Subject:Knife
Entries
Entry 589
Ah kin tell yo' a way dat he kin find out whether dat wus so. Jes' say dat wus his wife down dere - when he wants tuh go out with another woman, take his pocketknife, an' when him an' her git down to, yo' know - stick it right up in de ground or in de flo' by dem, an' if his nature won't come, why she's [wife has] got him tied [unable to have another woman]. Now to loose dat, ah don't know, but ah have been told two ways on dat - wear a silver dime in de left shoe fo' de woman. Den ah wus told another one - take a silver dime an' - see, dis is his private - fo' nine mornin's rub it up dere - dat silver dime once fo' nine mornin's. (Rub the silver dime on the side of his - once each morning for nine mornings. That is supposed to restore his nature.)
Entry 1872
Well, dey say dey kin take a fo'k an' a knife. (A fork and a knife.) Yeah, dey kin take a fo'k and knife and dey cross it like dat.
(Put it down for those people to cross over?)
Yeah, fo'k and a knife - ole knife and a fork, and dey kin put it down in de ground. Make a mark you know and put it down in de ground at dere house - put it down in dere yard, anywhere, just so it's put down. Put it 'bout two feet in de ground or a foot an' a half, maybe. Dey say dat dey'll keep you so dat you can't come dere - have to stay away, they says.
Entry 2845
Take de knife an' fo'k lak yo' fixin' de table, an' de parties dat chew - but dat kills people, dey tell me. Yessuh. An' yo' puts dat black candle in dere an' dere name wrote jes' lak ah tole yo', but it's gotta be on a brand-new white plate wit dat name underneat' dat plate where dat knife an' fo'k is set around dat candle, crossed, yo' understand, an' dat name underneat' dat, underneat' dat plate, with de black candle. Dat runs 'em crazy with their haid.
(How do you write that name on that piece of paper?)
Yo' write it backwards, jes' dat one party's name dat chew wanta do dat to.
(Just once?)
Yessuh.
Entry 3276
I know anothah remedy, would stop 'im. I'll take a knife or fork an' go to bed an' he'll tell me, he say, "Come on, let's give a piece." But I say, "I don't feel lak it." I feel bad or somepin. He'll start to fussin'. I'll get up an' I go get me a fork dat yo' eat wit. I take dat fork an' I place it right back here in my back, an I lay down on it. When he get ready to go wit me, when he get right dere, he gona fall - fall. Dat fork, de way I've got dat fork, I've got dat fork stickin' de point towards mah head. But I'm layin' down right here - yo' see, right in dere [demonstrates].
(In the hollow of your back?)
In de hollah of mah back. So, he can't raise no heart. He'll have one when he git ready to go dere, but he won't - he can't put it in, he'll go fall evah time.
Entry 3810
An' he told me. I knew de girl dat did it. Well, I'm goin' to tell yo' now how it started. I heard of it befo'. I wuz goin' wit 'er, an' I had been goin' wit 'er, an' I wuz in good health, evahthing. An' de way I wuz, dis girl wuz crooked on me, an' I say, "I'm goin' quit messin' roun' wit yo', I ain't goin' to" - well I got me anothah girl, started wit 'er, went wit 'er a time or two. An' I got hold of dis girl's pit- chure whut I wuz goin' wit. I had been messed up in dat stuff befo' but not wit dis girl. An' she wuz from de same place dat I wuz. She knowed broad people, all dose people down dere roun' South Carolina an' way to Georgia. Dere's a whole lot of people down dere dat knows a lot of stuff, dere's lot of em down dere dat knows plenty. I says - I been wit dis girl a time or two - I says, "I ain't goin' to hide yore pitchure, goin' to leave it in my pocket." Dis girl got dis girl's pitchure. She seed it but she wuz scared to bother wit it. I says, "Well.... [A short lacuna appears on the cylinder, probably an accidental rather than intended stoppage.] Seem lak evah time I'd go roun' where she wuz - where she wuz at - I would get cowardah [cowarder] an' cowardah [more and more he lacked courage], didn't have any manhood atall. I goes on. I [finally] went to a doctor [M.D.] an' he gived me some medicine. Kept on havin' de medicine, kept on havin' it. Well, I'd taken it fer about six months an' nevah seen it [the ailing member], gotten no manhood atall. I wuz workin' an' I says, "Hell, somepin's gotta be done." I went to see dis person [a man mentioned later] an' [he] says, "What's de mattah wit yo'?" [I] say, "He's [ailing member is] sick. He can't do nuthin. He haven't [had] a woman. It must be woman [causing this trouble]." I kept a- thinkin' about 'er if I didn't seen 'er [he kept thinking about the first woman though he had not seen her]. I wuz talkin' to a man about dis an' he told me who to go to. I went to a ole lady dat had one leg longah den de othah, an' she told me, said, "Boy," said, "time yo' got here." [Her opening words are quite professional - see CONSULTATION TECHNIQUE, Pp.307- 319. Her long leg and short leg were good for business - see NAMES FOR DOCTORS and PERSONAL APPEARANCE, PP.293-301.] She told me how I wuz messed up wit - how my manhood wuz cut down, an' she said, "But I kin fix yo' all right." I says, "Yo' can?" She say, "Yes." says, "Well, what yo' goin' do?" She says, "Well, dat's all right about whut I do. I'll fix yo' all right." An' she say, "Well, I tell yo' what yo' do. Yo' go an' buy me a half pint of whiskey." I say, "Sure enuff." I says, "If yo want a drink of whiskey, " I say, "I'll give yo' a drink of whiskey, but yo' say yo' kin fix me. Yo' told me somepin an' yo' must know somepin, ain't it?" She say, "Yo' go an' buy me a half pint of whiskey, an' if yo' wanta give me a drink, buy yo' one an' me one, an' I'm goin' to give yo' nuthin out of dat." She told me - she took a knife, jes' about a, lak a case knife, an' black gun- powdah, an' a little bit of sulphur, an' a little bit of salt, an' a little bit of red peppah, an' told me how to use it - how to take dis, put it in de whiskey an' shake it up. She got a piece of flannel - said white flannel or eithah red flannel would do, which she preferred white flannel. She had de scissors an' she cut it off an' had taken some mutton suet. She told me to take dis den an' jes' lathah [lather] it wit dis mutton suet befo' a hot stove, or anything, dat a lamp would do if it were hot enough, an' put in on jes' lak dis [demonstrates] an' give a wish.
(And pull it up three times.)
An' it would stay dere, keep it stayin' dere. Told me if when I got dere, if it would fall down, to come on back. So. I didn't pay, didn't pay 'er a thing until I came back - if I didn't want to, see. Well, it did an' it's been stand- in' evah since.
(Well, WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THIS WHISKEY, then?)
I take a swallah of it three times a day. An' it nevah bothahed me no more. Told me evah time when I started wit anybody dat I wuz payin' attention to, if I thought dey had any underworld ideas - but I nevah had nuthin to do ag'in. [The preceding experience was given on cylinder 482:9. Before that, on 482:6, came the tying-up rite, and now follows on 482:7, the pre-statement for the ex-perience:] Dere's a way dat yo' kin take some salt, an' a little bit a pinch of sulphur on a knife blade, an' somepin lak some sheep suet an' heat it ovah a red hot - somepin lak a red-hot stove. If yo' reach down lak dat an' git it when it cools, an' make a wish, yo' see if it stand up [demonstrates].
(How do you pull it down?)
No, yo' pulls it up, three times.
(Three times?)
Pull it three times an' make a wish.
(And then it stays up itself.)
Yeah.
Entry 3816
Take a bran'-new knife an' po' - make urinate [urinate] down dat knife- blade evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's an' wash 'isself wit whut chew call dis stuff dey use in prison. (Saltpeter?) Saltpetah. Take dat an' wash it [his tool] an' throw it to de sundown. Take dat an' wash it an' throw it to de sundown. If he done wash 'isself off an' throw it de way de sun goes down, he kin git ovah [cure] it dataway - git along to where he kin handle anybody he want to.
(That will take off this spell that took his nature away.)
Dat'll take off dat.
(He did that before sunrise did you say?)
[He did not give the time, that is what I wanted to learn.]
Aftah sun risin' an' jes' as de sun liable to set, see yo' put it in dere den, den it [ailment] will go away den. Yo' have to do dat fo' nine evenin's an' po' dat watah down dat knife fo' nine mawnin's.
(You urinate down the knife in the morning, and you throw it away at night?)
Yeah, yo' washes wit dat saltpetah in de aftahnoon. [For the general reader may I add:. The peter part of saltpeter, being one of the many names for the penis, has magic value in this impotence cure; so also has the magic salt portion of saltpeter.]
Entry 4192
Breakin' nine needles - take nine needles an' break 'em an' put 'em intuh dat - down intuh it, don't chew undahstan', in yuh chamber lye. It jis lak if yuh'd drink [milk]. Now, yuh kin take milk an' drink it an' put sugah in it, an' take a knife blade an' stir it, yuh'll have de stomikache from dat knife blade. Well, yuh'll always be ahurtin', always be a [in] pain, all de time. Evah time yuh look aroun' yuh will complain of a pain, but it be's in de same place - it nevah moves.
(And then this chamber lye, you put it in something to hold it, don't you?)
Yes, bottle.
[Long pause.]
(Well, go on, put it in the bottle there [informant demonstrating], and then you put these knives [this knife blade] and needles in it.) In the bottle.
(What do you do with that, then?)
Yo' jis' bury it, de bottle, in de ground an' nobody knows. "Git chew a round stick, yuh know, an' dig yuh a hole an' bury it right in dere.
(I see. That will give the person pains in his stomach.)
Yes sir.
Entry 4947
It wuz a lady had - she took me.
(Who was this?)
It was a lady had 'em.
(These socks?)
Uh huh, an' she wanted tuh git rid of 'er frien'. So she take a pair of 'is stockings an' one of 'is ole shoes - it didn't make any diff'rence which one it wuz - an' [she put those socks in the shoe]. She taken a pocketknife an' she put dat knife [in the shoe]. (She put those socks in the shoe?) Yeah. (Now, don't forget, don't leave anything out.) An' she taken dat knife an' she put it in dat shoe wit de point tuh de toe. An' she buried dat shoe undah 'er steps dat he come in, [the shoe] goin' from de house. An' he left, he really left. He nevah did hang roun' 'er any more.
Entry 6884
Cross dis woman up. Dey takes - dey gits right where dis woman'll pass at. Yo' undahstan'? Dey takes a knife an' a fo'k an' put dat knife in de fo'k disaway [demonstrates by crossing knife in fork] an' put it right where she goin' tuh cross ovah at. Yo' undahstan'? An' jis' as sure as she cross ovah dat knife an' fo'k dis- away, she cain't birth dat child. Dat child turn upside in 'er stomic.
(I see. All you do is cross the knife into the fork?)
Put de knife in de fork lak dis here [demonstrates] an' let 'er cross ovah it. Stand it up lak dat [demonstrates].
Entry 7169
A woman kin have her husban' an' jis' go - it's lak he's workin' at night, an' he be here sleepin' an' she may wanta go off, yo' see, wit some other man or somepin othah. An' she - aftah he goes tuh sleep, she wan's tuh keep 'im asleep. She kin take a plate an' a knife an' fork, an' put it undah de head of dat bed right dere. De knife an' fork cross- ed in de plate undah de head of de bed. She kin put a candle undah de foot of dat bed an' light it, an' take her shimmy or 'er petticoat or somepin lak dat, an' hang it right up ovah 'is face - say prob'ly eight or ten inches from 'is face. An' he'll be sleepin' right dere when she come back home an' wake him up. He won' even wake up while she's gone. She be gone all day an' he'll sleep all day.
(She puts the candle on the foot of the bed?)
Yes, sir, puts de candle right on de foot. Yes, sir, he'll sleep.
(A candle of any particular color or just any kind of candle?)
Oh, jis' git dese big white - two for a nickel candles. [This was back in 1937 during the Great Depression!] Go dere an' buy a candle.
(All right, I see.)
See, she's going tuh make it back dere befo' dat candle goes out.
(I see.)
NOW, DIS IS BY EXPERIENCE. I SAW MAH BROTHAH'S WIFE DO DIS. See. An' she tol' me, say, "Brothah, he don' wan' me tuh go up tuh 'is mothah, " she say, "an' ah'm goin' an' ah know whut tuh do tuh keep 'im asleep." I SAY, "WELL, DO ANY- THIN' YO' WANTA DO ONLY DON'T KILL 'IM." An' ah sits dere an' looked at 'er do dis an' ah walked out an' set on dose row boats right ovah dere across de river in Bellpoint 'till she come back. An' when she come back, I come on ovah dere an' meet 'er an' went in de house, an' de candle done burned down about dat much [demonstrates]. An' he jis' alayin' dere dead to de world. An' she did all dem thin's.
(What did you say? Bell - where is that?)
Bellpoint. It's a li'le small town jis' across de rivah.
(Over in Louisiana?)
Yes, sir - tothah [the other] end of de bridge.
(I see.)
Entry 8183
De only thing ah know 'bout photo- graph, ah heard 'em say - say, if yo' poke a pin, or othahwise a knife right through a pusson's heart, chew know, poke a hole through it, say dat pusson wouldn't live long aftah dat, aftah 'bout two days aftah dat. [Fayetteville, N. Car., (1403). 2527:7.]
Entry 8188
Take de photograph an' stick it up de side of a post an' say yo' could shoot at it, an' it will cause yo' to be run out. Somepin will happen to yo' soon. (What about that cutting?) Or eithah dey take a pocketknife an' gash it up in diff'ren' ways an' yo'll git cut lak dat.
Entry 8338
Kin do in de tree. Co'se now yo' kin take if yo' kin git a tintype photograph, yo' know, whut takes only dese li'le tencent tintypes, see. An' dat will do anything. An' if yo' wanta ruin a person wit it, yo' kin go right tuh a young pine, a young tree, an' yo' kin jes' take yore knife an' yo' cut chew a deep hole in dat tree, see. An' yo' drive yo' a li'le tack. Yo' tack dat tintype pichure upside down on dat tree, yo' see. Den, if yo' wanta, yo' kin tack sompin ovah it, yo' see. An' dat tree be drawin' [growing] up. An' yo' kin mess a man up, yo' see. Yo' kin lock 'is bowels or yo' kin jes' keep 'im....
Entry 8362
Ah heah dey say dey take a person's photograph an' carry it tuh de woods tuh a tree, an' stick a knife in de side an' stick nine pins in dere, an' dat'll kill yo'...
[Recording stopped too soon for following north side.]
(It must be on the north side of the tree?)
Yes.
Entry 8737
Like if anyone yo' love real good an' yo' wan'a bring 'em back to yo', for three times a day when yo' fix [prepare] zhor meal or set de table yo' kin set their plate an' de spoon an' fork [and knife] jes' like yo' set for 'em when they were there. An' call their name three times an' tell 'em to come to their dinnah or somepin or breakfas', whichevah it is, an' in nine mawnin's dey'll be back.
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 9778
A sewin' needle, where a woman been sewin'. If her an' a woman had been havin' some kinda dispute ovah 'er or eithah a man, yo' kin take dat nee- dle an' carry it an' yo' burn de point of it. Jes' lak if me an' yo' had de [argument or quarrel], well, if ah kin git a needle, or eithah a pin, or borrah yore pocketknife [because you are a man], carry it home an' burn it. Ah burn it off good. Take it an' put it in some sulphah an' burn it ag'in. An' ah put some Hearts Cologne on it [knife or needle] an' sprinkle it [perfume] roun' [where I picked up object] an' put it right back where yo' kin git it.
(What would that do then?)
Well, dat will - if me an' yo' been havin' fusses an' things an' we be bad Out, well dat will gain de influence of me an' yo' back [together again].
(You will be on good terms again?)
Be on good terms.
Entry 9804
If yo's a keen farmah an' lookin' fo' 'em tuh break yo' up, yo' go git chew six needles, bran' new, an' take yore - now, heah's yore barn-facin', yore barn door facing.
(Facing of barn door?)
Yes. Yo' make a way [split with knife] in dere an' place dem needles in dere. Make a crack in dere wit chure knife so yo' kin place dem needles in dere. But de eyes [of the needles], three of 'em, an' place 'em jes' about de height of a man's body. Go up tuh dat do' an' put three [needles] on each side [of the door]. An' yo'll find no breakin' up of yore farm.
Entry 9859
Yo' kin kill a person wit a toadfrog. Yo' kin git a toadfrog an' jis' lak yo' had a enemah [enemy] an' yo' didn't wanta go tuh 'im an' jis' shoot 'im down perhaps. Yo' would git chew a toadfrog an' tie 'im up an' den talk tuh 'im jis' lak yo' wuz talkin' tuh dat individual [you intended to kill]: [1] YO'S MAH ENEMAH AN' YO'S DIS, [2] DAT, [3] AN' DE OTHAH, AN' YO' DONE DIS THING. [1] AN' AH'M GOIN' KILL YUH, [2] AN' AH WAN' CHEW TUH LEAVE, [3] AN' AH DON' WANT CHEW TUH BE IN MAH WAY. An' take a bran'-new knife dat hasn't been used, an' aftah yo' git through talkin' wit 'im, aftah yo' tied 'im [toadfrog] up lak dat, talk tuh 'im lak yo' wuz in a fuss wit dis enemy of yores. Yo's re'lly mad wit 'im an' yo' start tuh cuttin' 'im wit dat bran'-new knife, jis' sayin' things tuh 'im: [1] AH WAN' CHEW TUH DIE, [2] AH WAN' CHEW TUH DIE, [3] AH WANT CHEW TUH TAKE SICK AN' DIE. Aftah yo' git through cuttin' 'im, call 'im [toadfrog] a bad name. Dat individual will take sick an' jis' dwindle away, jis' lak yo' killed dat frog [toadfrog] an' named 'im dat individual.
Entry 10441
Knife and fork crossed under the pillow to keep witch away [Mobile, 861:2.] or to keep witch from riding you [Fred- ericksburg, 67 by Ediphone].
Entry 10442
A witch will ride yo'. Yo' kin take a silver knife an' fo'k an' cross it, put it in yore bed an' dey won't bother yo'. Den yo' kin take a sharp knife, pocketknife, an' put it in dere - put it under de bed. Ah use one dese witchin' Knives undah mah bed all de time. Dat cut's 'em off.
Entry 11375
De fig tree - take a bottle an' urinate in de bottle. An' it's jes' lak if yo' got it in fo' me an' yo' wanta hurt me, urinate in de bottle an' den take somepin else [what?] an' po' in dat urinate, an' take dis red string an' tvist it real tight an' slash it to de main root of dat fig tree. Anybody go to dat fig tree an' eat it dey poisoned. If dey eat a fig offa dat tree dey's poi- soned. [The preceding word slash I evidently understood as lash according to my following question.]
(How do you tie this string around it?)
See, yo' takes de cork stop- per an' puts it into dis bottle. An' yo' takes a small nail an' makes a hole right into de center of dis stopper, right down in de cork, see. An' de end of it, take it out an' jes' twist it real tight an' jes' take yore knife an' jes' open de end of a tendril, jes' break off de tendril an' jes' let de thread in dere, an' jes' let it close right back up. See, dat urinate po' right into de tree.
(You have part of the string into the bottle and part of it hanging outside?)
[This is one of several transfusion rites in HooDoO, another example of how doc- tors imitated M.D.'s.] Yes.
Entry 11659
An' if yo' already outdo's, yo' git a knife an' a fo'k an' yo' bury it undah dere [front doorstep] an' see if yo' cain't conker de rent man. Ah done tried dat. Ah know dat from self experience.
(Just how do you bury that knife and fork, any special way?)
Bury de knife dis-a-way [demonstrates] an' de fo'k dis way. (The fork crossing the knife.)
Entry 12275
Yo' kin take a file or a knife an' go to de corner of yo' place an' yo' stick it down in de left-han' side an' name it. An' ever' day go dere an' push it down a little bit, an' when it git down to de last, whosomevah dey name is yo' goin' fix dat fo', dey'll fall. Dey'll fall lak dat. When it git down to de last it will fall. Dey'll nevah git ovah it.
Entry 12277
Why yo' jes' take de knife an' de fo'k an' yo' cross dem, an' dere's a verse in de Bible, an' yo' jes' say, In Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, an' put 'em in de mattress an' let de person sleep on dat, an' 'cos' if dis man is used tuh visitin' yo'...yo' jes' keep dis in yore mattress. (What will that do?) Well, dat will jes' make de man stick aroum' yo' mo' so.
Entry 12278
Ah tell yo' whut chew kin do, yo' kin take a fo'k an' a knife an' wipe dat plate. Git chew a clean rag an' wipe dat plate, his plate, or his fo'k or her fo'k, an' let him eat out it aftah yo' wipe wit it, ev'ry mawnin' fo' 9 mawnin's. An' if he don' stay dere, he'll come tuh stay. (What do you wipe that plate with?) With a clean cloth. Yo' wipe yo'self in heah umndah yore arms, undah both arms, an' in heah, an' den yo' take an' wipe yore plate. An' always yo' wipe it tuh yo' [demonstrates].
(With a circular motion?)
Yassuh, wipe it tuh yo' lak dat. He'll come tuh yo' if he's not staying dere.
(You don't do anything with that knife and fork then?)
Nuthin but wipe it tuh yo', jes' when yo' wipe dat fo'k yo' wipe it dataway. An' yo' wipe it up. (You have to wipe the fork the same as the plate, to you? You wipe the plate and the knife and the fork?) Yassuh, wipe all three of 'em.
Entry 12302
Yo' take a lemon an' take a knife, a new knife, an' yo' mark yore vishes, jes' whatevah yo' want to, aroun' an' aroun' dat lemon - befo' six a'clock - aroun' an' roun'. Make all dose wishes, but yo' must be very careful whut chew wishin', 'cause dat's comin', an' yo' stick dat up dere inside de house, not on de outside. Then at six a'clock in de evenin' yo' change it ovah.
(To the west side?)
Stick it up an' let it stay up dere till de next mawnin' at six, then take it down an' git chew anothah lemon. Do that fo' nine mawnin's, an' anything yo' vish fo' will come. (You just take this lemon and then just take a knife and cut a little cut around it?) No, jes." slice it down as yo' wish - slice it down - don't cut it all de way through, an' all roun' dere. Slice it down jes' as many times as yo' Wanta wish. An' take de knife an' stick it right through de mid- dle of it, on de east side of de house, or room, an' let it stay dere till six a'clock in de evening, an' den yo' take it down.
(You stick that knife right into the wall.)
Yes.
(You hold the lemon up and stick the knife through the wall?)
Yes, an' yo' jes' leave de lemon an' de knife sticking right up dere until six a'clock in de evening. Den yo' take it down an' put it up on de west side.
Entry 12303
Ah'll take an' go tuh Krese [Kresge] an' git me a brand-new knife.
(You told her?)
Yes, an' git me a lemon an' cut de lemon up in fine pieces, jes' as many tuh eat. Start off walkin', git off, an' don't pay no attention an' chunk dem lemon seed in behin' 'em. Take dat brand-new knife an bury it under her front do'step: "De Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, ah hope ah nevah see yo' any mo'." (She wanted to get rid of him and she came and asked you how to do it?) Yes.
(She hid that under her own step?)
Yes.