im [doctor], say, "Whut chew goin' do wit dis fellah [culprit]?" An' he say, "Well, he [culprit] been givin' de man [doctor's client] trouble to 'is house 'bout 'is wife." See. An' dis [client] man had hired dis [doctor] man to fix dis [culprit] man up. An' so dis happened, you know, up de country. The three men are in town.] An' so dis [third or objector] man tole 'im, say, "Ah wouldn't do dat." He say, "Yes, dat's mah job." An' so he [doctor continues] says, "Yo' ain't got nuthin to do wit it." So he went to work and he dressed dis [culprit] fellah. He say, "Ah'm goin' have to fix dis shoe and den ah have tuh [fix] dat pedal, ' say, "if ah can't git tuh fix his shoe lak ah wanta." See, he [culprit] was a truckdriver. He say, "Ah go an' dress dat dere clutch' - yo' know, where yo' have tuh put in clutch, yo' know, tuh change gears. "Ah kin git 'im good on dat." So he fixed up de shoe and dis fellah, yo' know, jes' lak ah say ah'm gon'a.
(How did he dress the shoe?)
Well, he took dat shoe and he took two toadyfrogs - see, took two toadyfrogs and he cut dat toadyfrog wide open live, see, an' got dat blood and put it down in dat man's shoe, spread it down in dere. [A frog for each shoe.] An' den he put somethin' else in dere. Whut it was ah don't know, but he put something else in dere. An' dis heah [objector] fellah heah, tole 'im, say, "Would it hurt me now if ah wear his shoes back to 'im? See, 'cause ah jes' borrowed his shoes playing partner wit 'im, see, 'cause make out lak mine was too little and want 'im to break 'em out. Ah swap wit him tull I git a chance tuh fix 'em?" He [doctor] says, "No, it ain't goin' hurt chew. It jes' goin' hurt de one hit was fixed fo'."
[Why objector borrowed shoes and then objected, I do not know.]
An' so dis fellah wears de shoes back an' so dis [culprit] man den puts on his shoes, see. Well, he goes down de next morning tuh git his truck. Well, dey got 'is clutch fixed on 'is truck. Well, when he went an' got on de truck, well dat night he wasn't able to walk home. He was hoppin'. His laig was hurtin' all up, clean up tuh 'is knee. An' yo' kin hear 'im hollerin'. Ah heard 'im my ownself. You could hear 'im hollerin' two blocks. De doctor he come. De doctor couldn't do no good. Dey had to go git another hoodoo woman - big hoodoo woman stay out from Bergen Junction, back out dere - ole lady Rivers [Ridders?]. Well, she goes tuh work an' she come dere an' she lays her han' on 'im jes' lak dis heah [demonstrates] an' drag it over 'is face - we was all standin' dere lookin' at 'em - bring 'er han' right down ovah his face jes' lak dat an' carried it straight on down, right ovah dat laig. An' she done dat three times, an' when she done dat three times, two toadyfrogs hopped outa dat man's laig, an' dat man got all right. Come out back dere where de two places 'bout tuh come to a haid - where it done, you know, formed a corruption.
(What was this woman's name?)
Rivah - Ridder.
(Is she near St. Petersburg?)
No sir, she stay right up 'cross de rivah from Rocky Ford, Georgia. [Speaker is from Georgia.]
Entry 1270
I've heard they use a frog, but it must be a toadfrog. You know what a toadfrog is?
(No, what is a toadfrog?)
Well, he's a thing he abides on dry land. He's not a water animal. Course he kin swim but he abides on dry land, see. And now, I've heard that you gets the toadfrog but you don't get him dead - don't let him be dead. You wants to let the toadfrog be alive and when you get him, you take him and you puts him - well, you may have you a little box made. You put him in this box and you go get you some salt and you sprinkle that on him. You goes and you gets you some baking powder and you sprinkle that over him, and after you sprinkle that over this frog you don't want - don't kill him, you may be hurt. You bind this frog to the place where you hurted and just leave him lie there, see, with that pepper and baking powder on him, but brang him to the place where you hurted, and in seven days that place will come to a head and whatever in that place it will run out. Where doctors have failed to do you any good, well, that frog will kill it.
Entry 1273
Dey tell me dat yo' kin take a frog an' wrop him up in a silk pocket han'chief an' take jes' dis common bread an' salt. Give him de bread an' put salt in yore shoes, an' have dis frog in yore pocket han'chief an' wear him dere in yore pockets, an' yo' kin walk ovah anything dat dey put down fo' yo' an' it's no harm dey kin do.
(This frog, do you keep it alive?)
Yes.
Entry 1276
Jes' lak if a person have any kinda - been tricked in any kinda whiskey or been hurt by a person by puttin' down somepin, yo' kin take dat frog. Yo' kin cut him wide open an' take an' put him in some boilin' hot water an' let him boil down. Take an' strain dat water out an' give it to a person tuh drink, let him drink de water - jes' put it in a bottle an' jes' give it to 'em to drink.
Entry 1278
If a fellah put a spell on yo', yo' make watah and bath in it fer nine mawnin's an' po' dat watah toward de sunset. And den yo' kin take nine toadfrogs and put 'em into a pot alive an' cook 'em down - put nuthin in 'em but a little watah an' a little grease, an' grease wit de grease from dem fer nine mawnin's. Dat will break up anything that dey try to put on yo'. (These are different ways of doing this - one is you use the urine and the other way is you use the frogs. You don't use both of them together?) No, don't use both of them together - use either one of them.
Entry 574
You kin take and kill a frog and tie it on your hand [or other suspected place] and that frog will turn green if you are fixed and dry up hard; and if you are not fixed, that frog will remain like he is.
A killed frog is described in a conditional test for being fixed; its alleged changes are unverified.
Entry 963
Yo' take a toady - rock toady frog and kill it and let it dry up and den grind it up and put it in any meal [food you eat]. And every time de tide come up, you will swell; when de tide go down, you body will fall.
The instruction describes killing and drying a rock toady frog for a preparation; its claimed tidal effects are unverified.
Entry 1268
These things on yore neck whut chew call a wart [goiter?], take a frog an' rub on dere till he dies - rub him jes' as hard as yo' could. Ah be dogged if it don't go.
The instruction describes rubbing a frog on the neck, with its death as the endpoint; no therapeutic effect is verified.
Entry 9995
Carry frog; exposes the show.
The brief statement names a carried frog. 'Exposes the show' and the uncertain citation remain unresolved; the frog's living status is unstated.