Subject:Magic
Entries
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 1035
De mockin' bird aig - ah heard dat dey take de mockin' bird aig an' give it to anybody dat can't talk plain. (What will that do?) Say dat will make 'em talk plain [because the mocking bird is a great talker and as a mocker talks plainly].[ {Sumter, S. Car., (1378), 2448:16.]
Entry 2090
Well, now de beginnin' of dis first story is tuh git his shirt, his sweaty shirt - jes' lak yo' go out dere an' work. An' yo' git de sweat outa dat shirt an' de strength is in dat shirt. Not no one man's strength is de same - de're [dey are] not alike. An' not no one man's taste is de same. Yo' take dis shirt an' mix it wit magie control powder, but git de powder jes' de color of him an' yo' put it into some box - jes' lak into a box there. An' hit'll grow. Yo' know, magic will grow - magic lodestone an' steel dust. An' jes' as that grow, why he'll go. He won't stay no one place. He won't even stop tuh tell yo' [good-by when he leaves].
(You must put this magic steel dust and what else?)
An' controllin' powder but git de powder de color of him. (In addition to that controlling powder, you take steel dust and lodestone, and put it in this shirt and then put the shirt away?) Yeah, put dat shirt away.
(That is to get rid of him - to make him move?)
Yes. ["Beginning second trip to New Orleans, La., Wed., Feb.14, 1940 [[four persons were interviewed and then came]] 1562 - man - works Crackerjack Drug Store [[see Index]] - Ida Bates [[meaning he was brought or sent by Ida Bates Whose interview will be given in the Interviews section]]" - Numbers Book 1558- 1605. A note on the present text reads, "He became a sort of contact man."]
Entry 2252
[I have described an old man in New Orleans whose cure-all root bottle was his complete theory and practice of medicine - see No. 847, p.293.] Then agin they says - in fact they has a little ball into a bottle. Ah went to him once. Ah didn't go to him 'cause ah believe in him but ah went jes' tuh please de othahs. Ah went to him down dere an' supposed to be a real cunjure. He had a little stuff put in a bottle, bottle of herbs, but de way he had yo' go through de process, hold it in yore han' lak dat [demonstrates] an' anything yo' desires, he say it comes. Yo' hold it in yore han' lak dat an' carry yore han' ovah yore haid three times an' de third time, yo' says, "In de Name of de Father, Name of de Son an' Name of de Holy Ghost." Then yo' put chure han's 'cross yore breast that way an' put chure han's around to each side an' put 'em behin' yo'. Well, we 'sposed tuh do that ev'ry mawnin'. Now dat's an instance. Now, say fo' instance, ah want a jomo, dat's whut ah would do.
(You just make that wish?) [The bottle is a wishing jomo.]
Ah jes' make dat wish. If ah want a job, de same thing.
Entry 2870
Now the second way for to get your photograph and do something to it. They can take and burn lights against your photograph and have it right in the house and you don't know it. And have it, your back - see, you know your back to the out[side] and your face to the wall, like nailed to the wall. And have everything dark around there. And you'll die from that bed, right in that bed there. (Do you burn candles to that?) Yes, sir, you burn you a black candle to hit.
(Just one candle did you say?)
Just once - that's to the picture, if you want to harm anybody.
(Where do you put that picture? Against the wall?)
You put 'em in the four corners of your house - just like you got the four corners right here, you got four cormers here.
(Yes.)
Well, you see, you can take and set your bed like this here, cater-corner, and make that be the four corners right here and nail it right in that four corners, but right down where no one can't see it, see. And burn you a black light and never let that light go out. As fast as that light - when you see that light getting smaller, have you another candle ready and light it. I'll guarantee you in nine days' time, if you don't be out of that bed [and be] in the hospital, you be in the morgue.
(You'd be where?)
You'd be in the morgue - be dead. [The preceding four corners are sacred in hoodoo because they came from the Bible and are guarded by four angels controlling the four winds (Rev. 7:1). The diagonal is also sacred, the altar often being so placed in a room (p.129, line 45). The reason? The diagonal, as the longest distance in the flat square world of ancient magic, permits the altar to bestride and manage all existence. More- over the diagonal itself is a cross, a fortifed one - its two ends with equal short portions of the adjacent sides forming two tau crosses, joined at the feet at the center of the square, and thrusting outward two "T-crossings" barbed like a double-pointed spear >. Perhaps I should add, one diagonal equals one stroke of the cross; two diagonals complete the cross, Greek or St. Andrews - the structure of the flat square world.] [Our informant, by pushing back the diagonal of the room into one corner of the room, makes the corner the four corners or the complete room (PART EQUALS WHOLE, p.21). Actually the enclosed space is triangular and three-cornered, but magically the bed becomes both a diagonal and an altar. Despite the fact that neither you nor your picture is in that bed, "you'll die from that bed, right in that bed there."]
[For another diagonal, see 2843, p.819; for bed as altar, see 2874, p.829.]
Entry 2871
Dey say if anyone steal anything from you, take dis black candle and write dere name on it nine times and burn it fifteen minutes. Set it in a dark corner in de no'th corner - one in de no'th corner and one in de southeast corner of yere house. An' stick nine pins in it an' nine needles. When you light dis candle call dere name nine times, and burn 'em fifteen minutes six, twelve and six in de evening. An' when you put it out - jest wet it an' put it out like dat [demonstrates].
(Pinch it out.)
Yes.
(And what is that supposed to do then?)
That will make 'em bring those things back if they stole them.
(How many candles do you use?)
Two.
(And you put one in one corner of the house - what corners are those?)
De no'th corner and de southeast jest like heah now [demonstrates].
(Opposite corners. One in the northwest or northeast?)
[Wanting to know whether this was the magic of the diagonal, I purposely avoided the question opposite corners.] Northwest - dat's whut ah would call it.
Entry 3162
An' if yo' wanta keep yore man tuh home, don' want 'im tuh go roun' wit nobody, yo' kin take a bran'-new pocket han'chef an' let 'im have intahco'se wit chew, an' dry 'im on dat han'chef an' take an' fole dat han'chef in fo' parts. Yo' know, jes' lak yo' take yore han'chef, a man's han'chef is a real large one. See, yo' take it an' yo' fold it. Don' nevah fold it from yo', always fold it disaway - see, lak dat [demonstrates by folding oppo- site corners of nonexisting handkerchief to her, creating two parallelograms - see later]. An' as yo' fold it, turn it roun' disaway. See, dat's once.
[Informant folds again.]
(Then you fold it to you again, twice.)
Dat's twice, yassuh, an' yo' change it roun' disaway. Dat's three. An' yo' ketch it an' turn it roun' dataway an' fold it back tuh yo' lak dat. Well, dat's fo'. Well, yo' take dat jes' lak yo' see it dere an' put chew a pen [ink] in heah crossways an' put chew needle through it dataway an' put chew a needle in it dat way, an' pens [pins] it right heah. An' it's no way he kin have no one. He may have a strong mind fo' it, but all de same time when he do git dere, hit falls, he cain't do anything.
(In other words, you put a pin across?)
A needle, git chew a gold-eyed needle. [Pin is my mistake from her words put chew a pen [pin] in heah crossways. A needle, not a pin, is pinned crossways.] Git chew fo' gold-eyed needles tuh pin it, de point of dat needle dat way [demonstrates]. Take de othah pointed needle an' set it dataway. See, dat's fo' [four] cornahs; in evah cornah be a needle.
(They are all catercorner; they are all diagonal.)
[Catercorner and diagonal are notations for my use later, not guestions for informant.] Yessuh.
(You have to use four needles so that the point goes to each corner.)
[Informant gives 2 methods for sticking needles in corners - see later.]
Dat's right. [We have here THE MAGIC OF "GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION", specifically a magic rite of increasing squares - in number, not by size. It is also a magic rite based upon the four corners of the earth (see 3126, p.2344). Let me explain it: (1) Spread out a handkerchief so that it lies square - not diamond-shaped - in front of you. Fold the 2 farther corners over to you and lay them on the 2 nearer corners, making 2 oblongs one over the other. (2) Without lifting the once- folded handkerchief, turn it clockwise so that its length extends directly out from you, and for a second time fold it to you, making 4 squares. (3) These 4 squares were not turned clockwise but probably should be to keep the magic in proper revolution. Again fold the 2 farther corners over to you so that they co- incide with the 2 nearer corners, making 8 oblongs. And (4) turn the 8 oblongs clockwise so that its length extends directly out from you, and finally fold the 2 farther corners over to you so that they agree with the 2 nearer corners, mak- ing 16 squares. Our package is now ready to be pinned. These 4 needles can be pinned into the folded handkerchief in 2 ways. Either each pinned-in needle cuts across a corner, making 4 triangles resting on 16 squares, or each needle, point- ing outward or inward, bisects the 90° angle of the corner. If the needles point inward, they help keep the folded-up man inside; if they point outward, they keep possible intruding women outside. And so on ad finitum. For further folding rites in this section, especially triangles, see 3182-3190, p.2356f.]
Entry 3285
She gotta go where he's at.
(Yes?)
[My (Yes?) means informant hesitated.]
Well, she's gotta have connection wit dis man. She gits dis [his] what-cha- call-it an' hers, an' be sure hit's gotta be a bran'-new han'chief or bran'-new cloth. An' she takes dat an' she puts sugah in an' cinnamon an' powdah [3 ingredients], an' put dat in a box an' she keep it all de time, weah it aroun' in 'er pocketbook or in 'er pocket. Don't let nobody put dere han's on it. An' he's comin' back.
(What kind of powder did you say she put in there?)
Sugah. [Informant probably misunderstood me. It would have been some kind of love powder.]
(What did she put the powder in?)
In a box. (End of 884 and end of my work in New Orleans, La. So-so. I'll try to get out tonight on the train [for New York City].) [Within the parenthesis I am speaking to the Telediphone. That So-so had to mean I had had a tremendous ex- perience: first my wife and I alone about the city, and after her departure, the hoodoo field work. I would return to New Orleans later.]
Entry 4033
About de woman an' de bottle?
(Yes.)
Yeah. Well, her son wuz livin' wit dis woman, see, an' she wanted 'im tuh move 'way from dis woman - see, she wanted 'im to move. So she'd taken dis bot- tle, a pint bottle, an' she got some of 'is urine. She had 'i tuh - co'se he didn't know it, yuh see. She had a night-jar [any kind of glass jar used as a urinal] yuh see, an' she got some of 'is urine an' put it in dis bottle. An' den she went aroun' an' got snakeroot an' boiled it, an' she put some of dat in it, an' red peppah an' salt. An' she carried it to dis house 'bout one 'clock at night an' jes' made a wish dat he would move. An' he moved. She broke it in de vesti- bule.
Entry 4248
Well yuh kin take dat an' so it's said, dat wimmins will scrub wit it an' will draw mens in. (Take the chamber lye?) An' scrub yuh home, sho'. An' dey say dat it will draw mens in.
Entry 4308
Jis' like yuh sellin' whiskey or sompin like dat, an' yuh take yuh watah an' throw it on de front steps an' sweep it, dat supposed tuh bring a crowd. Don't sweep it out, see, sweep it in.
Entry 6242
Yo' kin take a person's hair - [even] a little hairout Le comb - an' take it an' go to a 'simmon tree an' split it. Take yore knife an split it down a little bit an' put dat hair in dat tree an' dey'll nevah part - dg'll nevah go from yo' until dat tree rot down. (Now, I would take some woman's hair and put it in there. Just her hair alone?) Yassuh, jis' 'er hair alone.
Entry 6262
[After that long parade of submargin titles about TREES, we now return to our normal alphabetical order with TWISTING, an important magic rite often Ignored. Probably ten or more examples of it will be found in HOODOO. Twisting, of course, is related to knot tying, also to bending - the bending of nails and plns for instance.] Well, yo' kin take hair from a person's haid - say ah like 'em, see, an' carry it in yore hip pocket. Yo' twist up an' twist up de hair an' put it in yore hip pocket an' carry it in yore hip pocket. [Informant gives another rite.] An' den yo' kin take an' go tuh a tree an' bo' a bole in de tree an' put dat hair in de tree an' dat person - whut chew mean? Tnyin' tuh drive somebody crazy or what? Well, dat whut dat hair do. Yo' kin cate dat hair an' jes' take yo' a lil' auger an' bo' a hole in de tree. See, jes' put chew a hole right in de tree an' put dat hair in dat tree an' stop it. where it airtight an' nuthin will git to it, an' dey'll suffer wit de head- ache. Dey will keep on wit it an' dey'll die wit it. DERE AIN'T NO DOCTAH IN LHORL' KIN CURE 'EM.
[We return to twisted hair.]
(Now what about twisting that hair and putting it in your pocket. What will
(dhat do?)
Hell, now yo' take de hair an' put it in yore pocket. An' well, dat will pt dem people tuh come tuh love yo'. Yo' carry 'em all de time. Make 'em lore yo'.
Entry 6575
Said dat a lady had some li'le lizards in 'er an' she wuz told by a hoodoo lady dat if dey caught dat lizard alive an' tied 'im in a dark cornah an' let 'im die. An' den took 'im an' parched 'im up, beat 'im up an' put 'im in de walk where she had tuh walk. So in de summah- time she'd go wit'out 'er shoes, an' de powdah would stick tuh de hollah of 'er feet, an' quite natchel [natural] 'er havin' life in 'er feets, she'd carry it on an' put on de shoe an' wear it, an' it create little lizards, an' de little lizards grew in 'er.
Entry 6585
Ah heard of 'em usin' a scorpion fo' makin' live things in people. Well, ah heard dat dey take 'im an' put 'im in a open SPIDER [FRYING PAN ON LEGS] one dese ole spidahs whut has a lid tuh it. An' jis' make fire enough in it where dat he'll jis' run aroun' in dere until he dies. An' let 'im bake till he gits where dey kin crumble him up an' make a powdah. An' den dey tell me dey kin put dat on a person an' hit'll go through de skin an' come de same thing 'live in de person.
Entry 6675
Now a terrapin is a thing, he crawls late at night, an' he crawls at certain times of de day an' he go tuh sleep. Now, dat terrapin yo' wanta wakes 'im at night. Dat terrapin will crawl out de day, an' if chew wanta git dat terrapin tuh hurt chew at night, dey'll capsize 'im from 'is den. Dey'll grab 'im an' dey may cut off 'is right laig an' call yore name. An' dey carries it tuh dey house, bury dat [leg] an' dey'll turn dat ter- rapin loose live. An' quick as dat swell up, where he cut off dat laig, dat right foot - quick as dat swell up, why yo' is a sick man. (That is one way, they use it. What about the other way?)
Entry 6762
You mean poison, hoodoo-like?
(Yes.)
Yo' git a teacup fulla sweet milk, halfa teacup of grease, piece of salt- petah about big as a red bean. [Magic of diminishing size.] (A red bean.) Piece of saltpetah about as big as a red bean. Yo' take all dat an' mix dat tuhgethah an' give it tuh yo' an' let yo' drink it. An' yo' vomit it up or eithah it'll kill it [the poison], kill it on de inside of yo'.
Entry 6894
Ah have know of sompin about trees fo' makin' medicine, red oak an' beechnut an' sycamore. Mix dem three barks tuhgethah an' put it in a 'luminum pot an' boil it until it come tuh a certain amount, jis' as much 'mount as yo' want. Jis' lak if yo' wanta make a half gallon, why yo' put chew a gal- lon of watah in on dose barks an' let 'em boil down tuh a half gallon, an' den take it out an' git chew some dis heah brown sugah an' put it in dere, an' den strain dat dere bark out dere. Den put dat sugah on dere an' make a syrup. An' put chew jis' a li'le pinch of alum in dere. Well, dat's good fo' coughs.
Entry 6902
(What's the name of it?)
It's called de red shank.
(The red shank root?)
Yes, sir. It's called de red shank an' ah'll tell yo'. If ah came tuh yo' an' if ah've got a bad disease, see. Well, yo' take dat red shank, yu' undah- stan', if it's put out, why yo' take de top of it; an' if it's not put out, yo' take a grubbing hoe an' dig the root up an' wash de root. See. Put it intuh two quarts of watah, an' bile [boil] it down tuh one quart [the magic of diminishing amount]. Unnahstan'?
(I understand.)
Bile it down tuh one quart. Den yo' take - when yo' bile it down tuh one quart, yo' take it an' yo' set it off [the stove]. Unnahstan' dat?
(Yes.)
An' den when yo' set dat off, yo' git a li'le piece of bluestone, lak a speck- led pea, an' beat it up right fine an' stuff it in dere. Git chew a li'le piece alum about dat long. Put it in dere, but let de watah be good an' cool. See, don' put it in dere hot. An' den yo' takes it den, an' yo' give it tuh 'im an' tell 'im tuh take three swallows three times a day. Now de way a boy, or man eithah - whutevah he is don't yo' take it jis' lak yo' drinkin' watah, becuz if yo' drink it lak yo' drinkin' watah, well it don't do yo' any good, becuz it will git down in yore stomic an' it will be dere so much till it will sour. It will be de same as milk, when yo' drinks it. Dat buttahmilk when a man is in bad shape, it's jis' a dose of poison tuh 'im. It keeps sour on 'is stomic. Jis' take no more dan three teaspoonsful a day. Take it as [medicine] yo' know. If yo' take too much of it, why it don't do you any good. It'll do yo' harm.
(Three swallows. One swallow before each meal?)
Dat's right.
(I see, each day. All right.)
An' den don't eat so much grease.
(What did you say?)
I say, let de buttahmilk alone.
(I see.)
Entry 6903
Ah heard 'em tell if yo' have a vener'al disease or a bad case of de POps or somepin lak dat, chew kin take red shank root, wild cherry bark an' Queens of Life. [He probably means Queen's - delight = greenroot (StiZlingia sylvatica) of the southern U. S. A., see p.630.] (What is that?) Dat's a weed dat grows out an' it's a root too.] It's in de woods. Wild cherry bark root an' de Queens of Life, an' red shank, an' sasparilla [sarasparilla]. An' take all of dat an' put chew 'bout a gallon of watah an' boil it down tuh a quart [magic of diminishing amount]. Dat's a good Dedicine fo' any case. It'll run it out but it'll kill - run it out chure blood an' cure it up. Den yo' kin cure it up on de outside yo'self.
Entry 7211
A gamblin' han' [the best] dat yo' evah had, if yo' wan'a gamblin' han'. Well, yo' might go intuh a graveyard where dere somebody dat yo' know well, an' dey been buried fo' several days or several yeahs, yo' might say. Yo' take dere fingah dey call a dog fingah. (Which is the dog finger? Point it out to me. Which is the dog finger?) Here 'tis, right cheah [here]. (Well, which hand?) On de right han' [demonstrates]. (All right, I see the index fin- ger of the right hand.) Dat will be de right han' dere. Dat is de third fingah from de front. (The middle finger, then, on the right hand?) Dat is de thing. (All right, the middle finger.) All right. Den yo' take dat fin- gah an' clean de bone in milk - git de li'le bone out, but yo' gotta do all dat work at twelve o'clock at night. An' yo' find yo'self dere when yo' boilin' dat. WHILE BOILIN' DAT BONE DERE, YO'LL FIND YO'SELF FEEL FEAHIN' [FEARING]. WHUT AH MEAN BY MIS[TERIOUS? OR MIS- ERABLE?] YO'LL FEEL YO'SELF - YO'LL FEEL WARM. AH DON' CARE HOW COLD YO' BE. YO' KIN DO IT IN DE MIDDLE OF DE STREET, OR IN DE MIDDLE OF DE BANQUETTE [=SIDE- WALK IN NEW ORLEANS, LA.] OR IN DE YARD DERE; AN' IF IT BE COLD AS ICE, BUT YO'LL FIND A GREAT HEAT RIGHT AROUN' YO', BECUZ WE HAVE WHUT CHEW CALL THREE WITCHES DAT RUNNIN' IN DE AIR DERE. AN' IF YO' DEALIN' WIT DEM, WHY DEN IT COMES HEAT. DEY'LL BRING HELL FLAMES TUH DERESELF AN' TUH YO'. Yo' are dealin' wit dem.
(Oh, I see, you're dealing with three witches. Oh, all right.)
An' quite natchel, if ah'm dealin' wit chew, yo' have a right tuh go ovah dere an' see aftah me [see what I am doing]. An' yo' are wit me.
(I see.)
Now, maybe all three of 'em come tuhgethah. An' TUH GIT DEM [WITCHES], YO' GOTTA SET A SUPPAH, A DINNAH. YO' HAVE TUH MAKE A DINNAH, AN' DE DINNAH WHICH DEY EAT'LL BE A TURTLE HEART.
(A turtle heart.)
An' one thing again would be cel'ry whut chew eat aroun' - make salad.
(Celery?)
Yo'd git cel'ry. An' we have one thing, which de nex' would be, three grass- hoppahs. Yo'd have tuh put dose things in yuh mouth, dat is, tuh make de suppah; cuz yo' couldn't make de dinnah if yo' wouldn't do dat. An' in othah words, yo' hardly kin make de dinnah in de wintahtime. Yo' have tuh make it in de sumah, becuz we haven't much grasshoppahs who run in de wintah. Yo' undahstand?
(I understand.)
An' aftah dis suppah is made an' is started, yo' would fin' dem. Yo' would take a glass [mirror], but yo' - dat glass have tuh be bran' new, dat nobody nevah look intuh it.
(A looking-glass?)
Yes, sir. An' yo' could see dem lookin' intuh dere aftah yo' begin tuh eat. Yo' kin see three people but chew couldn't recognize yo'self, but chew dere. But chew cain't recognize yo'self, but chew see three people; but chew dere, but chew don't see yo'self. Yo' wouldn't count yo'self 'cuz yo' cain't see yo'self. But chew see three people dere, but one of dem dere is yo'. Den yo' see upset one person, den dat'll be de dragon. He look very proud, very nice-lookin' fel- lah, standin' right dere but den he's a destroying angel. Dat's de truth ah'm tellin' yo'. Den, aftah dat yo' won't see nuthin dere. Evahthin' disappeah from dis glass. Den yo' able den fo' tuh go on an' do anythin' whut chew wanta do. (I see. They'll call the witches. After that you use your power to do these things.) Why certainly.
(Well, what about using that bone? What do you do with that bone, now?)
Well, whichevah bone dat dey call de middle bone. Many people, if dey know whut de bone is, dey kin find ft, dat is, in de black cat, wit'out goin' tuh work an' takin' it an' usin' dem all; but some people by not knowin', dey'll have tuh use all of dem until dey git tuh de right one. But, de sense, if yo' know whut de right bone is, yo' kin go right tuh it an' git it. Maybe yo' might miss one, but yo'll git de nex' one an' dat'll be it. Undahstand? An' dat bone carries three fo'ks [forks]. Dat is, three j'ints tuh it. Whut ah mean by three j'ints, three rows, an' yo'll find between de edges of de bone, yo'll find three crosses. Dat's supposed tuh be main powah. An' yo' fin' dat dey use dat in more Mason lodge and Odd Fellahs, lotsa people do, tuh do dere work. [New Orleans, La., (861), 1374:7 to 1375:4.]
Entry 7212
[Two weeks after margin title RATTLESNAKE OIL received its typing for the printer's photographic process and had been followed by other material in final page form, I found the missing page mentioned in lines 24-26, page 3098, volume 4. Here it is:] (This is Tuesday, June 29, 1937, working in Charleston, beginning the morning's work, testing the machine. In case I lose these slips [of paper] in my note book [later called Numbers Book, a book numbering each informant and making a comment about him] written out by Doctor D. Giles, root doctor, Number 512. [Here] is his recipe for making rattlesnake oil. Calls [for a] bottle of mint lOc, witch hazel lOc, sassafras root lOc. That makes snake oil.) [As the reader can see, I am testing the stylus by repeating what Doctor Giles had said the day before just in case I lost the slip or slips of paper he had written out. He had not been the last informant of the preceding day.l Now, for [the bath or the anointing you] strip [take off clothing], put two [both] hands back of the head, [then] wash hands in [sassafras] root water [wash- ing] forwards [that is, away from you]. Turn over [hands and wash other side]. Get glass [a mirror] and hold hands before mirror, and [if] they get black, why you are all right [a spell has not been put on you]; if they don't [get black] why you are not [all right]. [This is merely one of many methods of diagnosis used by doctors; see DIAGNoSIS, Pp.165-217, especially MIRRoR, p.193 and the danger of looking into it.] [To end this rite] put glass [mirror] over hand and spell root, spell root three times - R-0-0-T. (Another root doctor says [not R-O-O-T but] M-0-N-Q-T-O-N-Y or it looks like monotony. Don't think I've ever heard it before. [After repeating the word three times] the little [hand mirror] answers, "I live [by the power of God or something similar].")
Entry 7234
Ah wus goin' wit a girl about six yeahs ago an' ah quit dis girl. An aftah ah quit dis girl, ah started goin' wit anothah girl. An' dis othah [first] girl got acquainted wit dis othah [second] girl. An' so she [first girl] got acquainted wit de girl ah wus goin' wit, dis othah [second] girl. Co'se [Of course] ah didn't tell 'er dat ah had evah been wit dis girl. An' so dis [first] girl had a party one Satiday night an' she got me dis girl dat ah didn't wan' 'er tuh know of. Quite natchel ah wen' tuh de party. So she had a Victrola, wusn't no radio den. In fac' [fact] she didn't [would- n't?] have one no way. An' she had a li'le whiskey fer de party dat night. An' so, all de while ah wus goin' wit 'er de ole Victrola, de spring 'ud [spring would] jump off sometimes an' ah used tuh fix it fer 'er, while ah wus goin' wit 'er. So she, aftah de music stopped, she tole dem dat ah could fix de Victrola. An' she'd [she had] taken de Victrola in de kitchen an' put it on de table. An ah went in dere an' see zactly [exactly] whut wus de mattah wit it an' fixed it. An' she put a pint of whiskey on de table up dere. Well AH DIDN'T PAY NO 'TEN- TION 'CUZ AH NEVAH DID BELIEVE IN DIS STUFF [HOODOO]. SO AH DRINK SOME OF DIS WHISKEY. MATTAH OF FACT AH'D TAKEN SEV'RAL DRINKS OF DIS WHISKEY. An' so, aftah ah got de Victrola completed an' evahbody got tuh dancin', an' den ah started takin' a couple a dances mahself. Well, when ah started takin' dese few dances mahself, ah got dizzy; got a li'le dizzy an' got a haidache an' got out mah haid some. An' de girl frien' ah wus goin' wit den, she'd taken me tuh 'er apartment. Aftah she'd taken me tuh 'er apartment, ah woke up nex' mawn- in' an' found mahself dere. So ah kinda come tuh mah haid a li'le bit. An' den she rent de cah [car] tuh take me home. So dey'd taken me home. An' when ah got home - ah don' remembah when ah got home or nuthin of de kin' lak dat. So 'bout nine o'clock Sunday mawnin', well ah started havin' fits, one right behin' de othah. So dey tell me, ah don' know anythin' about it. Ah fell unconscious den. So dey spent dat Sunday. DEY HAD ALL KINDA DOCTORS. DEY SPENT $74 ON ME DAT SUNDAY ON DIFF'REN' DOCTORS AN' NOBODY WOULD TAKE DE CASE. SOME DOCTORS WOULD COME IN AN' TREAT ME FER SOMPIN - DIABETES AN' DIFF'REN' THIN'S - AN' MAH REG'- LAH FAMILY DOCTOR, HE COULDN'T TAKE DE CASE. So he tole mah uncle an' evahbody dat he didn't know whut wus de mattah. It wus a case tuh 'im. So den ah stayed unconscious from dat Sunday mawnin' at nine o'clock until dat Monday night at half past eleven. Well a frien' of mine - didn't tell me - ah wus still unconscious, but he tole mah uncle. "WE DONE TRIED EVAHBODY ELSE CHERE [HERE], SUPPOSE WE TRY A HOODOO DOCTOR. IF HE DON' DO NO GOOD, WE JIS' WON' PAY 'IM. He [this doctor] run worms out mah mothah, but she [mother] said, "Ah know anothah good lady [but she is too far away], but anyway, by he bein' so bad off, we'll go up an' see dis one firs'." So dis fellah came in - so dey tell me, see ah wus still unconscious - said, "Yes, " S SAID AH WUS POISONED, AN' HE WOULD HAVE ME ON MAH FEET IN 45 MINUTES. Well, it wus about eleven-thirty den.
(In the morning or night?)
In de night. An' dis wus on a Monday night. Ah had been unconscious since Sunday mawnin' nine o'clock till ovah dat Monday night at eleven. SO HE COME IN AN' COMMENCES TUH WORKIN' ON ME. SAYS MY BOWELS WAS LOCKED AN' DIFF'REN' THIN'S. HE GIVE ME SOAP AN' BITTAH ALOES...
[I interrupt.]
(How did he give you the soap?)
He taken de soap an' he jis' mixed it up in a glass; yo' know, jis' watah enough tuh make de soap dissolve. Yo' know, Octagon soap, an' made somepin lak a pill outa it an' jis' held mah mouth an' rubbed mah throat - so dey tell me - until ah swallah dat. An' den dey give me bittah aloes an' dat unlocked mah bowels. AN' SOON AS IT UNLOCKED MAH BOWELS, AH COME TO. When ah cOme to, ah knows mahself. When ah wus on de party ah wusn't able tuh go tuh de bathroom. AN' [AFTER MY BOWELS MOVED] DEY SHOED ME A ANIMAL COME OUTA ME 'BOUT - AH GUESS ABOUT DAT LONG [DEMONSTRATES].
(As long as your little finger.)
YEAH AN IT LOOKED SOMEPIN LAK DE COLAH OF A ORANGE PEELIN', AN' IT RAN UP ON DE MEDICINE GLASS TRYIN' TUH GIT OUT. Ah [had] come tuh, den. Co'se ah wuS weak aplenty. Ah wus weak aplenty from havin' dose fits. Ah wusn't any good. De fact is, he tole me it would take aroun' a couple a yeahs tuh git so ah wus well ag'in. In fact it did. So ah commence tuh askin' question Who did it. HE'D TAKEN A NEWSPAPAH AN' PLACED IT IN A PAN OF WATAH AN' LET IT SET IN DIS PAN A WATAH SOMEWHEAH ROUN' ABOUT AH THINK - IT WUS NINE MINUTES AH THINK, AN' DIS WOMAN'S PICHURE COME ON DAT NECKED [NAKED] JIS' LAK SHE WORN NUTHIN ON 'ER - NECKED ABSOLUTELY.
(The woman that did this to you?)
Yeah. So he ast me did ah know dat woman. Ah say, "Yes." He say, "Well do yo' wan' tuh have her tuh come here an' confess tuh yo'?" DE PICHURE APPEAHED ON DE NEWSPAPAH RIGHT LAK DAT AN' HE TOLE ME TUH LOOK AT IT QUICK. AN' AH LOOKED AT. IT QUICK AN' AH RECOGNIZED IT AN' IT JIS' FADED AWAY AN' JIS' STAYED LAK DAT. [Before proceeding to the doctor's magic-mirror trick, let me pause in an attempt to explain his pan-of-water trick, the latter an excellent example of hydromancy. The doctor had brought in his usual medical kit a newspaper folded into folds about 3 inches wide; the top fold containing type only, the bottom fold also the picture of a scantily dressed woman. He then holds the newspaper several inches under the Water, type side up and picture side down. Patient is instructed to free his mind of all thought except the identity of the spellcaster soon to be revealed. Gaze at the water constantly without blinking. After a long period, as much as 9 minutes, the doctor begins to rotate the newspaper so that the picture suddenly appears and disappears. He tole me tuh look at it quick an' ah looked at it quick an' ah recognized it an' it faded away.] So he said, now ah'll have her tuh come here an' confess tuh yo' dat she did it, if yo' want me tuh. Ah tole him, ah said, "Yeah, ah'll be glad tuh." He'd taken a mirrah an' turn it bottom upwards; taken a mirrah an' turn de face up lak dat [demonstrates].
(The face of the mirror up.)
Lak dat. An' he said - ast me whut wus 'er name. An' ah tole 'im 'er name. Ast me whut wus mah name, an' ah tole him mah name. He wrote mah name at de top an' 'er name at de bottom.
(On this mirror?)
On a piece of papah an' placed it on topa dis mirrah. An' den he'd taken a clock an' turned it face down, almos' right on topa de mirrah, an' let dat stay dere fo' five minutes. An' he'd taken it up in fo' an' a half minutes, an' put it down fō' a few seconds, den picked it up. He tole me she would be dere in five minutes. Ah don' know where she wus. She wus away cross town, somewhere. But he tole me tuh watch out fer 'er, she would be dere in five minutes. Ah Wus wondahin' how she goin' tuh git dere. She lived on Marshall Avenue 'bout fō' or five blocks from dere. Well in fō' an' a half minutes from de clock she wus dere. She come up on - man had a automobile, a taxi. Ah don' know whethah she wus on 'er way dere or whut, but in fō' an' a half minutes she wus dere. She tole me dat she did it an' she wus sorry. She says she didn't do it 'erself, said she got somebody else tuh do it, an' tole me his name an' evahthin'. (Do you know what they put in the whiskey to hurt you that Way? What she put into the whiskey?) Yes, dis fellah had taken two grains of snake dust an' put in de whiskey. But dat wasn't did dat Satiday night. Had it been did dat Satiday night, it wouldn't a worked so fast, see. She had did it somewhere roun' about three months agO, an' DAT LIVE ANIMAL HAD BEEN PERFORMED FROM DAT SNAKE DUST. An' den ah had been away from 'er fō' fō' or five months, an' had been goin' wit anothah girl an' had passed 'er up. Well dis girl wus teachin' school. Well ah wouldn't let dis girl know dat ah had evah been wit 'er, cuz ah thought dere would be a lot a jealouSy dere. WELL, WHEN AH WENT BACK DAT NIGHT, DEY STIRRED IT UP, YO' SEE, AN' DAT MADE DIS LIVE ANIMAL LOCK MAH BOWELS. AN' IT HAD TUH PASS THROUGH OR ELSE AH'D A LIVED SO MANY HOURS HAVIN' DOSE FITS AN' DIED.
Entry 7655
Ah hear 'em say dat dey takes some graveyard dirt, if yo' have any man in yore community an' yo' wanted tuh move 'em. Yo' take an' yo' go tuh a sinnah man's grave an' git some of de dirt from right off on 'is left side of 'is heart. Jis' go right down in de grave till yo reach clay, an' take it out, an' take dat clay an' mix it up wit some sulphur an' magic sand.
(Magic sand?) [A hoodoo store product.]
Yessuh, magic san'. An' some dragon blood an' brimstone, an' mix all dat tuh- gethah. An' go in dat house wit'out anybody knowin' dat chew in dere, an' sprin- kle it when all de folk gone from de house. See, in de rooms, an' walk out wit'- out nobody knowin' yo' dere. Yo' know dat chew in dere an' make yore wishes. An' dey say dat dey'll have tuh go 'way from dere. Fayetteville, N. Car.,
(1420), 2560:1.]
Entry 8779
Jis' lak if yer girl is away an' she's in de same town yo're in; but if she's outa de town, why ah don't know way [whether] it'll work or not. But yuh kin jis' take a glass of watah. Yo' puts de glass full of watah, jis' as full as yuh kin tote [carry] it, an' set it undah de baid, middle-way de baid, in de centah of de baid, an' call 'uh [her] name three times; an' in three days dey'll be dey [there].
Entry 8939
If yo' got any way of leaving your friends, if yo' got a idea of that, of somebody goin' to come there an' trouble yo', yo' understand. Yo' know, all yo' have to do, use this here steel dust and this cinnamon an' sugar. That will sweeten up the place there and they will change their mind. Yo' see, yo' takes a bottle of vinegar and the apartment have - probably may two or three windows into the apartment where you at. Well, yo' take this fresh bottle of vinegar - yo' could get a nickeZ[!] bottle of vinegar - an' yo' put it in a dif- ferent bottle [bottles numbering] just how many windows or doors that you got. Yo' take your cinnamon an' this steel dust an' yo' put down in there [bottles] an' sugar. Put it [bottle] down beneath any window or any door, where they could enter into the building. Just put that there. Every time they get there, their mind is upsetted - changed.
(Do you mix this stuff with the vinegar or use the vinegar alone?)
The vinegar and this here steel dust and this [cinnamon and sugar].
(What do you use the vinegar for?)
The vinegar, that's the strength - to strengthen, to sour it.
(Oh! To strengthen it.)
And sour it. Yo' see, that's to sour that - just like that sugah, that sugah sweetenin' that vinegar. Yo' see? Then yo' take lemons, such as lemon juice, an' squeeze it down in there. Well, yo' put it at all the windows in any little bit of bottle - small little bottle - an' just shake it. An' yo' put it in dere. Well, anywhere round that building they come at, that sugar an' sweetening. When they get there, they'll say, "Oh, well, I'll delay that for another day."
(They won't take anything from there? Won't steal anything from there?)
No, never would take nuthin.
Entry 9467
An' den, dey says, yo' kin take some table salt an' put it in a piece of new homespun. An' yo' kin put - open up yore mattress an' put it right in de centah of yore mattress. An' sew dat mat- tress back up on it an' let 'im lay on dat salt bag. Say. An' yo' talk tuh dat salt fo' nine mawnin's an tell it whut chew wan' it tuh do. Jis' PAT IT [new-homespun bag containing salt] an' den make a cross-mahk across it, yo' see. An' dey says he'll always stick tuh yo' lak dat.
(You just tell that salt anything you want done with that man?)
Wit dat'man. Make a cross-mahk across it. (You only talk to that salt while you are putting it in there, you don't talk to it each morning?) Yo' talk tuh it each mawnin', yo' make a cross-mahk each mawnin'. [This may be the only patting rite in H00DOO.]
Entry 9526
Den dere's anothah thing, if yo' wanta run a person off. Yo' kin take [get] table salt an' jes' throw it roun' in yore room fo' nine mawnin's. Put a li'le in de toe of dey shoe an' shake it down [into the toes] an' turn dat shoe down, one down at de foot - one of his shoes down at de foot [of the bed] aftah he's gone tuh baid. Yo' kin take dat shoe an' turn It down at de foot [of the bed] an' carry one [shoe] tuh de haid [of bed] tuh dat Odah off [opposite] post. Jes' lak de baid has fo' cornahs, lay one [shoe] down at dis cornah an' de othah one [shoe] down at de othah cornah, jes' lak dat [dem- estrates by pointing to bed in interviewing room].
(What will that do?)
Well, dat will run a man on away from yo'.
(That is to get rid of the man?)
Yes sir. (You put the other shoe catercorner from the other one, and you [also] put t salt around the room.) [This magic-of-the-diagonal rite is also known in New Orleans by laying a broom catercorner under the bed - see v.1, p.674, No.2425.] Yo' put jes' a least bit of salt roun' in yore room, jes' put a li'le bit in his shoes an' shake it down tuh de toe where he won' detect it when he go tuh put it on.
(That is to get rid of him?)
Git rid of him.
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 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 10179
Yo' couldn't zakly [exactly] make de candle go out, but chew could fix it so it wouldn't do yo' no harm. (How would you do that?) Git chew some red peppah, saltpeter, tie it up in a rag an' a li'l piece of root dey call John de Conkah root, an' yo' weah dat in yuh pocket. An' dey couldn't hurt yo' no way.
Entry 10467
Witch gets out of skin. "Two witches witchcraftin' to- gether, riding people. When they go out the skin, they put on a shroud-like somepin with wings hangin' down. I'll say, Through de keyhole; you'll say Right after you etc."
Entry 10702
Well, yo' would turn to Psalms. Yo' read dat. Yo' read de six: By St. Peter, by St. Paul, by de God who made us all, if (whomsomevah it is, yo' call dem by dere name) is got sech an' sech a thing, why Bible let me know by wheelin' an' fall. Well, if dey got it, dat Bible will wheel an' fall. Whosomevah wus in de house, yo' follow de names around till yo' git to de right one.
Entry 10971
(What would you use that egg for?) Yo' fast all day on Thursday to turn [improve] yore mem- ory, dat chew will git de right understanding. You fast de entire day. And den you boil dat aig and remove de shell. After you remove de shell, den you write de 4th and 8th verse, I think it is, [of Psalm lO4] on dis aig. Anyhow you write as much as about ten or twelve verses on dis aig, and put de egg in yo' mouth whole, and dat will turn yore mem- ory, will help you to keep your memory and get some [knowledge] of things which you wanta do. Dat's one thing egg will do. Dat's de only thing I know about de egg, but chew must put de whole egg in de mouth, when you have wrote dis on dis egg: Remove de shell and write dis on dere. De egg must not be broken.
(What do you write that with?)
Ink. Dere's nothing else will write on it but ink, on a boiled egg.
(And what verses of what?)
De 104th Psalm.
Entry 11296
You wanta man stay away from your house, sompin like dat, why you git a hair from one dese man [male] dogs. See. And jest - I'm making reference [giving an illustration] now - jest like you wants a man, you figure dat a man worryin' you, wit you and your family. Why you'd git some hair from a dog. You git it right off de - you know where his tether at, you git some hair right from de end of dat. All right, you git dat hair and you take a knife and you cut it up, cut it up fine. All right, after you cut dat hair up fine you carry it and you put it to dis.fellah door, right under de step. See, and bury it about three or four inches. See. After you bury it about three or four inches, you walk away from de house about ten steps. After walking away from de house about ten steps all right, you walk backward about five steps - backwards. See. You walk five steps backwards. All right, don't walk de way you walked de first time, dose ten feet. [Walk backwards at an angle.] All right, after you walk backward now, gotta walk side- Ways about 20 feet - sideways. And then you keep on about chure business and go on home. That'll keep him away from your house. See, he'll never come back. [Those preceding words hair right from de end of dat I understood at the time but failed to annotate their meaning to the cylinder. They could signify the end of the rope and hair from around the male dog's neck. These hairs then would have tied the victim down to his own home, kept him away. If so, surely the hairs would not have been cut up. Or would they? I still think these are phallic dog hairs cut up and buried at the victim's door. That leaving, the steps forwards, walking backwards at an angle, and finally sideways at a right angle, is my only example in HOODOO, though there are many examples of magic walking away.]
Entry 12403
To do that choo know they have to have some kind of powder, have a magic powder see. And when they scrub the doorsills every man who pass by till [it will] take notice. It brings men, see, but they have to have a sign, like some woman sent to the window or somepin of that sort, an' they pass by you wink or smile.
Entry 12754
Ah heard dat chew could [take] a raven's aig. Go find his nest an' take de aigs outs his nest an' boil 'em. Say, cook 'em, an' return 'em back to dat nest, an' dat raven would go somevhere an' git a stone, an' bring it back an' jes' put it in dat nest. Den yo' go dere an' git dat stone, an' yo' have all de luck yo' wanta fo' anything. [This egg-substitution rite in various forms is told about different birds in HOODOO.]
Entry 12779
Ah heard you could take - get some kind of oil and stuff and use like that, and then, if anybody [in the game] had any wager in dere against you, or you was playing against wager or somepin like dat, why you could take dat. Take a frog - use a toadfrog and carry 'em in dere, and take that salt and pepper and sprinkle it.... [Here I turned off machine but decided to continue.]
(How do you...)
[You are having bad luck because someone:]
Done went to somewhere and got somepin stronger than what you got dere - Luck.
(What do you do with that frog?)
You put him in your pocket.
(I see. And what about the salt and pepper?)
You take that salt and pepper and sprinkle it around in your house where you playing at.
(I see. That's to break up that wager.)
Wager that luck against you.
(That weight [luck] against you.)
Entry 13218
Dat's done dis Way. Say, fo' ninstan' now, dat a spirit is worryin yo', maybe yo' done perhaps kill somebody maybe yeahs ago, an' dey spirit keep worryin' yo'. Yo' go to a small stream where it's a bridge an' yo' git a lighter [fat-lighter stick] an' peg, an' drive it down at chure left toe, den yo' walk backwards cross dat stream an' drive an- othah peg down at chure right toe, an' yo' tie dat spirit betwixt dere - cross de water an' dey won' follow yo' no mo'. (What do you mean you tie it across the water?) Well, yo' see, when yo' drive de peg down, an' yo' call de person's name three times, den yo' know he's wit chew, dat de spirit is. Den when yo walk backwards, cross de bridge, he still following yo' in front, but when yo' stoop down an' drive anothah peg at chure toe, yo've got him. In othah words, dat's whut chew might call dat chew bury de spirits. [As I say in margin title, our doctor here is a law unto himself, since a spirit cannot cross running water; but here doctor pegs sprit across running water so that his client can return to his own side of the stream. Nice Work!]
Entry 13233
They take a shoe - the bottom [insole] out of your shoe - and they can put some steel dust in there, you see. Steel dust! And you walk on it, you see. Well, that steel dust in there, you see, that's to swell your foot up. You see. (You put this in the bottom of the shoe, you say?) Right in the bottom of the sole of your shoe, you see, and you walks on it, you understand, when you get that.
(If they put that steel dust in your shoe, then you would see that?)
No, some of 'em could put it - you see that piece what goes in the bottom of the shoe, that leather rag, they puts it under the leather [insole]. See.
(I see.)
Entry 13455
An' if ah have a enemy that's botherin' me, ah supposed tuh git - yo' know somebody coml' tuh me an' jis' botherin' me all de time an' ah wanted tuh run 'em away. Ah kin run 'em at twelve a'clock in de night. Ah'd buy me a jug of wine an' put a dime jar of mustard in a jug of vine, an' po' that jug of wine right at de hour of twelve a'clock right at de do'step, but be sho' [sure] not tuh let de wine, tetch me. [There are numberous varnings in HOODOO by professional workers not to let any of the in- gredients used touch you.]