Subject:Handwriting
Entries
Entry 8806
It's one thing they do to you. (What's that?) Dey kin take yore handwritin'. Dey'll take a plate or saucer or somepin an' burn it jes' lak yo' did dat othah a while ago, an' den get somepin - jes' a face towel or pocket han'ke'ch'ef - somepin yo' use about yore face, an' tie dat up in it, an' take it to a runnin' stream an' run yo' crazy.
(How will it run you crazy? You mean they throw that into the running stream?)
Yes, sir.
(And that will run you crazy, I see.)
Yes, sir. [See also later margin title WATER-RUNNING.]
Entry 8807
Dey say if dey git hold of yore han'writin', aniybody's han'writin' an put it in vinegah an' bury it, it'll upset 'em a lot; upset dey nerves an' dey can't write an' can't do any- thing.
Entry 8808
Oh, yes, dey kin take yore han'writin' so dey says. Take yore han'writin' an' drow it [see No.8836]. An' aftah dey git it, dey steam it, take it, some sort ovah steam, jes' lak yo' boilin' sompin, take it an' steam it. An' dey takes dat an' bury it. If yo' don' lak or yo' lak 'em - eithah one - dey kin take it an' git rid of yo' eithah way.
(If they don't like me what do they do with that?)
Well, if dey don't lak yo', yo' see, dey jes' git rid of yo'. If dey don' wanta kill yo', dey kin git rid of yo'. Jes' take it, yo' know, an' tie it up or burn it up.
(What will that do to you?)
Dat jes' throw yo' mind offa dem, so yo' don' care fo' dem.
Entry 8827
Yes, ah've heard dat if yo' take dat han'writin' an' if yo' cut de fo cornahs - yo' takes de lettah an' yo' takes an' fold it tuhgethah an' yo' takes dose fo' cornahs an' yo' clip dose cornahs off. Yo' takes dose cornahs an' yo' puts 'em right tuhgethah an' cut 'em ag'in. Yo' have tuh cut 'em as many times as yo' got fingahs. An' evah time yo' cut 'em yo' have tuh lay all de points de same way. An' den yo' take dis han'writin' an' yo' takes an' burns it. An' den yo' - whatsomevah, jes' lak yo' take an' hold it ovah sompin an' burn, den yo' takes de li'le ashes or dust from whatsomevah it is, an' yo' goes an' bury it. An' when yo' bury it, yo' bury it in a hole wit a cut jes' lak de lettah supposed [to] be cut. Yo' turn dese points jes' lak yo' have turnt dese points on de lettah. An' den dey say dat dat will make yo' so nervous, when yo' git ready tuh write ag'in, yo' couldn't write atall, couldn't write a scratch.
(In other words, the hole is in sort of the shape of a diamond?)
[A square or oblong with 4 cut off corners is scarcely the shape of a diomona!]
Yeah. (And you have to keep cutting those squares and keep putting those pieces to- gether.) Uh-huh, until yo' cut 'em ten times [for the number see comment later]. Den yo' take dose squares [triangles] an' yo' burn 'em. Den put 'em in de di'mond- square [hole] an' bury 'em.
(That makes you nervous in your hand?)
Yeah. [In this rite we are asked to accept a fantastic number of triangles. We begin with the original 4 triangles by cutting off the 4 corners of the let- ter. These we must cut 10 times, quite an exercise in geometric progression: (lst cut) 4 triangles, (2nd cut) 8, continuing the doubling with 32,64,128, 256,512, 1024, and 2048! Adding these 10 cuttings of triangles we have 4092 of them! And don't forget: each time yo' cut 'em yo' have tuh lay all de points de Same Way!!! Had my informant said 3 cuttings,4,8,16, he would have remained within the realm of possibility; but not 10 cuttings! The ashes from these tri- angles are buried in the diamond-square hole, a hole shaped like the former old- fashioned coffin, the head part with cut-off corners. In the present rite the cut-off corners are also given to the bottom of the coffin symbol. Here again I think informant is mistaken. The coffin symbol should be the shape of the orig- inal envelope.]
Entry 8831
And they knows yore handwritin' - get holt of it, dey can.
(What will they do?)
Well, dey will take dat han'writin' an' dey kin cross-write yore han'writin', yo' see, so ah'm told. Cross-write yore han'writin', jes' like yo' write a lettah straight; well, now, dey'll go 'cross it.
(I'll write it straight?)
Straight, an' dey'll turn it [the paper upside down] an' go across it. (I see, just cross it - just turn the paper around and cross it.) Cross it, see. Dey turn de Papah aroun' an' cross it. Well, when dey cross it, den dey'll fold dat papah differently, yo' see. An' dey'll puts it in a draw, draw it with heat or watah, see. An' aftah drawin' it with heat or watah; de sweat from dat papah is what dey uses, yo' see. Well, if dey use dat sweat, dey got yore han' jes' de same, yo' see. An' dey put it in a bottle an' use it, cause yore han' tuh swell up. Dey put salt, peppah an' alum in it an' dey'll lay it in a place undah de step, an' it will cause yore hand to swell.
Entry 8836
They take yore han' - lak ah git chure han'writin' an' ah'll take yore han'writin', even if ah don't know whut tuh do, yo' git somebody else. Yo' take yore han'writin' an' put a smoothin' iron down on it an' take a smooth piece of white Papah an' put chure han'writin' down on it. Well, take a hot iron an' put it on de top [of the handwriting] an' dat'll draw jes' lak yore han' is kinda wet on de papah, dat will draw de dirt from yore han' on de clean papah. [For another example of drawing, see No.8831.] Yo' take dis clean piece of papah dat chew had de han'- Writin' in it. Den yo' take dis papah an' twist it lak dat once [demonstrates]. Git it jes' long as yo' kin till yo' git eight rolls [or twists] in dat papah. Yo' take dat papah an' yo' junk it down in a bottle. An' yo' take dat bottle dat chew put dat down in, in dere. Den yo' take salt in de pinch of yore fingah lak dis [demonstrates] eight times an' put in dere. Well, yo' take some watah lak yo' take a cowpas [see later for this word]. Boil de watah an' po' in dere off a cowpas. Yo' buys it, a cowpas, yo' buys it from de drug sto'. Dat's if somebody gittin' poisoned, yo' see, cowpassin'. Yo' buy it from de drug' sto'. (Is that what they give dogs? Something like that, what they give to the dogs?) Well, ah guess, but ah nevah see dem give it to de dogs. [I think informant is speaking about copperas, a word pronounced in many ways and occurring frequently in the text.]
(What color is it?)
It's jes' lak silvahwhite, funny-lookin' stuff. Well, yo' boil it an' puts it on dis papah. Well, see, dat stuff is tuh - eat, chew know, de papah by de- grees. Well, as it eat dis papah by degrees, dat's eatin' yo', puttin' de spell on yo' jes' as de papah eat. But yo' gotta put dis back in runnin' watah. Yo' can't keep it out until finely [finally] de papah's et [eaten] up an' de bottle is all busted an' yo' see it all gone tuh watah. Well, it's no cure fo' yo'.
(That eats you up, you say?)
It jes' eats yo' up. Yo' see people look lak dey has some kinda vener'al disease. Yo' know, look lak a sore break on yo' dere an' a sore break on yo' heah, an' when yo' git dat healed somepin else broke out on yo'. Firs' thing yo' know yo' pass away. (You put this clean piece of paper on the letter in order to draw out the perspiration - around this perspiration.) Wit a hot iron, not too hot iron, but jes' a...
Entry 8837
Well, dey say yo' kin take dat, yo' han'writin'. Dey say dey kin take yore han'writin' an' dey kin put - yo' see, yo' take yore han'writin' an' yo' roll dat up, an' yo' put dat in a bottle wit sulphuh, red peppah an' gunpowdah. An' yo' put chamber lye in dis bottle an' yo' set it up dis way [demonstrates]. Stop it up airtight an' den yo' put fire aroun' dere. It will shoot up in dere - de stoppah will shoot up in dere an' de bottle will bu'st. Dey say dat will take effect on yore nerves - dat will effect yore nerves an' stuff lak dat - yore hands. Kinda throw yo' in palsy-lak, whut dey tell me.
Entry 8841
Yo' kin use it out dere tuh de cemetery fo' one way dat ah know. Yo' kin take dat han'writin' an' take it tuh de cemetery an' push it down intuh de grave, an' put three pennies on de top of it an' covah it up, an' make yuh wish, In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost. An' dat'll work. (Well, what would you wish?) If yo' git holt of it an wanted 'em come tuh yuh, or wish bad luck, or good luck; it's three ways of wishin', three forms.
Entry 8842
Dey taken 'er han'writin' an' go tuh de graveyard, a child's grave, an' dig a hole long enough tuh put 'is han' right through. An' take a piece of sil- vah an' tell dis silvah whut choo want it tuh do, an' sompin will happen tuh yuh hand [writer's hand] (You leave that handwriting and the silver right in the grave?) Yeah, don't bring it away. [In hoodoo or witchcraft a person may and frequentIy does talk to an inanimate object, such as the present silver, but at the grave the spirit of the dead per- son buried there controls all action and any dirt carried away. This power of the grave-spirit is abundantly displayed in Section DEATH-BURIAL-GRAVEYARD, Pp.3293-3385, and elsewhere in the total text. However, if informant believes that the silver does his or her work, that is the magic truth for him or her!]
Entry 8849
Dey say dey kin take yuh han'writin', eithah yuh pitture [picture] an' hang it up on de wall, an' p'int [point] at choo fer nine mawnin' wit a knife, eithah icepick, an' some kin'a words dey use. An' aftah dey u' [use] dat - dey said yuh do dat fer nine mawnin' - an' dey call yuh some bad name jis' lak a bad cuss-word. Jis' whut dey don't lak, dey call yuh dat. An' somepin would happen tuh yuh bad.
Entry 8853
Well, ah knew dis much about it, dat dere mo' way 'sposed tuh be of usin' de smoke of nine matches. Dey use de smoke of nine matches intuh a bot- tle an' airtight it. Go tuh work an' git chew a han'writin' an' put it intuh a bottle, an' cut out nine matches an' git de smoke of dose nine matches intuh dat bottle an' airtight it. An' kin throw it intuh runnin' watah. Ah know dat's anothah thing dat will upset chew, block yore game in gamblin'. (HoW will that affect me if they took my handwriting and put in that bottle with that smoke? What would that do to me?) WELL, DAT WILL - DE REALLY FAC' 'BOUT IT, SUH, WILL PIZEN [POISON] YO' WITH ANYONE, 'SPOSED TUH BE DAT CHEW COULDN'T MAKE A TAP [OR TOUCH, PUT THE BITE ON ANYONE] COULDN'T GIT NO ENDS TUH MEET IN [COULD NOT MAKE ENDS MEET] NOWHERE. [I would be in a bad financial condition; could not mub two dimes together. That preceding expression cut out nine matches merely means, take 9 matches out of the matchbox, surely a new box of matches.]
Entry 8867
Well, ah have heard of 'em - said dat tuh make 'em come back, by takin' 'is lettah, if she could git 'im tuh write. She take his lettah an' sleep wit 'em undah 'er haid fer ten or twelve nights, dat he'd come on back.
Entry 8869
Handwriting is one of the easiest things to get if you want to harm any person, for the simple reason that your hand must press against the paper. THAT IS WHY I EMPHASIZED THE SWEAT AND THE OIL FROM THE SKIN IS THE EASIEST THING FOR "HOODOO" TO WORK WITH. I know a girl that got a letter Sith powder or something all over the letter and her hand shook like that, like she had nervous trouble, and they got a doctor for her. [Fredericksburg, Va., cylinder 54.]
Entry 12058
Dey'll go an' dey'll git some kinda somepin dey call cedar bush, an' dey pound up dat an' dey sprinkle some of dat on yore han'writin'. An' dey tell me dat'll cause yore han' to be afflicted kinda-lak, say poisoned-lak yo' have palsy han's.
(You say a cedar bush?)
Yessuh.
(Do they use the bark or what? Or the leaves?)
The leaves. Pound up de leaves.
(Any cedar bush?)
Yessuh, jes' de cedar bush dat grow out in de woods.
Entry 2054
You almost hooked you onto a wife over to de country somewhere - she done quit you and you want her to come back. Now, if you write a person, dey can't do nuthin with your handwritin'. But you kin write yo' wife you want her to come, if she done tell you she won't come, and den you go to a hoodoo and write a letter and give it to him and let him dress dat letter, and when she git it, de minute she git dat letter and open it, her mind falls on you. Well, dere ain't nuthin in de world den but to come home, 'cause he done fixed dat letter, see.
Entry 2864
To burn a black candle, you use the toilets - you know, like they build the sanitary toliet. You know a long time it used to be the old ones, you know; but now there's the sanitary toilets like they havin' now. Well, you set the candle right on the top of the water fount [flush tank] - you see, where the water flushes out, and you let it burn down, and when it burns out, you just take that and knock it over into the toilet and flush it three times a day. Well, they say it run him away, kill him.
[She repeats, adding several details.]
Take a black candle and write the name all around it, around 'at candle nine times, and just set it on top of the water - you know, where the water comes through, and when dat burn down you blow it out. Instead of pinching it out, you blow it out. And just rake it off about that much; rake it off and flush it into the toilet. Burn just about [demonstrates] that much of the candle each day and flush it down the toilet.
(Burn it down to about a half inch high.) [Burn one half inch each day.]
Yeah, and you blow it out and scrape it off and flush it down the toilet.
Entry 2865
How they burn the black candles? That's for death - that's to kill you.
(How would they do that?)
You take that black candle and you put the person's name - you see, the name or names means a whole lot. You could ruin a person with their name. And you burn it - you burns it in the toilet.
(In the toilet?)
In the toilet.
(How do you do that?)
You burn it every day completely and that name in the toilet, and - all right, for nine days, that's it. For nine days you get nine black candles and you name 'em and you burn 'em in the toilet. But you puts it in a tin can, you see. And that dripping - after it done dissolve and things, you supposed to flush it in the toilet. You see. That's all. And that kills them.
(What will it do to them?)
Yeah, they just be sick, they don't know what. Like they waste away to death, as the candle burn - they be sick and not knowing their condition or what's the matter with 'em. [AZs0 see 2859, p.823.]
Entry 2874
Yo' kin kill a person with a black candle. Write his name on dat black candle an' kill him. Burn it. Yo' gotta burn nine of dose black candle till it jes' burns all away, an' yo' gotta burn 'em nine days straight. Set it ovah be- hin' de bed where it cain't be seen. [For bed becoming altar, see 2870, p.827.]
Entry 8596
If a man leaves home an' yo' want him to come back, yo' buy yo' a brand-new lamp, a wick an' a burner. An' yo' write dat man's name down dere nine times an' yo' sign de name of a very dear person to him, even though they're dead, his mother or father, de person yo' know he's more attached to than anybody else in de world. An' yo' put de name of dat person at de bottom, an' yo' put dat lamp in a place where nobody will see it. Of course yo' put this paper in de bottom of de lamp an' yo' fill it wit coal oil. Yo' buy a brand-new box of matches an' light dat lamp, an' sit in a place an' let dat lamp burn. Jis' turn it down low so it can burn very slowly, consume de oil slowly, an' when dat lamp is completely dry dat person should be walking in de door. Makes no difference where he's gone. If he's too far to come to yo' at dat time, yo'll receive a message dat he is comin'. [In- formant probably forgot to add that new oil should be used.]
Entry 8597
(That is the first way. Now what is the second way?)
Well, de second way is, ah put his name, write his name nine times in a lamp, an' burn de lamp from nine tuh twenty-one days; an': if he in town he'll come in three, an' if he outa town he bound tuh come in twenty-one. See, yo' write his name nine times. Put his name in a lettah or piece of papah. Put it in de lamp an' turn de lamp down an' fill it up fulla coal oil. Turn it down low an' set it some place an' burn it fo' nine tuh twenty-one days. An' if he mad wit me, when he git dere, tuh make him pleased, ah put sugah in dere an' fold de papah tuh me.
Entry 8796
Take his han'writin' an' po' gas on dat an' burn it. Dat would make 'is hands tremble.
(Pour gasoline on it?)
Yes, an' burn it.
Entry 8798
Dey kin take yore han'writin' an' cuz yo' to lose - burnin' it up an' lose de strength of yore han'.
Entry 8834
Yo' could write a lettah an' send it tuh 'er. Jes' lak yore wife would be off, sompin [like] dat, an' yo' want 'er tuh come home. Yo'd write dis lettah an' send it tuh a [person] who a rootman an' he would dress dis lettah an' send it tuh 'er an' [she would return].
Entry 8846
If dey git hold of yore han'writin', dey could take dis han'writin' an' put it in a gunshell an' shoot it, an' yo' will go den from dere.
Entry 8923
If yo' have any ideas who done it.
(Who stole that thing?)
If yo' have any ideas who done it, yo' git dere names, as ah tole yo' at first. An' have yore name on top, an' dere name at de bottom, an' take it - if dey stole yore chickens or a hog or whatsomevah dey stole, an' pin dem names down. An' dey'll be de first person de next mawnin' come tuh borry sompin, an' say, "Billy, ah've gotta tell yo'" [The first person to borrow something is a frequent element in witchcraft - 8ee FACI, 2nd ed., No.16338; and Hoodoo, Nos.497,499, p.151; etc.]
(If that person stole anything?)
Yes.
Entry 9223
(What about the black hen egg now?)
De black hen aigs. Now, dere wus a man comin' tuh me an' wus gittin' mine [eggs from black chickens] but ah didn't know whut he wanted 'em fo' till 'is wife tole me. An' when he came de nex' time, ah found out from him whut he wanted wit 'em. He takes dese black hen aigs an' write chure name on it an' dat's somebody dat he's aftah. He'll smash it on dey do' tuh eithah move yo' or keep yo' goin'.
Entry 1834
Well, dey kin take yore hand-writin' - sho' dey kin. Ah've heard that. Dey take - lak yo' write me a lettah an' ah wanta do yo' something, ah take yore writin' an' ah fold it, ah fold it nine times. Den ah put me some pins an' nee- dles, nine needles an' nine pins in that an' put it in some steel dust an' some devil watah an' some ammonia an' bury it. Den yo' act'lly goin' tuh die.
(What is devil watah?)
Devil watah is devil vinegar. (And when you fold it how do you fold it? Fold it to you like this?) [I demonstrate.] No, fold it from yo'.
Entry 5031
Well, dey takes yore sock - like if a man an' a woman done broke up an she wan's 'im tuh come back tuh 'er, yuh see. Well, she would take his sock an' bury it up undah de step wit de feet comin' in. An' tack three tacks in de toe, three tacks intuh de heel of it, an' bury dat up undah de front steps. See, wit 'is name written in an' 'er name, an' dat will cuz 'im tuh come back.
(Where do you put these tacks in?)
Jis' intuh de groun' - jis' tack 'em down intuh de groun'.
(Oh, into the ground.)
Intuh de groun' - tack de tacks intuh de [ground].
(You move what? If you move, you do what?)
Yuh move - jis' like if yuh'd move out de house an' yuh lef' de man, yuh'd move de sock an' tack it up undah de nex' steps. (I see. I see, you put three tacks in the toe and three in heel and press it down. Then you write his name and your name and...) An' tack it down...
(On a piece of paper and that's under the sock that is tacked down.)
Yeah, undah de sock.
Entry 8589
Yo' can draw a man to yo'. Like a woman an' her husban' is broke up, an' another woman done cause 'em to break up, see. Well, jest like yo' take an' bury his sock, well yo' take an' write his name nine times an' put dat cinnamon, sugar an' steel dust, an' dat white rum, an' put it into a lamp. An' put dat lamp in de corner of her house. An she knock fo' three times, every day see, fo' nine days, because he return dat ninth day. Dat sock belong wit it. Yo' know, yo' do dat wit it. Dat goes along wit dat.
Entry 8594
Yo' take a brand-neW lamp - EVERYBODY DON'T SAY DE SAME THING. Every- body don't take no lamp; dey burn de candles, yo' see. Get a brand-new lamp. Yo' take a piece of white paper whut ain't go no lines on it, pure white paper without any lines. Yo' writes it with ink. Yo' write de persons name - initials - what yo' wanta come back to yo' nine times. See, yo' cross it though. Write yore name three times, see. (Do you cross that?) Yo' cross on dere name. Don't write yore name but three time, but write dere name nine. Clean dat lamp of de oil yo' know. Be sure yo' never burned any of dat kerosene - get it, yo' know, for whatevah amount yo' wanta burn. An' yo' put dat in dere. Before yo' put de oil in dere, take de papah an' roll it tuh yo' - see.
(You roll this paper to you.)
Yes, an' den make a wish dat in so many days yo' want 'im to show up, in nine days. De tenth day he ain't comin'. He come on dat ninth day. Well, yo' kin put in dere, a woman's name, depending on de way yo' want dem to come. Yo' put dat down in dere an' turn yore bottom upwards - turn de name down bottoms.
(Turn the names down inside of this lamp.)
All right, den yo' fill it up, but don't let it get without oil in nine days.
(You must burn it right along for nine straight days.)
When he come on dat ninth day, yo' go in dere - don't blow yore lamp out, yo' pinch it out, when he done come.
(You pinch it out with saliva.)
An' dat de way yo' kin get 'im back an' say: In de Name of de Fathah, de Son an' de Holy Ghost. Dem person ain't going to stay from yo' to save dere life. Don't care who dey are.
(Are you Roman Catholic?)
Ah's Roman Catholic an' ah believe it an' ah work by faith. Mobile, Ala.,
(651) 849:1.]
Entry 2932
(How do they burn a candle on your photograph?)
Well now, a photograph, if I want - you mean that if I want to harm you or.
(Yes, either harm you or do any good or any way.)
Well now, if it's to harm you - I tell you if it's to harm you. I tell you what they do to your photograph. I use a candle again, but I use a black candle. You see, you get a black candle. You gets a black candle and instead of writing the name down thisa- way, you write it around the candle. See, you write that name [demonstrates], like you start here, you write it here - every, about every inch, you write the name. You take the photograph and you turn it upside down, what I mean, turn it on the head, and you burns it by that black candle. You take one of - if you can get two of 'em, you get two [photographs]. It would be better. You got one there by the black candle and you [get] the other one and you pin it or shove it up under your fire- hearth, you see. It's not going to burn up under there. Just put it in that fire-hearth, you make all the fire you want. You put it up under that fire- hearth, but you put it on the left-hand corner of your fire-hearth and put it as high as you can get it. And you can make fire and everything else, it's not going to burn at all. It's going to do more harm than anything else, it's not going to do no good; if it burns, it ain't going to do no good. See. But it's best not to let it burn. And, if I was going to do that to you - see, if I was going to do that to you, I would put the photograph, the second one, on the left- hand side of my fire-hearth. And I'm got one on the mantelpiece, upside down, burning by the candle. I'm got your name and I get me what you call a melt.
(A what?)
A melt.
(What's that?)
[I wanted to be certain he is not talking about melted wax - see CANDLE SPONGE BURIED, p.848f.] That's something that looks like a - it comes from a cow, looks like a cow's tongue almost, but it's called the melt.
(The melt.)
[Melt of course is milt or spleen. For example: "If hogs are slaughtered in autumn and the small part of the milt lies toward the head...sign of an open winter; if the large part...a severe winter. At times...belief differently ex- pressed...if the milt...ends in a blunt point...a cold winter...tapers to a point, a warm winter. Milt is usually called melt are rarely spleen." (FACI, 2ed.,1965, p.28.) With the original belief, I debated some time whether to use melt or milt. Moreover, I broke it up into two parts; using milt for the first
(No. 307) and spleen for the second (No.308) - FACI, 1st ed.,1935, p.12.]
I'd get me one of those melts, see. I'd get that melt, you see. I'd get that and I'm going to spread it. I spread it. I get your name and if I can get any of your filth at all, I'll cut that [melt] open and I'm going put it into this melt. I'll put this in your [my] melt and I'll keep it hung up there for three days in that fire-hearth where your picture is. Then from there I take and I goes bury that melt. I bury that melt and when I bury that melt, I take this picture from there and I buries it alongside of that melt. And after burying that picture with that melt, I cover it and I lights me another candle, but I move that candle. The first candle I got, I won't light it there [in the fire- hearth], I'll light it in a dark place. See, I'll [put] this candle in a dark place for nine days. I'll limit it to nine days and in nine days I'll have you just where I want you. Yes, sir.
(Do you light that black candle at any particular time?)
Well, I got - I light my black candle. See, if I light a candle, I light it at nine o'clock in the morning, I light it at three, and I light it at six - that's three times a day, that's all.
Entry 8875
Take de han'writin' - jes' lak if yo' got mine an' if yo' want me tuh suffah wit mah han'writin'. Ah tell anyone tuh jes' [bring] me de han'writin' an' ah take dat han'writin' an' ah copy it off tuhgethah, jes' copy it off. An' ah take dem copies an' work 'em out, yo' see, intuh lettah a - b - c - till ah spell yore name. See, ah takes dat lak yo' got dem same two trees ah tole yo' 'bout. Yo' take it an' tack it tuhwards sunrise, facing de 8unrise, an' let dat stay dere roun' twenty-fo' hours. An' yo' take it back tuh de house den an' yo' puts it in a bottle of watah. Puts it in a bottle an' stops it up airtight. Well, yo' wants tuh bring dem back tuh yo'. Dey'll come. Yo' see, dat copy is in dere, but it gotta be a copy of it. Don't chew write it down dere. Don't take de same han'writin' as dere's. Yo' kin copy it off yo'self.
(How do you copy that?)
Copy it off, takes de abc's [letters of the alphabet], yo' undahstan'. Don't have tuh take it all, jes' take de name in de abc's [write name with the neces- sary letters of the alphabet], jes' lak if mah name Edgah [Edgar], sompin lak dat, copy it off in abc's. Git 'is name on it an' take it home an' tack it up.
Entry 27
Take your handwritin' - see, de handwritin' where it was writ wit ink or lead. Dey take it and soak it in water and get dat ink, get dat ink off it from your handwritin'. Den dey will take dat water and boil it. See. Den take dat water and pour it out gradually - don't pour dat all at one time, fes' kinda sprinkle it along. When dat water pour out chew begin tuh feel bad - yo' hand begin to feel nervous up thru yo' arms and finally, if you don't know what to do, yo' become paralyzed in your right hand.
Entry 826
You take nine pins an' fold 'em a certain way an' stick 'em in a piece of papah - I knew a girl, the reason I [know this]. I know a girl gota hold a girl's han'writin' one time. Dey wus arguin' about a fellah. This woman took this han'writin' an' these nine pins an' pinned them all roun' togethah. (How did she pin that around?) She pinned them somepin like a coffin.
(On this piece of paper?)
Yeah. She pinned dem pins all around like a coffin. An' she told her child to throw this in de river - in runnin' watah. This girl didn't live ovah three or four months afterward. Now, dat's cruel. She couldn't been jis' gon'a die anyhow. But that's whut happened [1926 in Richmond]. ["383 - woman about 50 - bootlegger" - Numbers Book 340-442.]
Entry 891
There was once a lady and I used to be good friends. And so her husband wrote me a lettah and sent it through de mail, and he didn't sign the name to it. And so I was asking diff'rent one of my frien's did they know who it came from and they said no. So I ast de lady one day - I thought maybe she jis' playin' a joke on me - and I ast her did she write it. And she said no. But she said she would look at it and tell who handwriting it was. And the minute she looked at it, she said it was her husband's. And so she snatched it and ran out of mah house jis' like she had found some money. And [later] she came on and she tried to raise a fuss with me in de street befo' a crowd of people, but I wouldn't pay any attention to her. So later, two weeks, she came to mah house. And I jis' thought maybe she jis' come in there on a little visit, and I reckon she did. So when she left I said O.K. I went to de door with her and I half-shut de doah [after her departure]. And so I went to work dat mornin' - that was on a Satiday. And dat evenin' I commence feelin' - mah fingah got stiff, I couldn't use that hand that night. I tole my mothah about it. She bathed me in some kerosene, becuz she thought maybe it was - jis' was come from cold and so she bathed me in this kerosene. And de next mornin' I didn't seem to feel any bettah. And I couldn't use this hand, you know, dis whole arm. And it went on down in the feet. Becuz my mothah is a Holiness woman - and she thought maybe if she got some of her Saints [fellow worshippers] to pray wit me, I would get all right. And so she got 'em to pray wit me. But it didn't seem to do any good. So Tuesday - I didn't ache any at all dat Monday night - so that Tuesday night she called Dr. Somebody. Well, he came. He said he thought it was a rheumatism. And it was down in mah feet - it had left mah body and fell in mah foot. And he said - he gave me a pe'scription. But when I taken this medicine it seem like dat jis' made me ache dat much more. And so she called him again and he said he didn't know nuthin but de rheumatism. And I jis' suffered like dat hurtin' an' hurtin' for about two months. And so she had jis' told several people about it an' they said they didn't know anything unless it was the rheumatism." And so they said dey knowed a man named George or somepin ["a well-known root worker of Wilmington" - Note included in my pencil transcription made soon after interview]. But anyway, they said dis man could work roots. And when she went to dis man - and he said he could tell it and give me a treatment for fifteen dollahs down. And she said that she didn't have it all right then, but she paid him some down and he gave her some kind of medicine. And she say it was made out of some kind of St. Joseph's roots [either the doctor's own name or a commercial product like several others bearing a saint's name]. And she gave me it. And I taken about two treatments or two or three from him and I saw where it was doin' me a little good. And it continued to about two months and I got all right a little bit. And then he said that he could secure de thing dat was really de mattah. And so he found some roots buried under de doorstep in a bottle - looked like it was little verms [worms] on dis root. He showed it to mah mothah; he wouldn't let me see nuthin. He say if I didn't look at em, say he could make this spell leave me - make this so it would leave me. And it left. But he say I wouldn't feel all that sore-iness, but it would leave me enough that I could be able to walk. And so I started to walkin' on crutches and gradj'ly it left me.
Entry 2771
I had a pants taken from me oncet. (You had a pair of pants taken from you.) Had a pants taken from me oncet, and so I went to a lady to find out what become of my pants. So she told me that it was a friend of mine had my trousers, you understand. So I asked her what could I do to redeem them. She told me to go back home and she tell me that she'll cut the card on him. She'll set candles burning, for worrying him back at home. But then she said that he had never had did away with 'em, so far; but the time which he'll bring 'em back, that he'll have 'em on. Well, I goes on home and so she cuts the cards on him and she sets the candle, and she sets a black candle. She write his name down on it and she takes a piece of yellow paper and she wraps it around there, and she takes another candle, another black candle, and just like you are closing a letter - you know, all the way around, just like the way you got that paper curled around the candle. And just about [demonstrates]. (She seals this paper around the candle by using the wax from the second black candle.) With the black candle and leaves it burning. When this - she say when this candle burns out - see, I had to go and buy the candle myself. She said, "You set that candle and when that candle burns out and the paper burns down - but put it in a tub." You know, just like a tub where it wouldn't burn nothing, you know, around it. She say,. "When it burn out, he'll be back with the pants. Well, I did that and it was about a night and a day before that candle burns. Well, that candle burns slow. But it was about a night and day when that candle burns down, he was right back at the house 'cause he was rooming at the apartment where I was at. And he had the trousers on. I asked him why he happened to take my pants.
(Well, when you went to see this woman, did you see her here in New Orleans?)
Yes. I saw her - she was living down on [something] Street.
(You went into the room to see her? What did she have in that room?)
Yes. Well, it was just a ordinary room, just like anybody would have where they sleep. But then she had another little room there - you went in that till [after] you goes to her [she accepts you], where she used the cards. She had cards in there, you know, and diff'rent things around there. All kinds of saints and different things like that, but what they was for I didn't know.
(How was she dressed?)
Well, she just - several times I went down there she was dressed diff'rent ways, just like anybody else would wear; but she had on a black cap you know, just like a skull cap you know. And she was very old. But she was a woman that she could [do things].
(Can you tell me her name?)
Miss Mo.
(Miss Moe? How do you spell it?)
M-o-r-e.
(Miss More - she's dead?)
Yes, died a year ago.
(In 1937. I see.)
Entry 3232
Lak yo' wanta fix somebody tuh make 'em stay home, keep 'em from rel nin' aroun' in de streets, yo' kin jes' git chure wife or yore sweetheart or any- body tuh write her name, or eithah git er han'writin' wit 'er name. Take an break dat aig an' put 'er name intuh dat shell an' bury in de ground undahneat' de front step. Dat will stop 'er from runnin' aroun' or havin' anybody tuh have intahco'se wit 'er at all.
(Any kind of chicken egg?)
Jes': any kinda chicken aig.
Entry 5371
Yo' kin take a person's foot track an' ran 'em away. Well, perhaps some time we cain't find 'em [tracks] an' sometimes it be's so dat we cain't git de dirt from undah 'is track. Yo' might watch an' see jes' he put his feet on de concrete. Yo' kin take a clean pocket han'- ke'ch'ef an' yo' kin go dere an' jes' wipe dat track tuh yo' - wipe dat track tuh yo'. An' den yo' kin take dat han'ke'ch'ef an' yo' kin take it home. Set down wit it an' buy yo' a bran'-new box of red cayenne peppah, an' yo' kin take a teaspoon of dat cayenne peppah an' tie in de - yo' might say in de east corner of dat han'ke'- ch'ef. Dat track is all ovah dat han'ke'ch'ef [because] quite natchly [naturally] yo' wipe it lak dat, see. An' yo' take dat teaspoon of cayenne peppah an' yo'tie hit up in dere wit 'is name wrote. Yo' cross 'is name an' yo' tell 'im tuh go an' yo' put a bad name - yo' put a bad word tuh hit, on dere name. '[Bad name] an' ah wish yo'd go an' don' stay nowhere yo' go in peace." An' tie it up an' carry it tuh de rivah 'fore de sunrise. Throw it in runnin' watah an' he'll leave.
Entry 8679
[The doctor in the following rite for a job has an organized mind, though I was too recent in New Orleans at that time to realize it. In face, on this original transcription I formerly had a note use with care, which can still be seen despite my later erasure.] When yo' go to get a job - ah'll tell yo' about de job proposi- tion. It just like if yo' was out of a job an' yo' runnin' in bad luck. Yo' can't be success- ful in nuthin dat yo' start. Well, yo' get yo' some of dis seniment. Yo' get some of dis seniment with this rain water. (What is seniment? What is that?) Dat's a powder. (What does it look like?) It look just like - yo' ever seen this powder what they call that brown-skin powder? (You mean cinnamon powder?) Yeah. (Cinnamon powder. All right.) [How did I ever guess it!] Yo' take dat seniment powder. An' yo' get some of dis seniment powder an' yo' get what yo' call this lodestone; but ask for lodestone, see, with candy stripes. It's got a little stripe.
(What kind of stripes?)
Candy stripes. Just say, "Give me some of de lodestone." (Like this candy - now wait a minute! It's like this candy they got in the country stores, candy stripes?) Yes, just like that; round, see.
(And what do they call that?)
Lodestone.
(You said something about four-something. Four what?)
[Informant said it while recording machine turned off.1 Fo' corners. Yo' just get de fo' corners. Well, if it ain't got fo' corners, vell yo' just take anything, a file or somepin like dat an' put 'em there.
(You have to make it square. Four corners. All right.)
Yeah. Yo' go anywhere they got them rams - yo' see, them rams, or anywhere yo' know them ramhorns at. [Cowhorn appears several times in Hoodoo. This could be the only ramhorn.] Yo' gets a file an' yo' file some of that dust down there [with the lodestone dust]. Then yo' get some of this here oil what yo' call that green - Wintergreen Pasture Oil.
(Wintergreen?)
Wintergreen Pastures Oil.
(GREEN PASTURES OIL?)
[SURELY THE ENTERPRISING HOODOO-PRODUCTS SALESMAN SHOULD HAVE NAMED IT "PSALM 23 OIL"!] Yeah, an' yo' take some sugar an' seniment an' lodestone. An' take a silver dime an' yo' file dat silver dime on a piece of paper just where yo' got this stuff [various ingredients] at. Yo' take a piece of yellah paper - it [lode- stone?] comes with yellah paper - an' yo' wrap it up twice. Yo' fold it coming to you. Then, after yo' take this Wintergreen Pasture Oil an' yo' put over it, am' yo' put it in your pocket. Keep that in yore left pocket. Then yo' goes back an' yo' get this he Eve [Adam and Eve] root, see. He Eve root.
(He Eve root?)
Yeah, yo' go back an' get that an' yo' got hit, yo' got de she root in yore pocket, yo' understand. Yo' take that - powder up that. piece there - an' yo' get some rain water an' river water or hydrant water [3 running Waters], or anything like that, an' yo' put it in two glasses. Put it in two glasses like that an' yo' let it set, after yo've mixed it. Well, heap up just about de same amount in each glass. Yo' leave it set there fo' three days. Aftah yo' leave it set there fo' three days, yo' take it an' yo' pour it into one glass. Then yo' take this here - this seniment, lodestone an' dis Wintergreen Pasture Oil. Well, yo' Put it in de glass, in one glass, an' yo' let it set there fo' three days. Den take that water off - take dat watah off before yo' go out to see about a job. Just like, if yo' know the foreman's name, yo' take his name an' yo' write his name nine times backwards, just like if yo' write it backwards this Way nine times [demonstrates]. Then yo' fold it, fold it comin' to yo' like dat [demonstrates]. Then yo' write yore name on de top of it, but yo' must write yore name forwards.
(Write your name what?)
The right way.
(You write your name forwards. All right.)
Then yo' take dat an' yo' put it down in dat water where all yore stuff is in the morning when yo' going out - just when yo' going out to the foreman. Yo' got his name. Well, when yo' get ready to go there, yo' take this water out of Chere. Yo' pour it out in a basin or anything like that, an' yo' take it an' yo' wash yo' hands good with it, an' yo' wash yore fingers. Yo' takes this here lodestone an' yo' put it in yore pocket with this she Eve root. Yo' walk to him a'when yo' get there, before yo' ask, just like yo' take a piece of chewing tobacco, cut a little piece off dat she root an' put it in your mouth. An' get this here lodestone thing in your hand like that an' rub it, an' make yore wishes, as yo' walk up to him an' ask 'im for a job. Probably he may not have nuthin to do right then, but he'll run his hand in his pocket if he got any money an' he'll give yo' a piece of money. The first opening that he have - WHEN YO' LEAVE FROM THERE, YO'LL MAKE A WISH FOR ANY - JUST LIKE ANY JOB YO' WANT AROUND THERE, YO' MAKE A WISH FOR ANY BAD LUCK TO HAPPEN TO 'EM PEOPLE AT THAT PLACE. SAY PRAYERS, AN' IN A WEEK'S TIME [7 DAYS] YO'LL HAVE A JOB. There no favor that yo' ask 'im that he could turn yo' down. If he ain't got it at de present time, he will tell yo' a way to come an' get it.
foreman’s name written nine times backwards, contrasted with own name forwards. Keep foreman nine-times-backwards versus applicant forwards on top; not all names backwards. manually inscribed arrangement of foreman’s and applicant’s names. Retain foreman backwards nine times and own name forwards on top, followed by the use of the inscribed paper in the preparation. employment sought from a foreman, with conditional intermediate outcomes and harmful wish. No immediate job guarantee: preserve probably no work, money if he has it, the first opening, and the subsequent one-week claim as attributed. river as a stated possible source of water, alongside rain/hydrant wording. Keep literal rain water an’ river water or hydrant water and or anything like that; do not convert ambiguous conjunctions into an all-three requirement or flatten all alternatives. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 3556) · Read full source (printed page 3557) · Read full source (printed page 3558)
Entry 8586
Yo' kin write a person's name on a piece of papah, jes' write it this oay [one way] an' that way [the other way]. Cross it all up an' fold it to yo an' put it down in de lamp. An' dey say it will draw 'im back to yo'. It will draw 'im. [The name is written 9 times, each name crossing the other making one "x" or form of a cross. This Is another of the frequent double-crossing rites in hoodoo.]
Entry 8765
(How did they do that?)
He went tuh a man [doctor or fortuneteller] and this man had taken a bran'-new tin plate, a common tin plate, an' he write on de back of dis tin plate in red- ink writing. Ah couldn't read de writin' but ah - when dey come - ah was livin' wit de people. Dis girl, she didn't leave de state, but she stayed aftah she left. An' he brought dis tin plate dere an' asked 'im to sign 'er name. An' he said he couldn't sign it [he could not write]. An' so, he got me to sign de girl's name at de bottom. An' he'd taken her coat - she had a little velvet coat - an' wrapped it up in dat an' put it in behin' de ceilin's in de wall. An' told 'im when she come back, tuh take it [coat] an' bring it back tuh 'im an' he [would put] 'em tuhgethah again. (And bring it back to him?) Bring it back tuh 'in. An' he tole 'im tuh go in dat room, yo' see, an' turn tuh de direction where she was, an' pray three times a day. An' said, dat inside of fo' days she would be back. An' she certainly was. (WILL YOU TELL ME THE STORY RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING. HOW IT ALL STARTED - THE WHOLE STORY, THE DETAILS.) Of dis? (Yes, the whole story. How it happened. About her leaving and that sort of thing. Tell all the story.) When she left, she didn't go tuh stay.
(She didn't go to stay?)
No, sir, she didn't go tuh leave, yo' know. At least, she didn't tell 'im she was. She had tole othah people when she left dat she wasn't comin' back.
(I see.)
An' so, her brother-in-law died an' dat's how she got away. She went tuh Louisiana.
(To Louisiana?)
Yeah. An' aftah she got over dere...
(Where was she living?)
She was livin' here in Vicksburg.
(Oh, I see. All right.)
Yes, sir. An' aftah she got ovah dere, she didn't come back an' she wrote, keep encouragin' 'im dat she would be back. An' so she wrote fo' 'im tuh send her things dere. An' he did do it. An' aftah he sent her things dere, she still didn't come back. An' so he went tuh dis man an' dis man tole him dat she wasn't thinking about comin' back.
(Did he go to a man here in town?)
Yes, sir. An' he told 'im dat she wasn't thinkin' about comin' back. An' so he told 'im dat he could brin g'er back fo' 'im. An' he went tuh 'im an' he come. Dis man come tuh 'is house an'
(YOU MEAN THIS "DOCTOR" CAME TO THIS MAN'S HOUSE?)
YES, SIR, CAME TO HIS HOUSE AN' HE BROUGHT DIS TIN PAN WIT 'IM, WIT DE WRITIN' ALREADY ON IT.
(Well, how Was it fixed up, this pan?)
De pan? Jes' a plain tin plate, yo' know pie plate, an' de writin' was on de back of it, jes' like, jes' like yo' would write a letter tuh somebody. But ah couldn't read it, but it was writin' jes' like yo' would write a lettah tuh somebody, an' at de bottom of it he wanted - somebody else had tuh sign 'er name.
(And how was it written, you said before? Written with what?)
With red ink.
(Red ink?)
Yes.
(Did it look like English writing or what?)
Yes.
(You really think it was Written in English, but you couldn't read it?)
No, sir.
[The words may have been written with English letters but meaningless.]
(I see. All right. And they [he] brought this pan back to the man's house?)
Yes.
(And then what happened?)
He took this pan and got one of her pieces, had tuh have somepin dat she wore, an' wrap dis pan up in it.
(But you signed that name though?)
Yes, sir, at de bottom, an' put it ovah behind de ceilin' of de wall.[ Vicks- burg, Miss., (775), 1066:3.]
Entry 8801
Dey tell me dey take yore han'writin' an' put some sulphur in it - whut ah heard now; ah dunno - an' put it in dat fiah wit [red] peppah an' yo' can't write no mo'. Ah heard dat.
(They put pepper in it and they put it in the fire and burn it.) ' Sulphur an' peppah, yessuh.
Entry 8804
Jes' lak ah'd set down heah an' write a lettah. Well, me an' 'er [livingl togethah. Bell, perhaps ah may not send dis lettah nowhere, yo' see, an' ah'm gone. Ah run away an' leave 'er an' leave dat lettah dere. Well, if she wanted [to] git me back, why she would take dat lettah, yo' see, an' write 'er 'nitial on it; set dom an' burn it up in de fiahplace dere to ashes, an' take one-half of 'em an' at "em in de bottom of 'er shoe an' weah it, an' de othah half of 'em an' put in dat lettah an' send it tuh me. An' when ah git dat ah will come back tuh 'er.
Entry 8810
Dey could take yore handwritin' on a piece of papah, but de way how it is, how it comes in, ah'm goin' give yo' de beginnin' of it. It's de same if yo' should happen tuh go - if somebody should happen tuh go away an' dey should write tuh yo'. Well, all right, dey'd put it in an envelope. Well, dey puts some kind of powdah in dere. Ah forgot de name of de powdah, but dey put dat powdah in dere to seal it, yo' know, an' dat powdah will come out de minute yo' open it. Yore handwritin' will be in it. If yo' should happen tuh go an' write a person a lettah [like that] an' dey. take it an' burn it on de fo' cornahs, or pro'bly burn it all up tuh dust, an' put it back in de mail an' mail it back tuh yo' - well, dey stay dere demself. Dey find dat dey jes' don't care tuh have nuthin to do wit choo.
Entry 8858
Kin take yo' han'writin' an' if yo' run off from home, yo' take dat han'writin' an' fetch yo' back. Dress 'em wit cologne an' put some salt on it. Yo' could be in California, yo'll come heah in Savannah.
Entry 8860
Now, yo' take a person an' yo' write a lettah an' a person git holt of yore han'writin'. Well, now, yo' take dis han'writin'. Well, ah'll take dis han'writin' now an' ah'll see whut ah kin do wit it. Take yore han'writin' - yo' take it an' lay it on a table. Yo' lay it on de table an' den yo' take yo' some Scotch Snuff - jis' say, Railroad. Yeah, Railroad Snuff. Yo take dat an' yo' put dat snuff on dere, an' take anothah wet piece of cloth, thin cloth, an' lay on dere. Well, now, when yo' lay dat on dere yo' got chure han'- vritin'. Well, now, in a very li'le while yore whole hand will commence tuh pain. Well, a person - de doctors [M.D.'s] might tell yuh dey don't know whut it is. Dell, yo' see dat's de germ dat dey have caught from yore hand. An' dey got it den goin' right back intuh yore system. Aftah while yo' git tuh de place dat hand is no good to yuh. It jis' wilted away tuh nuthin.
Entry 8865
De shoe - a person kin - yo' have to use a lettah wit dat.
(Well, tell me the whole thing.)
Well, ah wus correspondin' wit a girl one time an' ah used tuh write her all de time, when ah wus off from home, an' ah wusn't intendin' tuh come back right away. An' ah didn't experience dat until den but ah heered a lot of it. Ah had a good job. An' so me an' 'er would swap mail yo' know. So she kept awritin' an' beggin' me tuh come home an' ah wouldn't go. An' so ah wrote 'er up ag'in an' den about nine or ten days aftah dat ah got to de place where ah wusn't satisfied. So de man raised mah wages five dollahs mo' - ah wus git- tin' $25 a week an' he raised me tuh thirty. Ah couldn't be satisfied no way, shape, for or fashion. So ah went home. Well, aftah ah go home an' she say, "Well, yo' come." Say, "Yes." She say, "Well, ah knowed yo' wuz comin'." Ah say, "Why yo' say dat?" She say, "Well, ah want tell yo' sompin but if ah tell yo', yo' might git mad." So ah got her han's drub[?] [rubbed her hands?]. So she tole me. She say, "De las' lettah ah wrote chew, " she says, "ah taken it an' fold it an' put it in de shoe an' wore it fo' nine days." Ah says, "Where yo' learn dat?" She says, "Well, de rootman tole me." An' ah says, "Ah got back." So dat's why dey learn dat.
(That's all she did?)
Dat all she did.
(She Wore the letter that she wrote to you?)
No sir, she wore de lettah in 'er shoe dat ah wrote to 'er, mah han'writin'.
(Your handwriting she wore in the shoe?)
Shure.
Entry 8870
If a man leaves home an' a woman wants him back, dat's whut chew mean. Don't chew write him yo'self, but chew find out from some of yore personal friends. Git 'is personal friends tuh write him, jis' lak yo' know dey interested in hearin' from 'im. All right, she goin' take dat lettah, undahstan', an' den she goin' 'erself [put] some of 'erself intuh de lettah.
(What do you mean? What part of herself?)
She goin' put de sweat of 'erself.
(From her privates. All right.)
Yes sir, all right. She ain't goin' put it on de lettah, un'ahstan', she gon'a rub it in de envelope. See, if yo' rub it inside de envelope, it ain't gon'a har'ly [hardly] soil de lettah. He ain't gon'a notice it. He ain't gon'a teah [tear] dat envelope open, see. An' den he gon'a weah dat lettah, see, an' den 'is whole heart an' mind will fall right back tuh 'er, an' den he comin'. Yo' undahstan'.
Entry 8872
Dey take yore han'writin' an' run yo' completely crazy, an' git chure fingahprints from de lettah dat chew wrote, an' jes' mess yo' all up in yore han's lak it be's a kin' of a stroke.
(What would they do with that?)
A woman tole me dey take it [letter] an' dress it. [Thinking informant had ended, I stopped recording machine but had to restart for an addition.]
(After they dress it, they stop it up in a green tree?)
Dress it an' den stop it up in a green tree.
Entry 9088
De judge - goin' up befo' de judge? An' yo' don' want no trouble wit de judge. Yo' take his name befo' yo' go up dere. Yo' take de judge's name. Don't care if yo' don' know him, yo' jis' try tuh fin' somebody dat knows his name - de district attorney's name. Yo' take dere names an' yo' write 'em, yo' write 'em fo' times backwards - his last name firs'. An' yo' turn right aroun' den an' take dat firs' name an' write it last an' fold it up. An' always try tuh put it some place on yuh where yo' will have when yo' go in fo' law - when yo' go in fo co't. Always try tuh have dat. All right. If yo' kin, yo' try tuh git chew a John de Conkah root. Anyone dat yo' think [of] kin go tuh de drug sto' some- where, an' which is very easily found. Dere's people dat have 'em in drug sto's. A drug sto' have dat, dat John de Conkah root. Yo' chew dat.
Entry 9222
Take a egg to move you away, too. Well, they'll write the person's name on this egg. See, and at a certain hour in the night they'll throw that egg on your door and then, providing from time to time, you are in hard luck or get despondent - but it gotta be a black hen egg to do it with.
(What will that finally do, then?)
That will move you away. (Move you out of the house.)
Entry 9792
Yo' kin take a needle an' put it in a piece of papah, with yore man's name wrote on it three times, an' put it up behin' yore do'. He cain't leave yo'. Put it up behin' yore do', up in de wall papah. Jes' lak yore wallpapah's dere [demonstrates], tear it loose an' put it in dere [see No.9791, p.3851.] (How many needles do you put in the paper?) Three. (And you write his name three times.) Yo' point dose needles lak dat, down. An' den yo' take an' put it up in dat [wallpaper] papah, holdin' dat papah
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 11729
Well, if dey git holt of yore han'writin', ah tell yo' whut dey kin do wit chure han'writin'. Dey kin blind yo'.
(How could they do that?)
Well, hit's nuthin but dey send yo' same lettah back to yo' wit dust in it.
(What kind of dust do they put in it?)
(How is that goofer dust made?)
It's made outa - it dark brown, looks jes' lak dat dere [informant points at something].
(What are the ingredients of goofer dust?)
Ah don't know dat.
Entry 12066
Handwriting is worn in shoes to bring person back. [Elizabeth City 403:9.]
Entry 8828
If ah wanted a job wit chew an' yo' didn't want tuh have me, if ah git aholt of yore han'writin', ah could take hit an' bury it where yo' have tuh walk, wit a li'le sul- phah in it. An' tuhmorrah mawnin' ah come back, yo' be jes' [friendly and give me a job].
Entry 10992
Get a egg from a black hen an' write their name upon it 9 times, an' bury it underneath their steps an' make 'em move.
Entry 13124
On receiving a letter, burn the handwriting and put in envelope, add rattlesnake powder, and mail back to person. Opening this letter will blind the person. [Charleston 556:4.]