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.
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.]
Entry 680
Dat's whut yo' also buy from one of dose order houses, yo' see. It's supposed tuh put whut chew might call tricks on a person. Dat's supposed to be, aftah yo' obtain it, put it in de mattress of a person where dat dey have tuh sleep on, an yo' supposed to jis' go away - jis' pine away.
Entry 763
Jes' like somebody got more den yo' and dey bigity wit cha and yo' want make dem git pore like yo'... yo' go to a fork of de road fore daylight and sit slap down on de ground jes' with yere foots streched out, an' call his name three times and drag cross dat road to de east - from de west to de east. Go, jes drag with yore hands and say, "I want chew to be" - jes' call dey name - "I want chew to be jis' like dis, ' and drag from de north to the south [thus dragging a cross] and git up and walk off and don't say nuthin'. But you got'a do dat fore day in de mawnin' do' [though]. They say you do it fer three time and dey say, jes' watch 'em and they goin' git that-a-way - goin' git raggety patchy and goin' git down jes' like you did.
Entry 798
People that puts spells on people, they claim they're born that way - they know these things anyway.
Entry 800
I'm a witchcraft doctor. I studied witchcraft. [He is the only person ever to admit being a witchcraft doctor.] (Will you talk a little bit louder.) [See Introduction about difficulties of recording.] I studied fer witchcraft - different things, you know, and I doctor disease and do different kind of tricks, you know. Course, now, I don't know everything, but I know some. That right? See, I'm a doctor - ought to know somethin'. Is that right?
(Well, you can start ahead and tell me anything you want to tell me.)
Anything you don't know about or understand - anything in particular you don't know, I may be able to explain it to you as far as I know, according to my know- ledge. Course now, I studied over hundred diff'rent things - all kind of magic, courtship, you see, this hoodoo work and all that, lawsuits and so on. [Norfolk, Va., (?), 450: l; my note reading Doctor Harvey - ran out on me. How, I no longer remember - probably excused himself and did not return.]
Entry 961
Yo' know, lotsa people works from de signs, diff'rent signs, 'cause dey bo'n undah diff'rent stars yo' see. Yo' have tuh work undah yore star an' ah have tuh work undah mah star, an' jes' befo' day in de mawnin' is de best time tuh do mos' any big signs dat chew wanta do. Git up soon in de mawnin' befo' de day, at de break of day, an' yo'll do yore works whut chew wanta work.
Entry 1013
If one of these cunjures or hoodoo persons puts a spell on you, the only thing you can do is to cut a wild grapevine and make a walking cane of it and then beat them with it. By this time you beat all the cunjure out of them.
Entry 1404
I know one thing - you wear a acorn on a string around the neck beneath the shirt and that will keep spells away.
Entry 1627
Ah heard that if anybody has any witchcraft buried around yore home or anything of that kind, that chew kin take chanberline chamber lye an' throw it out there each morning to de front an' back steps or either yo' kin take fo' cans of Red Devil Lye an' put it to each post of yore house [many small houses in the lowlands rest aboveground on four posts] - dat will eat it all up.
(Do they throw that chamber lye there every morning?)
Yes.
(And they just put these four cans of lye one in each corner of the house.)
Red Devil Lye.
Entry 1897
Yo' kin take a frog an' go to a show or somepin lak dat where they has these magic things, yo' understand. Well now, dat cause all dat magic - dat settle in yore eyes an' yo' kin see whut tricks dey doin' an' all lak dat.
Entry 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 2735
(They burn the candles in New Orleans and along the coast here. [I am repeating informant's words.] Do they do it in any other part of the country?) [I had not yet visited New Orleans.] No sir, it's more - it's founded on de Catholic super- stition. De Catholic Church burns a [good] deal of candles. (Then you think this candle burning is confined more or less to the colored people, who are more or less under the influence of the Catholic Church?) Yes sir. It's teaching dem because of dere religious ideas to my mind. On the other hand, of course, dey go off away from de teaching [of the Catholic Church] certainly. We understand dat de candles represent something in the life of Christ possibly, and among the praying [true believers] they use [them] in that way entirely: But the more illiterate and superstitious class of people aroun' New Orleans an' along de coast - along de Gulf of Mexico - where Spanish descent and French descent are Catholic people, their religious ideas influence that class of colored people and sometimes white people. They believe in candles an' people - de hoodoos dey use dat superstitious idea. They have a candle that they have manufactured in all colors - yo' kin git dem in all colors and dey usually have 'em in a room. [He describes altar but recording bad. For infor- mant's other contribution to this subject, see No. 427, p.128.]
Entry 2737
(What have you heard about them, the Seven Sisters?) Well, ah heard dey wus awful brainful, but ah don't think so much of 'em mahself.
(Are they still alive?)
One of them.
(They seem to live a long time - those Seven Sisters?)
Yessuh. (Well, what do they say about them? Just give me a little account of the Seven Sisters. What have you heard about them?) Well, dey tells me dat de Seven Sisters kin read yore mind; dey kin do any kind of hoodooism dat kin be did. An' co'se, de Seven Sisters works most by prayers an' in terms of de Bible. There are things dat chew kin take yore Bible an' where dat de Seven Sisters couldn't give yo' a substantial answer about, even so myself. [Extract from later subsection, interview with Havana Man, New Orleans, La., No. 1564.]
Entry 3072
(What courthouse is this? Where is this courthouse?)
Down on Main Street by Broad.
(And what do you see? What's in there?)
While de court's goin' on, you kin see buzzards - you know what you call buz- zards, and sparrows and things, flying in and out de courthouse. Dat's de roots working. And anybody tell you dat's de truth. Dat's de way de' do dere work, see - dem things flying. Dat's why de' call dat fellah I was telling you about Doctor Buzzard. Dey tell me he kin fix buzzards so he make them row a boat. Dat's de kind of fellah - he's smart enough to do dat. [For snake flying through air, see 248, p.70.]
Entry 6765
If yo' is sick, if somebody put a bad spell on yo', why yo'll have funy feelin's. Dat spell will stay on yo', dat funny feelin' will stay in yo' all de time. If yo' sick [have an ordinary sickness], dat pain will go an' come. But if somebody put a spell on yo', dat spell keep aworkin' on yo', keep aworkin' on yo' all de time, till yo' goes tuh somebody tuh take dat spell offa yo'. [Diagnosis to determine obether the patient has an ordinary illness or has been hurt or witchcrafted, is an important matter in the practice of hoodoo curing. See v.l, pp.165-217 for examples.]
Entry 10006
Yeah, yo' kin take a rough-back toadyfrog. Yo' kin take him an' he kin stop any kinda what chuh may call magic trick. He kin stop any magic trick regardless of what or what-not. Dat's providin' de people don't know dat yuh got it [live frog]. If dey know yuh got 'im, dey can't do nuthin. Yo' see, a man took one of 'em once here in de city [charleston]. Dere was a big show up dere on de Green an' he took one in dere an' dey put 'im out! Absolutely! Dey cer- tainly did, put 'im out! [He] put 'im [frog] right in 'is co't pocket, pinned 'em down, an' walk on in de show. An' immediately aftah he walk in de show, evah thing become plain - what dey doin', see. All de magic was cut out. Evah thing come right plain. An' dey walk right tuh 'im immediately an' put 'im out - put 'im out de show. Dey knew it jes' as good as a book.
Entry 10008
Take a toadfrog an' keep 'im roun' dere [your home]. Ketch 'im tuh yuh house. It's good luck. An' yo' carries a lotta trash wit 'im. Yo' kin take dis frog an' keep 'im in yuh house an' fasten 'im roun' anywhere roun', an' dere people doin' dis magic - pitchures, dat chew cain't see - yo' take dis frog an' put 'im in yuh pocket, if yo' goin' tuh de show or circus anywhere. An' dis frog, evah thin' dey showin' dere'll come natchal - whut it is. Look lak a bat totin' a sawmill log. If yo' have dis frog in yuh pocket it'll show up dere jis' a bat flyin' roun' wit a straw all hitched tuh 'is feet.
Entry 10518
Dey say ef yo' want de devil tuh...but chew have to go to de forks of de road jes' de same...at night an' set there an' he'll come an' learn you any me yo' wanta know.
Entry 12464
In case - accordin' tuh whut kinda case it is. If somebody is trying cuh take de advantage of yo' an' dey should have done dey [work] again' yo' in de daytime, yo' have tuh do yore work ahead of daytime. If yo' don't, yo' can't cut 'em off. Well, yo'd have tuh do it all befo' de sunrise in most any case - it would have tuh be done. Well, now, fo' an instance, if somebody had put sompin heah tuh keep yo' from comin' heah. Well, now, if yo' put it in aftah sunrise yo'd have tuh do yorn ahead of sunrise. Yo' could maybe move dat an' yo' could come heah an' stay, but yo'd have tuh do whatsomevah yo' goin' do or whatsomevah it take tuh move de case. Be ahead of sunrise. If yo' didn't - if de sun evah risen on his'n why yorn wouldn't work. De sunlight work it. Now ah've got de 6th an' 7th Book of Moses at de house an' dere's a whole lots of things in dere dat ah really don't understand!
Entry 8
[I have four stories about the celebrated Zippy Tull of the Eastern Shore, each told by different informant. The following story, all the material he gave me, came from my hotel manager at Princess Anne, the only white informant in this book. The latter alone makes him memorable in my life, but a favor he also did later made the day doubly a worthy memory. See Zippy Tull in the Index.] This was I would imagine about sixty-five or seventy years ago [before 1936]. This lady [a white woman] was a relative [great-aunt] of mine, [the informant is a white man], she was living in Wicomico County at a little country place by the name of Siloam, Maryland - Wicomico County. She Was going With a young man living in that same neighborhood and they were engaged to be married. There was another girl that this same gentleman was [had been] going with, which of course I can't [do not.care to] call his name, but he was [had been] going with these two girls and they were very much in love with this one particular man. And in order to get the advantage of the [engaged] girl - her name was a Miss B., she [the other girl] tried to find some way to get rid of Miss B., and in doing so, the only way she knew how would be to fix some way to put a spell on her. She had lady friends of course was stopping with Miss B., and also with her, so she got one of these ladies to secure a lock of her hair. And in doing that, Miss B., of course, didn't know that she Was securing this lock of hair. It run on for a little while and she was taken sick. In other words, it was more like her mind - her mind got to be very, very bad, very bad. She consulted doctors frequently but nobody could seem to do her any good. She gradually grow worser in her condition. Of course, the gentleman friend that she had, wasn't paying so much attention to her while her being sick. He figured that wouldn't be the woman for him. He was paying more attention to this other young lady, number two I would call her. But in doing that, this lady tried round different physicians. Finally she couldn't get any relief, she went to see an old [colored] lady by the name of Zippy Tull. She was known for several counties as being a great fortune teller. She could remove spells, as we now call them, from different people; she could put 'em on someone else, if necessary. She consulted Zippy Tull and, in doing that, she [Zippy Tull] told her her troubles, told her what Was causing these troubles. She said, "Well, can I get cured?" She said, "Yes, I can cure you. I can also put this same thing on the one that put it on you." She said, "No, I don't want to do that, I would just love to get well. If I can get well, I feel that that would be the biggest thing in life." "But," she said, "I can tell you how to get well. If you go to the graveyard, your family graveyard, beside your brother that's now dead, there you will find a lock of your hair burried [buried] in the ground with a brick on top of it; there you will find a cord wrapped around a lock of your hair, and just: so.long as that lock of hair stays there, this will gradually work on you; there you'll find a cord which binds that hair perfectly tight. Now, when you go to that grave, don't go until this hour is over - between this hour of twelve and one o'clock at night, and her spirit won't be there or any of her spirits will be there to protect it. You go there at that time. There you dig'in the ground at a certain spot [next to her brother's grave]. You'll find this brick, and under there you look and you'll find a lock of hair just as I have told joo, and you bring it to me. Don't chew tell anyone tha' chew found it, don't tell any of your people tha' chew found it, but bring it back to Zippy Tull and I'll tell you what to do with it." Of course, she was like most people, she felt that anything she could do, you know, to bring her health back to her - she was rejoicing in the fact, if it would do it. But she waited until next morning and she went back to see Aunt Zippy Tull. And when she got there Aunt Zippy said to her, she said, "Well," she said, "you found just what you're looking for?" She said, "Yes, I found it. It was there." She said, "Would joo say that's a lock of your hair?" She said, "Well, it's the same colah and looks like the same hair." She said, "How did joo find it?" "I found it with a little piece of cord wrapped around that hair." "And that cord around the hair, it must be causing you all this trouble, your headaches and your pains; and just so long as that string, cord, was wrapped round that hair, you would have never gotten any better, you would have gradually grown worse. Now then, if you want, I can put the same spell back on the person, which of course you know who it is. I can put it back on them; or, to get rid of your trouble, you must do away with this hair. But chew must first remove that string." And Aunt Zippy Tull - that's how she was known, they all called her Aunt Zippy - she said, "You take this hair and you destroy it by burning it up. And don't let anybody ever have any of your hair, because this same woman will be trying to do the same thing again." This woman, after doing this, she gradually got better. She got well, made a strong healthy woman, and lived to be a quite old age. I would positively say she was around seventy or seventy-five years old when she died. This was the age of about twenty-three-or-four years old when this spell was first put on this woman. Naturally, I know it from actual knowledge. It had been handed down right in the family and we knew this to be a positive fact. This is not a heresay or somebody telling you about it, it's really positive, it's absolutely true. The woman had practically gone crazy and lost her mind. The woman just pulled her hair right out of her head. But her life, it would have been a blank. She went on through life. I don't know her married life of course, I don't know whether that would be necessary now in this particular case or not, but I know this thing Was put on by this woman and was taken off by Aunt Zippy Tull which [who] in those days were looked upon as a great witchcraft and fortune-teller. I would imagine she [Zippy] died between the age of - it's been thirty to forty years ago [before 1936]. But, she was known all over these four counties [Somerset (where we then were), Wicomico, Dorchester and Worcester]. She lived around Siloam; her home was Wicomico County.
Entry 753
Yo' kin go out to de fo'ks of de road an' if yo' got anything tuh use, why yo' kin turn either way - dis fo'k of de road run dat-a-way and de othah fo'k go dat-a-way. Yo' turn each fo'k an' throw fo' whosomevah yo' got backwards. Go ahead an' tell de Lord dat he go.
(What would you throw down in that road backwards? What would you throw?)
Well, ah had a fellah heah some yeahs ago dat ah went tuh when ah first got dis stroke, an' he said dat somebody had fixed me dat way - dat had some aigs, and he tole me tuh git nine aigs. Ever' night roun' midnight ah was tuh take mah car an' go down to dat fo'k of de road an' turn backwards an' throw one of de aigs 'ginst it, an' say to de Lord aftah ah throw de aig, "He's [You're] able tuh do all things," an' throw de aig away.
(Do you throw that down in both forks of the road?)
Yeah, but not de same night. Yo' got'a ketch all fo' of de fo'ks, yo' see, at diff'rent nights de same hour.
(Suppose you tell me the whole story of how it happened to you - it began.)
Well, some yeahs ago ah used tuh be with a woman sometime an' ah got married agin - ah didn't marry her. An' she got mad at me an' she wanta hurt me. So she went to a man up heah an' ask him tuh kill me. Dis man came [to my] home an' he gave some medicine tuh rub me. Ah got up outa de bed an' took hol' him an' said, "Captain, yo' cain't kill me - yo' cain't kill me." So he went away an' tole de woman dat he couldn't do anything to me. She went den - paid a transfer - paid seven dollars tuh go tuh Beaufort [South Carolina] - ovah heah to dis man, an' de man all he done was dis - fes' take [the use of] dis han' away. Ah don't know whut he did now, but he's a fellah - whatsomevah he did [in Beaufort] it come ovah heah [to Sumter - ninety-nine miles by crow-flight]. De woman, she sent me five dollahs by another fellah an' prob'bly dat might be how de way dey do it, too - when ah took de money put dis fellah han', dat might cause dis han' tuh git 'flicted.
(What happened to your hand?)
It kinda lak a stroke - paralyzed - de left hand.
(What did you do then? Tell me the whole story of what you have done.)
Well, ah begin workin' on mahself then. Ah went to a woman ovah heah - little burg, Holly Hill, near Columbia. An' aftah ah gotten dere, dis woman says to me, says - after she look ovah her cards, she says, "A woman hurt chew - she's got yo' so dat chew can't make an intercourse wit chure wife." So she tole me, says, ah must go back home an' take a aig - de white of an aig ev'ry mawning in a tea- spoonful of whiskey. Ah did that. Well, ah found that come straight. Then she work on me till she dies and after de death of her then ah had to went to anothah man. So ah went to anothah fellah back ovah heah an' he tole me 'bout dem nine aigs.
(What did he say to do? Tell me the whole story?)
He said tuh git mah nerves back in dis han's, ah'd have to carry those aigs back ovah there each night - nine nights he said. Aftah ah'd work them fo' fo'k [crossroad] ovah there, ah had tuh hunt anothah fo'k - fo' nine nights. Aftah ah'd pitch de aig yo' see, an' turn backward an' say, "Nuthin' could [can] ovah- power God," and throw de aig backwards in dat road, an' come back de next night an' throw it dat-a-way, an' come back de nex' night an' throw it dat-a-way, an' come back de nex' night an', when ah git through wit dat, ah'd hunt anothah fo'k till ah work up tuh nine aigs.
(What happened then?)
Well, ah got 'long purtty good. Ah kin use de han' where ah couldn't use it 'tall. Ah couldn't pick up nuthin' in dis han' but ah kin pick up dis penny [demonstrates] - ah kin plow wit dis han' an' shovel wit mah han' all right now - purtty good.
The informant recounts a paralysis experience and later instructions involving nine eggs thrown backwards at road forks around midnight, rotating forks across nights with spoken religious formulas. The account includes unknown cause, other treatment and reported improvement; it does not establish the eggs as a medical cause of recovery. Quoted voices and Hyatt's corrections remain distinct.
Entry 827
Aftah de sun have rose in de heaven - uh-huh, dat pink. Now, mind chew, dat pink in de day an' de green at night.
(You always burn the green candle after the sun has gone down.) Aftah de sun is down. (What do vou use green candles for?)
Tuh make de green-eye monster lay wake de hours at night - tuh make him come, yo'see. Dat'll keep him upsetted, worried thinkin' about chew. He will come. Ah've tried dat. Ah had a book from Marie Laveau - dat wus known de bes' hoodoo had evah been in dis State.
(She wrote a book?)
Yeah, ah have her book.
(What is the name of it?)
Marie Laveau - dat's de name on de book.
(Just Marie Laveau?)
Yeah.
[Marie Laveau did not write a book]
(What does it tell you in the book - what about?)
Well, it tell yo' 'bout hoodooism - how tuh make yore man come back; whut tuh make him do.
(Where do you buy those books?)
Well, a fellah died an' ah don' know where he bought this one but he brought it tuh me. He paid $3.50 fo' de book 'cause ah gave him de money an' he brought me de receipt back an' dat book cost $3.50.
[After informant departed I comment as follows:]
(This woman that was just in here is supposed to be very good but I think she Was rather lost without her book. A finch woman.) [The first Marie Laveau of New Orleans died June 24, 1881, at the approximate age of eighty-five. She may or may not have been buried in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. There Was a succeeding Marie Laveau, her daughter, and probably others unremembered. This has always been a common practice, to assume the name of a well-known predecessor - for example, see Dr. Buzzard and Madam Helen in Index.]
Entry 2336
Lak a thunderbolt hit a tree, it blazes all de way down an' goes down to de ground. Dey take dat tree fo' trickeration - fo' trickin' people, an' giv 'em ramblin' min's - spells lak.
(What does a thunderbolt look like?)
A thunderbolt looks lak a flintrock - it's kinda shaped lak a Indian [arrowhead], lak a glaze rock. Yo' see a glaze rock. (An Indian rock?) Yeah, it's made somepin lak dat. [For another description, see p.214.] (What could you do with one of those thunderbolts? What are they good for - anything?) Use graveyard dust. Tie it up in a little bag. Sew it up with luck oil an incense, an' that'll be very lucky fo' de house fo' gamblin'.
Entry 2742
It's a gift - ah been doin' it all mah life. (This woman [an author] says that down there when a doctor of this type has any disciples or anybody he is teaching - when they are initiated - Do they have some sort of initiation ceremony? Or something like that?) Yeah, they have that shore. (Do you know anything about what they do?) Well, ah tell yo'. Now we have - ah have had a school right to here. People say they are gifted - they got a gift. Well, ah'll try 'em to see if dey kin see it - to see if they know anything. Well, if ah see the same thing they say they see, den ah know they have a gift. Well, den ah'll go on a'develop 'em. I'll even show 'em articles in de Bible to read to git dereself in dat position. [See my biblical comment p.361.] Yo' see, then after they study that and they know it fluently - and den ah write down to de Temple an' git a diploma an' give 'em, see. Den dey kin go about an' use de Temple's name.
(Where is this Temple by the way?)
St. John's Temple. That's what we call a great hoodoo place. You will find that when you go down there. You jest ask anybody and they say it's one of the largest places there of its kind.
(They teach there? Is it a church or what?)
Yeah, it's like a church and dey have a lot of understudies and they heal there. They do everything. An' people go dere. They have more white than they do colored. (Did you ever hear that in these initiations they have a altar and burn can- dles and that sort of thing?) Oh yes, I have the same thing. Ah have it now at mah place.
(Sort of an altar?)
Yeah, ah have a altar wit saints and candles and oils and different things.
(If I came around to see you, would you let me see them?)
Sure ah let chew see - sure. You come around and yo' kin see it any time. Ah'm dere every day but Sunday.
(Do you have a special room or something of that sort?)
I have a whole basement downstairs - whole basement wit all mah business in it. Ah have one at de church too. You kin come to mah church sometime and you will see how ah perform.
(Yes, where is your church?)
Things ah knows from mah own experience.
[He conveniently missed my question. I do not repeat it.]
(All right suppose you tell me one of those.)
Dey take your photograph and dey turn it upside down and take a pink light and burn it to it fer nine nights and nine days, and dat will worry your mind. Maybe dis woman or somepin dat love you - it would cause your mind to keep coming on her all de time. Yes, she can. Dis woman she takes his name and she write his name nine times, she write her name nine times across this. And then she takes a pink light and she turns this light on top of this piece of paper. When de drippings of dis candle covers this full name then he will be back. Well, you would take St. Anthony. You would take St. Anthony and you would take three lights which would be a green one, a black one and a yellow one, and you would burn this light every night and every morning until these lights burn down completely. That would relieve you or your mind.
(If someone was trying to harm me. Well, what do you do about St. Anthony?)
St. Anthony, dat's a saint. Why you take him and burn dese three lights to him and ask him to....
(Oh, you have a picture of him?)
Oh, yeah, a picture of dis saint. You take St. Peter. St. Peter is a saint that is used fo' all thieves. Yo' take a brass key and you put dis key in de Bible and then you call names. Any- body that lives in dis house and yo' suspicion that anyone in this house did dis crime. Yo' call dere name and de Bible will tell you. It will turn on de one dat stole these things when you call de name, de Bible will turn an' fall.
(Well, what do you do with that St. Peter?)
St. Peter is on a picture. You only stand him and light a light, jest a white candle, and then use dis big brass key which is de one dat gives yo' de secrets to thieves.
(I see - you put that in the Bible.)
Say they have a thing that they call guinea seeds - supposed to control and give you power. You take one of those seeds and chew it up fine and jest as you about to enter and start to talking to this party, you spit this three times in front of 'em and say to yourself what chew want them to do. And they claim that they have to do these things.
(That is used when you are going to get a job.)
Now dey claim fer frogs - in order to have someone that chew wanta trick - put frogs in 'em - you take a frog and you will boil him. After you boil him you take this water and they claim that nine drops of this water into your drinking Water will create frogs to be crawling inside of you.
(Is there any way to get those frogs out?)
The only way to get 'em out would be jest the same way as they got 'em in. Well, in other words, dey say they'd boil de water for you to drink, and well dey would boil more water for you to drink again and den de frogs would come back [out]. [For Doctor Sims, see No. 34, p.23, and Index.]
Entry 3068
[He was my son] and he got into difficulty by way of being in some bad company. Well, you see he didn't have any brothers, he was the only boy I had. He didn't have any brothers or nuthin, nobody to help him - didn't care nuthin for him, but they put it all on him. An' there was a man here they called Doctor Armour from Berkley. He's dead too, now. He'd gone to New York and he died up there a few years ago. But a lady told me, she says, "Miz Jenkins, '' she says, "ah tell you how you kin get that boy out and it won't cost you so much money." I say, "But my Lord, I 'ready paid $85." She says, "Well, you won't have much more to pay." She says, "A man here from Berkley they call Doctor Armour," she says, "and you go to see him and he will help great. And I say, "Well, I'm going." I say, "You go with me." She say, "Well, you come to my house tonight and I go there with you." Well, he was in a house in 16th street in the 5OO block. Well, I'd gone with her. She'd taken me there and he was there talking and telling folks different things. [The doctor had a private church to keep his work within'the law.] But ah told him I wanted to see him private. Well, he taken me after: de crowd left and I'd gone in the room with him and told him my troubles. He says, "Uh-huh." He say, "Well, you come back here tomorrow." Say, "Go to the Five-And-Ten [Cent Store] and buy me a five-cent handkerchief, big white handkerchief, and a bottle of Hearts Cologne." And he says, "I'm goin' fix [dress] this handkerchief, and when you come back, you go over there and give it to him. And when they have his trial you tell him how to use it," and he say, "and you goin' bring him back home." I say, "Is that true?" He say, "Yes. And I was so worried I kept right on from there and gone and got the Hearts Cologne. I got it at the drug store. And I come by a store - I couldn't wait till the next day till the Five-And-Ten opened, and I went to the drug store and got the Hearts Cologne, and went by a Jew store and got a handkerchief. Well, the next morning early I'd taken it up there to him before he'd even gotten up. He say, "You are in a hurry, ain't you?" I told him yes, I was so worried about my boy - first trouble he had began to get into. And so I'd taken it there and he'd dressed this handkerchief and he say, "You tell the boy when he get in the court," he say, "he just kind of shake it around and blow his nose. Tell him don't wash it - don't care how dirty it gets, cain't wash it." And I say, "All right, I'll tell him." And I say, "That's all you goin' do?" He say, "That's all I need to do." And I say, "Well, what is that?" He say, "You go on," he say, "that's charged high with lodestone and High John de Conker - it's in that handkerchief." And he say, "And you just go and tell him to do what I say." Well, you see, I couldn't go in the jail. And I'd carry meals but they'd take 'em in. And I would give him - I'd write on a little piece of paper and tell him what to do with the handkerchief, and told him, "Don't wet it - didn't care how dirty it gets." And he did just like I told him - well, which he did just about the same. And when his trial came up I went there and he was using the handker- chief like I had told him on de note, and I'm here to tell you when his trial was closed he went on back home with me - carried him right on home.
(How did you get this note to him?)
In his meals.
(Did you hide it in something?)
No, I didn't hide it in something. I just put it - Mr. Roy was jailer and the boy was in there and I go there so much he really knowed me. I carried him every meal he ate. And I just felt that way, first trouble he had been in, and it worried me very much, and I carried him every meal and I just put it there in his handkerchief. I had it in his handkerchief and told him to use the handkerchief, and I say, "Don't wash it no matter how dirty it get and use it just as I said." (Well when you took these meals there, did they let you take this handkerchief where he was?) No, no, Mr. Robert would take them hisself.
(Then you gave Mr. Robert this note to give to your son?)
It was in the handkerchief in the basket. I had a little basket you know and the food. Course he would go through the basket to see was they anything in there, but he didn't see anything, you know, that would harm. Well, I just had on the note for him not to wash it no matter how dirty it gets. Well, I guess he seed that too but he didn't see nothing in there - just a white handkerchief - cause he just had one you know for him to use. Well, which he did, but told it on that little note - because the handkerchief was dressed, you see. And so afterward, I brought him and I carried by there to let Doctor Armour see him. And he laughed, he said, "What did I tell you." I say, "You sure did tell me the truth." And I say, "What you charge me?" He say, "I charge you $2.02." He said, "I always charge a penny to the dollar - that's all I charges. I said, "Doctor, here's five dollars." He said, "No, I just want $2.02, and then I want that in silver - want the dollar. He wouldn't never take any Paper money.
(Well, how did your son know that handkerchief was dressed?)
Well, he didn't know, but he just only did what I told him to do.
(Just to carry it with him?)
I told him to keep this handkerchief and don't wet it whatever you do. Don't wet it no matter how dirty it gets - don't you wash it. And that's what he did.
(Then when your son came out, did you tell him about the handkerchief?)
I told him after he came out.
(What did he say when you told him?)
Well, he say he thought something funny. He'd been always a peculiar child anyhow and seemed like he's easy to ketch on things. And it seems that some people is borned with something in 'em, see, and that's the way he is. Since he'd gone to Philadelphia and all, he knowed so many tricks and turns you see, more than I does because I'm old enough to have a whole lot of experience you see. But he said he felt something when ah told him not to wet it and said he wouldn't wet it. And I told him to - ah say, "When you get in court, you always wipe your mouth and nose with it." And he says he understood - seemed like he felt like that's what it was and so I brought him on back as Doctor Armour says. And I asked him, I says," 'What in the world did you put in that handkerchief?" He says that handkerchief was charged highly with lodestone and High John de Conker. He say that will bring anybody out of trouble - it will overcome any- thing. That's what he says. [For Berkley, see Introduction.][ Newport News, Va., (482), 506:8.]
Entry 3070
[Fortunately I am able to introduce to you the fabulous Doctor Buzzard of Beaufort (Bu'fert) in the words of another gifted doctor - a man I call CoURT- ROOM SPECIALIST in INTERVIEWS section. Beaufort, yo' know. See, Doctor Buzzard at Beaufort. OF Dat's a fairy tale. Yo' know, once dey had a story down at Beaufort dere an' dey [story] has de fishermen go down to de sea. All right, de boat'll capsize wit de mens an' some of de men goin' drown. Dey had de boats [one boat] full of fishes. Well, about three or fo' days whut de [they] find - de boat, when dey see de boat, de boat come drifting up to de dock wit fish in dat boat, an' dey [the story says a buzzard] come steering it on up an' de buzzard eatin' de fish when de boat comin' up to de dock. When de boat come up.to de dock, de buzzard done eatin' de fish. Ever since dat, dey say [a] buzzard done rowed de boat - he rowed de boat to Beaufort.
(Well, about that man, the root doctor down there?)
He done - listen, de mens was drown-ded, de fishermens. Dey had a boat fulla fish, and right down - when de fishermen out to sea dere, an' dey rotten on de boat, de buzzard settin' on de boat eatin' de fish, an' de blood drippin' on de watah. Dey see buzzard, an' de buzzard rowin' de boat.
(So the buzzard rows the boat?)
No, de buzzard wasn't rowin' de boat, but dat is a tale, yo' know. (What was that tale about old man Buzzard rowing the boat though, didn't they tell something to you about that?) That's the same tale.
(Tell me that story, so that I can get it straight.)
Anyone go to his house.
(This old man Buzzard?)
Yeah, to his house. He stay on one side of de water and yo' be on de nex' side. Well, yo' come down to de boat to go cross to him, he'll send a buzzard ovah to row yo' in de boat. An' aftah yo' git in de boat, de buzzard row 'cross to de othah side. Now, if yo' come down an' git in de boat and de buzzard start rowin' yo' off an' come back, dey say yo' bettah git off, 'cause yo' de wrong man - de buzzard gotta tuh drown yo'. He row off a piece an' come back, yo' bettah git off. But aftah, yo' see - aftah yo' git on de boat, de buzzard he row yo' on 'cross to de ole man. Yo' git to de house an' git to de do', de buzzard he'll invite chew in de house. Den he'll go fust to give yo' a seat. Den Doctor Buzzard he goin' talk with yo' den.
(The old man Buzzard, did you see him - the old man?)
Yessuh, ah done see him. Ah saw him heah.
(How long has be been dead?)
He been daid 'bout 'leven yeahs.
(There really was a man named Doctor Buzzard?)
Name Buzzard. Dere wus a man name Buzzard. Stayed in a hut-house cross heah to Lady's Islan' - in a hut-house to Lady's Islan'.
(He was a colored man, wasn't he?) [Leading questionl]
Yessuh.
(What did he look like?)
Was a ole man, gray haired man wit a long beard - a ole man. (Do you know any other stories that they tell about Buzzard? Are there any other stories that you know about him? They used to tell a lot of stories about him.) Dere one story 'bout he make a snake walk in de co'thouse yo' know, where a case is goin' on an' de judge dismiss de case. [See snake sent to courthouse, 248, p.70.] An' he make a lil bird fly right in de co'thouse an' dey dismiss de case.
[See magic BIRDS, Pp.56-59.]
An' he make a buzzard fly roun' in de co'thouse an' dey dismiss de case. [For trained buzzards, see 203-204, p.57f.] Yo' wouldn't have tuh go dere [to him], yo' jes' [write] to 'im an' pay him yore money an' go on 'bout chure business an' still he'd be dere. Dat day yo' go dere an' see a snake crawlin' round de co' thouse - or a buzzard flyin' round de co'thouse - [or] a lil white bird would come an' fly roun' de judge an' sit on de judge shoulder - an' de judge would dismiss the case. (Did you ever hear of another fellow down there on the Islands named Jones? Was there another fellow named Jones - an old man?) [Leading question but with a special purpose.] Yeah, I heard about him, too. An' ah heard about Jones an' ah heard about Robinson - Robinson down dere now.
[For Robinson, also called Robertson, see later in this margin-title.]
(Is he the undertaker - is he the man that has a store down there?) [For my visit to Beaufort, see later.] No, Willie Wright got de store near de schoolhouse.
(Wright?)
Yeah, Willie Wright, near de fillin' station.
(Did you ever hear of Kid Wade?)
Kid Wade? He's daid. Yes, he died long heah in - his daughter run his place now.
(Well, he's only been dead in the last year or so hasn't he?)
He ain't dead a yeah yet. (Well, two years ago I went down there and stopped off and saw him, but he had had a stroke or something. So he's dead now?) Dat's correct.
(His daughter is carrying on his business?)
Yeah. (Could I get much of this stuff down at Beaufort - things along this line? They tell me that it is dying out down around Beaufort.) They're still gittin' the stuff down dere - dey still do dat stuff down dere.
(What was Doctor Buzzard's real name? Have you any idea?)
Dat's all ah really know - Doctor Buzzard.
[I must have asked about men elsewhere.]
Dere Doctor Harrison. [See margin-title later in this subsection.]
(Where is that?)
Dat in Florence [S. Car.]. Well see, he died about ten yeahs ago. He was ovah there. Ah know him from 1908.
[We talk while my machine was stopped, and then.]
(And he was the real Doctor Buzzard?) [I repeat him.]
De - he de real Doctor Buzzard. [Most people went to.]
(At Florence?)
Yessuh. (I talked with one of the men that worked for Harrison.) [Where this is I do not know at the moment.] Yeah, he was de real Doctor Buzzard, in Florence, yo' know.
(He was a white man?) [Again I repeat what he said while machine stopped.]
A white man - a white man lived three mile outa Florence. (Have you talked with many white people who do this kind of work - round in this part of the country - doing this sort of thing, rootworking and things of that sort?) A good many - a good many. A good many won't tell it, yo' know. [While I was in Waycross, Ga., a white doctor wanted to see me. This occured elsewhere.]
Entry 3077
(Up in South Carolina, I found that the people up there called most of this sort of stuff witchcraft. Is that true, they called it witchcraft?)
[My informant is from South Carolina.]
Yes - witchcraft, an' cunjuration, rootworking.
(I never heard the word hoodoo up there. They don't seem to use it do they?)
They hardly ever use it.
(That seems to be over in New Orleans mostly.)
A hoodoo man is not - ah don't call him a actual cunjure.
(What would you say? What is a hoodoo man?)
A hoodoo man kin overcome dese things. He kin give yo' somepin to correct yo'self. Well, if yo' find out yore poisoned, anything, we always git a hoodoo man to look out fo' us, see.
[This is not true for most people, though it may be true for informant.]
(I see. The cunjure is the fellow that puts the stuff on you, starts the trouble.) He's de cunjure, but de man dat cure yo' dat de hoodoo. He kin overcome dese things. (Did you ever hear of old Doctor Buzzard. He was down at Beaufort, wasn't he?) Yes, sir.
(Well, did he die or something some years ago?)
Yes, he died but he left one son an' two daughters. He stayed tuh Orangeburg, South Carolina.
(He went up to Orangeburg. Well, did they carry on his work?)
Some one of dem is. They say his son is jest 'bout as good as he was.
(Is he still in Orangeburg, do you think?)
Ah think he's round dere now. (Some people say he was a white man, some said he was an Indian, some said he Was colored. What was he?) He was a natural white man. But he was wonderful - he was a good one. Now ah'm goin' tell whut ah seen when ah was a boy - nuthin but a boy. Ah seen de train [coming] an' run up to de station [to catch the train]. It was coming [going] to Columbia. Ah was down dere hunting twelve mile from Columbia - Hawkins, S. Car. An' he [Doctor Buzzard] was there [on business]. Some fellows Was goin' to town to Columbia, too. [He probably heard about Doctor Buzzard from them.] An' he tole me to go up on dat trip. [He merely told him to get on the train.] He tole me he goin' back home but he didn't go up dere [get on train.] An' when de train - shore 'nuff he nevah got on de train. [To return to Orange- burg, Doctor Buzzard had to pass through Columbia.] Nobody ever see him. Dey searched de train fo' him. When dey run up to Columbia in de shed, he was standing in de shed. He was a actual good man.
(How long has he been dead?)
Ah couldn't really know. Course ah leaved Columbia about 40 years ago, an' ah guess he was living den. But ah lived about lOO miles from him. But ah heard since that he's dead an' his daughter an' his son is jest as good as he was, but ah don't know. Right den he was in Orangeburg, S. Car., jest four miles outa town.
(Forty years ago he was at Orangeburg, S. Car., about four miles out.)
Yes, sir. Ah was born in 1865 an' that made me 63 years old or 73 years old the sixth of July gone. De rootwork dat be done now we gits it from New Orleans. Anybody git it. Dere's so many people gwine round now pretendin'. (Lot of things - lot of it has gone into spiritualism, something of that sort. There doesn't seem to be much of it.) [This sort of thing is merely to keep the conversation rolling along.] Yes, sir.
Entry 3084
I use to didn't believe in these things, see now, but I have come [to believe] since I seen that. It must of been some supernatch'al power of some kind. See. Now this fellow and myself in Newport News [Virginia], we worked ev'ry day together on the coal docks. See. I use to be a deck-walker and he use to be a stevadore. He drew his money on a Sat'days, come home, give his wife his envelope, take a bath, set around for awhile, he'd go out. She'd take this other fellah, divide de money with him and he'd go where he want to. Now, he [husband] come in and slept in the back room - I slept upstairs in the back room and he slept downstairs in the back room. This fellah when he come in he slept with his [husband's] wife. Now mind, de husband now, he's sleepin' in de back room. See. This fellah - when he go out and stay out late at night, de husband - this fellah git up out de bed, open de door for him to let him in to go back in de back room. Well, I knew this fellah had some people in Philadelphia and he [husband] had some here in New Kent County [Va.]. See. So I said to him, 'Louis," I says, "there's somepin wrong with you, boy." "Ah man, you wouldn't mean any harm?" That what he said, you know. I said, "Boy, you're telling me." I said, "I know there's somepin wrong about this." So we went to his brother in New Kent County and he brought us here to Hope- well. It was an ole woman by the name of Aunt Cora. She professed that she could take care of de situation. I don't know what she did, but whatever she did broke it up anyway. So, I never will forgit as long as I live, we goes to this Aunt Cora. She lived back over on towards the James River Water front you see, in back of some white people's house you know. She was a real ole peculiar- looking woman. And she told us, say, "Boy, '' she says, "listen to me." She said 'That woman has got chew sewed up in little red flannel - just about de size of this swinging wire here Ithe electric wire from my Telediphone to floor plug - he didn't touch the wire]. She says, "It's up higher in de ceiling than you kin reach if you stand on your feet." See. He says, "Well, do you reckon so," he says. "Yes sir." He says, "What else she got in there?" She told him. She says, "There's somepin in there looks like [corn] meal, it some threads of your winter underwear, some needles, and some other threads" - look like fiber silk, you know, before it's woven. She says, "Well, go." So I says, "Well, we go home, we find it." He still didn't believe it. See. And I bet chew we cut out all dat plastering in that wall. Finally we found it all right. We found it all right - that was the most peculiar-looking thing [the discovery]. So he got scared. He said, "Well," he says, "now if my wife find it [out]," he says, "she'll kill me." Well, de woman told him, she said, "Now, if you find it," she said, "don't give it to your wife." She said, "She'll have anything done to you, she want. She wants to run you crazy, if she wants you blind, she'll do it. If she wants you run out of town, she'll do it." So I says, "Well," I says, "tell you what we do. We'll go back to Hopewell, take it back to Aunt Cora. We'll find out what she's gon'a do." So we spent de night over there. Aunt Cora says, "Well, boys, you all meet me tonight here at twelve o'clock." I'll never forgit as long as the day I live. At twelve o'clock that night we met her on that bridge that comes over, that connects de highway between Hopewell and Richmond - see, on de Richmond-Hopewell road. It's de James River - runs all de way down to City Point. Well, she turns her back, she throwed that thing over her left shoulder downstream. Now, what supernatch'al power that had I don't know. I've often wanted to learn. But anyhow, after that - Oh! there come a big fight dere dat night. He put dis guy out - and come near being a shooting scrape. But after dat, him and dat woman got along fine. And this other fellah was out de way. Well, soon after that, in course of time, I reckon about four months, this fellah died.
Entry 3224
Jes' lak dey have a man an' yo' don't want 'im tuh go out wit anybody else. Well, yo' a, yo' know, an' yo' kin take a new han'chuf an' use dat. Iron it an' fold it up - eithah a little towel - fold it up roun' an' sew it up tight as yo' kin an' stick dat in de mattress, an' he cain't go out wit nobody else. Yo' kin take an' eithah use his pocket han'chuf an' use it - iron it an' put it under yore rug an' dat will cause him tuh bring in 'is money an' stay home. (You would use this the same as you use the handkerchief you mean. You mean wipe him with that and then iron it and put it under the rug to make him bring his money home.)
Entry 10156
A black ket, yo' take him tuh a place from yuh home at twelve o'clock at night an' would cook 'im alive. Jis' put 'im in a pota hot watah an' cook 'im alive. An' at twelve o'clock de nex' night, in twenty-fo' hours time, go back an' git 'im an' bring 'im back. An' what he [black cat] be tellin' yo' along [the way], which ah don' know, yo' keep dat tuh yuhself. An' dey say, yo' take dose bones an' suck 'em all, each one of 'em, until yo' git tuh a certain bone. An' when yo' git tuh dat bone yo' look in de glass, an' when yo' can't see yuh- self, well, which dat is de right bone.
(Then what do you do with that bone?)
Well, yo' take dat bone an' tote it aroun' jis' lak it's magic - disappeahin'.
(You can't see him?)
Yes. [Vicksburg, Miss., (744), 1014:1.] [Previous candle rites will be found principally in volume 1, pages 744-888, der division called ALTARS - CANDLES - SAINTS. Similiar material occurs among rhe interviews of volume 2 pages 933-1843, and volume 3 pages 1859-2339. The falogig beliefs have been divided into 5 subsections:]
Entry 11258
[The beginning of this interview has already been published in pages 1515-1517, volume 2. Since that selection contained only 1 1/2 pages of text, I have decided to reprint it here as its proper place, thus giving the complete interview, even its former introductory paragraph.] [Here is one of those little black Buz- zards pretending to be the fabulous Doctor Buzzard himself (p.1417, line 2). He, informant 464, also makes one of those great entrances mentioned in the INTRoDUCTIoN - enters, says nothing, walks up to his side of the interviewing table, and then blows flames of fire out of his mouth at me. A note of mine reads, "Wore a beret - a queer bird!" Another note of mine reports: 'Thursdav. June 10, 1937 - No.464 - Doctor J. D. Buzzard [or] Doctor Alayoon Buzzard - 800 Lincoln St., Norfolk" - Numbers Book 442-621. Doctor Buzzard's consultation technique will be found on pp.307-321, especially margin title, YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME, p.316f. Since office hours kept him from staying very long (!), his material is on cylinders 453:6-456:12.]
(My man [contact man Carter] was telling me that you have a very nice office.)
I have. (Well, when these people come in - go to you - do they tell you their diffi- culties and you help them?) No, I tell them.
(Oh, you tell them. I see, they just come in and they don't say anything.)
Don't say anything. I just tell them what they want when they come in. (And then you know just how to take care of each case, what to give in each particular case.) Absolutely.
(Do you have special office hours or?)
Nine to eleven - two to five. But today, on account of it being Thursday, the [Something] Street offices are closed after twelve o'clock, so I got to get there and tell the people 'fore twelve o'clock.
(Do you make any medicines?)
I do. I make a tonic for the body functions - digestion, digest all into the body. Goes to the liver, the kidneys, the bladder, you stomach, your blood and your bowels - to eradicate constipation. And also make a wine tonic medicine - a very good medicine to bring you vitality. You know, medicine is on the form of vitamin A and vitamin B - registered in New York City under seal No.7393, passed the Pure Food and Drug Law of June 6, 1906. Course there are three better, three greater than I am - that Aunt Carolina Dyer.
[For Caroline Dyer, see MADAM COLLINS of Memphis, p.1023, lines 3lf.]
(Where does she live? Dial?)
Dayer. She's in Algiers - the ruling queen of our class.
(Where does she live?)
Algiers. That's where we will hold our convention. (Suppose a fellow is going out to get a job. Is there anything he can do especially to get a job?) Lodestone is one of the best things - and Adam-and-Eve. He can carry it in his pocket.
(When you make gambling hands?)
[You take] lodestone, one silver dime, High John the Conquer, Adam-and-Eve, anvil dust and nine Victrola needles. Then keep it soaked in Hearts Cologne and don't let nobody touch it. Keep it in your own pocket where you have your money you gamble with. You don't ever use quicksilver [tin foil or scrapings from mirror back] in there. Carry the right hand little finger in their pocket.
(Oh, the little finger of the right hand.)
Little finger bone.
(Well, what can you do with that particular bone?)
That bone is a bone to keep evil spirits away - so they claim. Now get this, I'm making it plain now - so they claim. Now, I've had contact with different places and I - I'll make it, "So the rest claim, not me." Because if I can't be right, understand, I don't want to talk with you at all. What they claim, not me.
(Well, what do they claim? What about it?)
Claim it will keep evil spirits away, remove your enemies and bring better conditions to you environment. When a baby is coming up in a lot of these countries, there's a snake will always come where that baby at. And as long as that baby plays with that snake that snake will not unharm [harm] the baby, you either. But if anything kill that snake, he's liable to call the undertaker for the baby.
(The baby will die, too.)
[This snake and baby superstition is usually connected with food, especially milk - see FACI, 2ed., Pp.62-63, Nos.1571-1572.]
[How do you] (keep the law from the house?)
That's easy - 35 cents, that what it cost. It's easy to collect $50 for that. Go to the drug store and get a bottle of rhubarb [liquid preparation]. Go to your kitchen and get bicarbonate of soda, which is nothing but plain baking soda. Take the bottle of rhubarb and plain baking soda and ten dimes and cuss God with them and read John 3:16 ["For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son...."]. And just take the [blessed] water and sprinkle it in your front door and back door, and the law can't come in.
(That actually will work.)
Actually works.
(That you'd get a small fine, or get off, anything of that sort?)
Ain't no fines in anything what I use - walk in and walk out. I use Adam- and-Eve - Husom and Bousum.
(What?)
Husom and Bousum - hang 'em and strangle 'em and master 'em - put 'em in a Pouch with nine needles and nine pins and Black Eagle - that's lodestone. Keep it in your pocket and no judge can sentence you. (Well, now, suppose you tell me some ways people say, or that they can harm you in some ways. Suppose someone was trying to harm you, what would you say?) In speaking of harming me, through my natural experience of 51 years work, born in Abbadaba [Addis Ababa], Ethiopia, reared in South Carolina, KNOWN AS ONE OF THE MOST NOTORIOUS ROOT DOCTORS OF THE WORLD TODAY, in Other wOrds, lMOWn as Dr. Buzzard.... I was in Charleston when [I stop machine. Twice I stopped machine to bring him back to the point. I had not yet learned, perhaps never learned, tat the "doctor" himself is as important as his rites!] There's several ways that a person can harm you. Then, in other words, there's several ways that people say they can harm you, you cannot be harmed. The foot- track [I had probably mentioned it as a possible source of harm] you cannot be harmed by it. Must be something in the personal body, sweat on the arm of the shirt [armpit], the crotch of the underwear, the sole of the sock, hair from the head [these] can be used in a way to harm, which has been proven. Why? Because in the natural experience of my ownself, I know. Just now, I'm going to [some- where - his office?]. See, like I tole you [before recording began] I had to be [somewhere]. [To say that he was on his way to see a patient at home or in his office was an occasional safety valve for some of the doctors. It provided an excuse to depart quickly, if he became suspicious about my intentions. In the present case I think he was on his way to his office and then to the case that follows.] I'm going out there on a case this afternoon. The mother 35 years old, the daughter 18, [the mother] married to a husband 21 years old. The daughter is puttin' the mother out of the way in order to get the stepfather, and she is using the hair from the mother's head.
(What is she doing with it?)
By using it in a sap tree - in other words, each and everybody knows what a sap tree is - placing it in there with a peg, nine mornings straight hitting it, the ninth morning she runs the mother crazy - not dead, crazy.
(Well, now, how would you handle a case of that kind?)
Take a case of that kind, it's only one thing you kin do, that's go into the Woods and get: mandrakes, Indian turnip, olive leaf, Sampson root snakeroot [Sampson snakeroot?] and rattlesnake [root]. Taking those roots and combining them together and taking what is called the magic crystal, locating the tree, removing the stop [plug] and replacing that in there. That eradicated the cause that has been placing it upon her.
(You say, a magic crystal?)
A magic crystal. I have one.
(What do you do, look into it?)
It is used with salt and water - not the crystal - it's the magic crystal and there's only 26 of 'em made. As I told you, we hold our Convention in June.
(Where is that convention going to be?)
Algiers, La., right across from New Orleans.
(I might go down to it. Figure I could talk to anybody down there?)
Do you want to go? I'll give you a letter of recommendation.
(All right.)
And by me being the president of it, see...they once tried...there was 72 [of us] but by me being the president and one of the oldest ones in existence today, understand me, you would be able to get in there with a letter of recom- mendation. All you gotta do there, ask for Carolina Dyer. [I mention Carolina Dyer somewhere in HOODOO, she was supposed to be up in Arkansas.] You go to New Orleans and you cross over to Algiers. That's an island. [I doubt Algiers being an island!] And then you kin get in there and come in contact - you may derive some benefit from it, but they are very peculiar. (I know, everybody's different; you know what I mean.) [They could not have been more peculiar than the man talking to me! He may have thought the same thing about me!] Because we hold our convention - we hold a gathering. Our convention will cost pretty near around eight or nine thousand dollars.
(What's the name? What do you call the convention, is there any name?)
It's a legal - I mean gathering of the workers of black art. (I mean, has it any legal [title] - the Convention of So-And-So - something of that sort? Call it any name?) Yep! It is the Convention of the Workers of Ahechey [? alchemy?] IN OTHER WORDS, BEING WITCHCRAFT. Some call it black art. (Well, now, suppose a man left home and his wife wanted to bring him back. What could you do to bring that man back?) Well, I got - only thing, I'm sorry, you say you didn't want the witness.
(I see. Well, you tell me what you did to her, I'll believe you.)
Well, I have a case now that just on this same case here; see, where you talked with the girl. Well, she was back here, now. I use graveyard dirt, red pepper - I use mandrakes, High John de Conquer, and blueveins....taking those and placing 'em into a combination together, placing them into a box twelve inches high, sinking it below the surface, and placing it on the side of the bed where she sleeps upon. Taking that stocking and tying nine knots in it and making nine wishes...in nine days time he'll be back... (Well, is there anything to that question of getting hold of your fingernails or toenails?) (That's a personal part of the body, yeah.
(What do they do with those?)
Can take fingernails, take them to the graveyard at the hour of midnight at twelve o'clock at night, and pray to Atomaha. And you pray to Atomaha, and then after you pray to Atomaha, you take three grams of ginseng to....blackroot - some people call it High John. Some of this flagroot that grows in the woods, some calls it calomel, which it is calomel. (Well, then, what do you do to make that, what you were going to tell me, with those roots?) Then you take a ounce elanda[?] and after, you take the balmeter of mandrakes, and you place it in a jar. You get nine rusty nails, ketch the first rain of that month, and place those nails and that balmeter in the jar. Then you cast it in running water, and there's your result.
[While machine is turned off I returned to the magic crystals.]
Everybody can't get those magic crystals.
(Well, how are you supposed to get them, I mean...)
You got to go through the clan [plan?l. Those crystals are made by one special person, one special corporation. They cost all the way from $135 to $400, and you gotta have 'em ordered special.
(Well, now, on this "plan" do you pay dues or anything of that sort?)
They pay $128 a year.
(You have officers and....)
We have officers, sergeants at arms, lieutenants, secretary, treasurer and president, and vice-president.
(You what? You do what?)
Providing she kin get her hands on 'em.
(I see. What would she do?)
With different little complication [combination] of herbs, such as I mention- ed, she kin go ahead and use that. Pat him on his shoulder, put some on his head, and the third day he'll be crying for her. (Well, where does she have to get that from? From somebody that knew how to do it?) Yeah. (Well, what sort of a combination of herbs would they use on a case like that? Or what would you do, what would be the routine?) The procedure to produce productive effects of that would be this: Go to your drug store and get you a Solomon seal - only cost you a dime. Then go to an herb store and get King John [that can be anything]. Also after you get King John get what we call rabbit tobacco.
(You call that rabbit tobacco?)
Rabbit tobacco, that's life everlasting. [Rabbit tobacco - the balsam weed
(Gnaphalium obtusifoliwn). Life everlasting can be any species of Gnaphaliwm.]
Take the herb, the roots of life everlasting and boil it until the water becomes a half a pint, and then add one ounce of Hearts Cologne perfume to it, and sprinkle it on the party. Have it in your hand and pet him on the head and shoulder...
[I turn off machine too quickly and must repeat his words.]
(That works in three days.)
I'll guarantee to bring any man's woman back in 72 hours. [Here again we have the numeral 72, first used as the number of members be- longing to the black art convention, formerly meeting annually at Algiers, La., according to our informant. The number here probably means the 72 disciples mentioned by the Gospel of Luke in Chapter lO. But even here there was a little hocuspocus: 6 days of Creation multiplying the 12 tribes of Israel, etc.]
(Someone told me that lodestone - the hairs grow on it. Do they, naturally?)
It does. No, hairs don't grow on it. They form and then you git anvil dust. They call it lodestone, you kin see it breathe. You kin even see it breathe. (Do you manufacture - do you make hands for people? Sell hands? What they call hands?) Yeah, I make gambling hands, luck charms, mojos. Use the blood from a chicken. Take nine chickens and use the blood form. Take it and find a sinner's grave in de graveyard and bury the blood from those nine chickens after they have bled three minutes each - not under three or over three. And bury it in the sinner's grave in the graveyard. It will bring destruction to a home.
(Three pieces of silver?)
Boil it in quart of water, using High John the Conquer, pine tar, birch, mandrakes, snakeroot. Bath [scrub] your floor and the person will be back in less time than nine days. I'll guarantee you they bring your property [back] promptly.
(You don't have to go to go to law about it at all.)
1453 South Street, Philadelphia, name's Bramberg. Look like he's crying. Wears a turban all the time. Well, he' s one of the clairvoyants. I can name all the clairvoyants: King, High John, High Cock [top], Red Onion, Beetum, Jabacadaba, P.... Hawk, Singe, Placomb is dead, Dr. Harris is dead, Dr. Bayham is dead. There's one more that's dead, Aunt Carolina, she's living. [Is this Carolina Dyer?] Aunt Silver. I can name the clairvoyants down: Miss Alrich, she's all that's left.
(Well, how could a woman make a man give her his money?)
By using the sweat from the hankerchief. She wipes her face on it and boil it and give it to him in his coffee.
(And he'll have to hand over all his money?)
Not all. I wouldn't say all, but the biggest portion of it.
[I think I was to meet him again.]
And I'll show you things that I done done. You'll see...because in my re- search work I want to help a person. Only thing I ask you, if you want to go there, ask for Alayogi [Allah Yogi?]. It's no use talking about it.
(Alayogi.)
Jes' don't use Doctor Buzzard, because we under our secret oath.
(You can trust me absolutely.)
Alayogi.
Entry 11266
An' they kin burn you - they kin take a dark-green candle, that's if they have your name - they write chore name 9 times an' they write across that [the name] [that] they move in 48 hours [my only example of request written across names making sign of cross]. An' they light it exactly at twelve a'clock at night. An' then they say, I wish you would move, see, call yore name, an' then you repeats that ev'ry 7 days until - if you're a little hard to make 'em pove, you repeat it for 7 days; you know, if someone try to fight against you [by using rites to put out a candle being burned against him or her]. [See v.l, PP.851-862, Nos.2943-2989; several under MORE CANDLE RITES in v.5; and rites scattered through interviews in vols. 2 and 4.] You repeat that for 7 days an' you throw that around. They'll certainly move. [Here I either stopped record- ing to ask questions or informant herself decided to add a few details.] You write these names down 9 times on a piece of paper [usually these are written in a column one under the other]. Then you write across these names move in 48 hours. [In similar rites a woman writes down a man's name 9 times in a column, then turns the paper upside down and writes her name 9 times across his. This is called writing backwards, or upside down. Here I am assuming move in 48 hours is writ- ten 9 times. If it is written only once, then the sheet is turned sideways and the words written at a right angle across victim's name. Also possible here the order move in 48 hours is written on a separate piece of paper under the 9 naes.] You put this [9 names] undah that [slip of paper move in 48 hours] right in the saucer. An' [into the saucer] you puts a little water in there, an' syone salt. You set all of that together, see, at 12 o'clock at night. See, at 12 o'clock at night that'll make you move. [All this sounded easy at the time, but I failed to ask an obvious question. If that candle is to be set in the center of the saucer, so that it rests on the two slips of paper, how can it stand up without falling over? Among possible methods: (l) a very small (birth- day cake) candle can be used: waxed to the upper paper and lowered into the small amount of water in the saucer; (2) a round-shape tin can, opened, can have a hole punched in its bottom, inverted over the candles, and the can holds up the candle. Moreover, the candle can be placed in a holder and set near the saucer.] [(960), 1544:5.]
Entry 4
There was an old woman who went for a cunjure. She lived in King George and she must have been a good cunjure because she made her living in that way, putting on spells and taking them off. A neighbor lived not far from her house Was hunting squirrels in the squirrel season and he passed near her home in the Woods, and he saw she had a snake tied by the tail hanging up the tree, and she had cut its throat and catching the blood in a small bucket. She wasn't: there. And he said to himself, "Damn you! I always heard you was a cunjure and now I know it." That was about forty years ago. She was a real cunjure. Everybody. Was afraid of that woman, both white and colored. If she came to your house and asked you for anything, it paid you to give it to her. She said, "You're going to lose ten times more than that." [This is called "putting a bad mouth on you."] She went to a neighbor one day and asked for a watermelon and he did not believe in cunjuring. So he didn't give her the watermelon and lost his horse that night. And then on he took off his hat to this woman. I knew both of them.
[Fredericksburg, Va., (71), Ed.; King George Co., Va.,1896.]
Entry 35
De woman kin take or either a man, ah guess - but chew kin take a dozen needles an' put 'em in watah an' let 'em stay in dere ten days an' give someone de water to drink off. Dey say it's a deadly poison - say it jes' de same as yo' drink a needle - feel like some pins is sticking yo' in de inside - somepin like, jes' like if a person wanted to put a spell of some kind on - yo'd have dat pain jes' lak yo'd swallowed some needles yo' know. It take effect on yo' dat-a-way. Whut dey would do to stop it ah don't know.
[Just as the person's essential qualities were in the bath water (see No. 29)
so also the essential qualities of the needle absorbed by a bath are transferred to a person drinking needle-water.]
Entry 242
If people keep coming there and you don't want 'em there, well, you kin go to a hoodoo. Miss Young, this lady I know.
(You go to Miss Young, you say?)
Yes.
(What does she do, you say?) [I am asking him to repeat.]
Say, she sit you down and have a long snake. Well, dis isn't much about it what I know about it. See, that snake have - talk like a human, and she say [to the snake], "What he ask you, you tell it to him." And so then she give you a little bag. And she say, "You go there and whilst they setting down, ' say, "you just take this little powder out of this and just sprinkle on their back behind." And she say, "They'll stay away from your house." (You said, when you go to see this Miss Young, you see a snake - you say a large snake?) Yes, a large snake.
(Well now, a large or a live one?)
A large and a live one - he's large and he's alive.
(And you say that snake talks?)
Yes sir.
(What did he talk about?)
Well, they never told me that.
(You said, it told you [not my informant] what to do.)
Whatever you tell - whatever that snake tell you, you tell dem.
(Tell whom?)
Tell de people you wanta stay away from your house.
(I see.)
[The client asks Miss Young's snake a question. The snake answers. Ventril- oquism? I doubt it. The snake talks into Miss Young's ear and she repeats what the snake says to her. A good example of the routine will be found under the margin-title Earphone in subsection Diagnosis.]
Entry 252
Yo' kin take a toadfrog an' send him to people house. Yo' kin tell him tuh go dere an' if dey ketch him [and] hang him up in dey fireplace - if a toad- frog come to yore house an' yo' ketch him an' hang him up - hang him up de chimley an' he'll dry up. An' de mo' he dry up, whosomevah sent him dere dey'll dry up de same way. An' 'long as dat frog hang dere dey'll come dere an' dey'll begin tuh fade away lak dat frog do.
(How would you send the frog to a person's house - the toadfrog?)
Jes' tell 'im dey name an' he'll go dere. A frog came to mah mama's house one day an' he'd come dere every morning, be sittin' in de fireplace. An' so she tried dat an' hit was a lady come dere. She'd come dere an' stand to dat fire- place every morning, an' so Mama taken de frog down. She livin' today - mama taken de frog down. She'd come dere long as dat frog hung up dere. [Waycross, Ga., (1134), 1842:17.] [The black cat bone or black cat lucky bone or the lucky bone involves the killing or abuse of a black cat. The principal theme of this rite is boiling a live black cat; the variations are many. Most unusual of these is the symbolism of the three little rooms, an experience of Informant 1532, whose complete inter- view is in the Interview section.]
Entry 304
Why yo' kin take a cat an' kill him yo' know an' cook him whole an' take all de bones out. (You said the bones of that black cat will do what? After you boil him you do what with them?) You put everyone dem little piece of bone in yore mouth until yo' find one fit yore mouth, yes.
(Like what - you said like what?)
Jes' like a false teeth - yo' understand, jes' somepin fit round dere like dat. An' dat's de bone fo' yo' tuh keep tuh puts across whatsomevah yo' wanta go ovah.
Entry 307
There's a man that could - you see, I guess he's sleight a' hand - did sleight-a'-hand work. An' he did a whole lots of things. So he said - mah brothers would get after him to tell them how he came to know how to do these things. He could do anything - jis' go an' take money or anything. An' when the officers went behind him an' taken an' locked him up in the jailhouse, he'd come on out an' say, "Well, come on, Captun, let's go togethah," and walk on away - now, that's the truth - an' walk on out, an' he would jis' turn into a grey horse an' jis' go on off. So mah brothers wanted to know whut did he do to get this way. So he told them he had to take a black cat an' go in de woods so many miles before day, an' put a pot out there a-boilin', an' put this cat in there an' boil all the flesh off the bones an' the bones all over jis' like you drvin' 'em. Then he had to go where's there's a newborn baby, take this baby, an' put this. baby right in there an' burnt de baby all up jis' like he did the cat. An' he would take the cat, the cat thigh - the first bone from the hip on the back. He'd take this bone from the hip an' take the baby's breastbone - an' throw ever'thing else away except these bones - an' take those two bones an' put 'em into fresh water, an' boil them until they boiled down like a lickrish [liquid a thick pot liquor]. Put it in a bottle an' rub yourself with it, grease your- self with it for nine mornings [at a crossroad], an' go right back to the cross- road the ninth morning, an' when you git there an' rub yourself, an' dance there, an' a black cat would cross it [the crossroad], you take that cat an' kill that cat, an' take this blood an' put in this bath an' take a bath. You grease your- self nine mornings into that blood an' stuff [cat-and baby salve] an' you could do anything you wanted to. [See also 375. Neither colored person nor white takes seriously rites like these two. Whether they start from a hoodoo manual or a tall tale, I do not know.]
Entry 308
Jes' take a black cat in de house an' jes' have a hot pot of water on de stove an' jes' stick him in dere. An' dey say when he boil up, say yo' jes' take it out an' go to de water an' throw de bones in - in runnin' water. De one float up de stream, dey say yo' git dat out an' dey say have it dressed an' dey say - yo' know, was luck. (How do they dress it?) Say, well, yo' take it to a root man an' have him to dress dis bone fo' yo'.
Entry 349
If you want to know how to play a banjo or a guitar or do magic tricks, you have to sell yourself to the devil. You have to go to the cemetery nine mornings and get some of the dirt and bring it back with you and put it in a little bottle, then go to some fork of the road and each morning sit there and try to play that guitar. Don't care what you see come there, don't get 'fraid and run away. Just stay there for nine mornings and on the ninth morning there will come some rider riding at lightning speed in the form of the devil. You stay there then still playing your guitar and when he has passed you can play any tune you want to play or do any magic trick you want to do because you have sold your- self to the devil.
Entry 356
Now, de fo'ks of de road - now, in case dis is whut chew wanta do, if yo' wanta learn hoodooism. See, if you wanta learn hoodooism, you go to de fo'ks of de road. Go dere - yo' leave home zactly five minutes of twelve an' make it dere at twelve 'clock - make it dere zactly twelve an' have yo' a fo'k. Git chew a bran'-new silver fo'k an' git to de fo'ks of de road an' git down on your knees an' stick dat fo'k in de groun'; see, an' anything on earth yo' wants tuh learn an' know, things will come 'fore yo an' tell yo' what to do. See. But chew got'a be dere zactly twelve 'clock - go dere de third day but it's got'a be in de night, twelve 'clock in de night.
Entry 427
(The Rev. Young is going to tell his story again about his experience in New Orleans.) [The preceding words are not for Mr. Young who heard them, but for the concealed microphone - a notation to remind me later that his story the preceding day had not been well recorded. My previous knowledge of his adventure is the reason why I can prompt the rerecording.] This man was named Scott - that lived at Moundville, Alabama - an' he came to New Orleans and was stopping at de Chicago Hotel, run by a man by the name of A. O. Smith on de corner of [name began with P] and Liberty Streets. He come to New Orleans to see one of these wizards as they call them [never so called], or either fortune-tellers or hoodoos, and he was talking to the proprietor, Mr. Smith, relative to having someone who knew New Orleans who would take him around. He [Smith] told him he knew a young man who was in school at Leland University, and that he would possibly be there and that he was just the man he was looking for. So, while they were talking, I happened up that afternoon. I simply happened up and Mr. Smith says, "Here's the very man we Was talking about" - introduced me to him and said, "This is Mr. Scott from Moundville and he wants to go with someone who knows New Orleans, to go about with him." Well, first thing he explained the nature of his business to me, and said whatever ah charged him for mah time, he would give it to me. He was looking for a man that Would help him to find some money that was supposed to be buried on his premises, on his property. The first thing he wanted to do was to find him some of those barrooms where he could find him some gin, and he claimed that gin was lucky to him, and after clearing about a quart of this gin - drinking it - why we went round sight-seeing in New Orleans and visited a deal of places up until about possibly ten-thirty or 'leven 'clock that night. Then we went out, way out Bienville - near Galvers Street - way out - seventy-five blocks away, possibly - way out in New Orleans, Way out to Bienville Street - dat's about two blocks from Canal Street, parallel to Canal Street. We got out there, ah suppose about ten-thirty or 'leven 'clock and knocked on a door and dey - mostly all downtown houses in New Orleans have dese blinds and shutters, and de people is very superstitious - it's a very hard matter to find anybody round New Orleans. If you knock on a person's door and dey'll ask you who you looking for and sometimes you's talking to dis party, and dey won't answer you. And if dey are somewhere else in de house dey'll call 'em and perhaps yo' gone, and if you wanta see dat person perhaps they'll call you back. So [before] we went in and - his wife said, "Oh, sure it's you, Percy?" Ah said, "Yes." She said, "Come on in." Ah said, "Ah got company, someone to see Professor Frank." She say, "Why he's in bed asleep." Ah said, "Well, this is rather important and I would be glad should you call him." She say, "All right." So she went and called Professor Frank and he came out dressed in a very gorgeous robe, seem'ly made of red velvet and large arms - had a cap on same as that which a priest wears, and had dis man to come and kneel. [Since I did not ask for a description of this cap "same as that which a priest wears," I evidently assumed that it would be a biretta rather than a zucchetto and that the color would be black; this article and color being more accessible to him at a Roman Catholic religious shop. But I had not yet visited New Orleans and had much to learn - the cap was probably red.] De room was lighted with two large candles on either side of the mantlepiece - red candles - de carpet on de floor was red, and then they had a large altar over in de corner. It seem to set the room off katycornered, and there was a stool [prie-dieu] by which a man could kneel down upon as the people do in some of the churches to pray. This man knelt down on this stool and he told him to put his right hand on his heart and his left hand on a book which was supposed to be the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses of witchcraft and superstition. Then he mumbled some words, turned his back to dis man and looked up as in meditation and mumbled something and turned and told him dat he would seek what he was lookin' fo'. This altar I didn't describe it as I had yesterday - the robe [frontal] on de altar was of deep, dark red velvet with fringe all round and worked wit gold and various colors of stars, and de moon. It had a large gold and silver horseshoe mingled with seem'ly various colors - ivory.
(You spoke of that awning [his word] being held up, yesterday.)
Yes, this awning [canopy] over the altar was caught up right in de center in front, seem'ly by dis horseshoe and den draped down to a point on either side and went almost round de - in fact, it covered de altar. This altar Was made very similar to that of a pulpit - suppose it was about two and a half or three feet and about eighteen inches wide - something like dat - and he stood with dis heavy robe on him - this large robe girded round him in fringes on de end.
(It was the kind of a robe that a priest throws around him?)
Yes sir. And he had the bottom of his hand up this way - his right hand - he was seated in front of a table. Now dis table was something similar to a living- room or a parlor room mahogany table, seem'ly about four feet possibly and about eighteen inches in width, very heavy carved, de legs - I didn't say dat yesterday but it was large ole antique furniture. On this table was a large red covering with fringes that went up and down in the center. It didn't exactly cover the table. On this table was a large reading lamp with a shade seem'ly probably of gold, and he went behind dis table and sit down in large reclining revolving chair. But before he sat down in this chair - no, after he sat down in de chair, he pulled out a drawer in dis table and got out a kind of pipe - seem'ly it was gold - had a little crooked pipe stem to it [surely a calabash - my first pipe] - got some what we call moss tobacco or cut-plug - something similar to cut-plug tobacco and filled his pipe with tobacco continuously looking at this man, who sat dere and seem'ly half out of his wits and trembling - looked upon dis man as some supernatural being or some man dat was extraordinary - out of the ordinary person. He continuously looked at him searchingly, and dis man would look up at him guardedly. After he had filled his pipe with tobacco, still looking at dis man, he got out a - out from underneath his robe - the robe was lined with heavy satin - ah don't think I said that yesterday - he pulled out dis gold match- lighter and some way pushed a spring and out come a blue flame which seem'ly had something else in it - resembled that of lightning - still continuously looking at dis man. After lighting his pipe, put this cigarette lighter out and stuck it back in his pocket. He sat down and looked at this man and told him what he came there for. First he told him that his mother was dead and that he lived with his father; that he Was in a business and that he was very successful in this business, and he had a large amount of money and had come to New Orleans looking for him and that he Would find there was heap much money on this property of his buried. Seem'ly it was probably buried there by the Indians who seem'ly had formerly owned - lived in that settlement before it was thickly inhabited or populated.
(Then he sent you away for the night, didn't he?)
Yes sir. He had us to leave with the understanding that at ten 'clock de next morning he would come back and not say a word to anybody and bring $75 with him, which dis man did. We meets at de hotel and de next morning ah brought him back, since he didn't know New Orleans, and we came back - made it our business to be there exactly at ten 'clock. Came there and then he took him in his back yard. They had a rod that resembles a lightning rod, something like a lightning rod.
(What was the shape of this rod?)
Hit was round and at the ends it went down in an inner case and was made so it went down in an inner case and was made so it would go up and down at a certain length, a certain depth.
(Yesterday you said it was like a drill.)
Yes sir - it was like a drill in one end and it was curved like curved wire - like a curved lightning [rod] wire.
(How long was it?)
Oh it was possibly - probably six feet near as ah kin judge. And he went in his back yard and had some wires attached to it [the drill] - he apparently had these wires [also attached] on de wall of his house [in] back- yard, but it seems he attached them to some other wires connected with, possibly the electric wires, and place this machine out in de middle of de yard. Had it to drill itself - worked it a certain way that it worked itself down in de yard, and stood off from it, waved his hand like magic and said some peculiar words three different times, and then flames of fire like lightning flamed up at the top of [this] rod - flamed up three different times at de top of this rod. Well, the man as well as mahself, we stood there amazed because it was - well, now you understand it. We, when we went out of his house - dere was a little alley between his house and the next house - the houses in New Orleans are built very closely together - went out in the street and right in front of his home was a gutter that jes' carries off the Water, a ditch, very seldom cleaned out and there was Water in it, stopped up - stagnant water dere most all de time. Stuck dis rod down in de Water, but he never left the rod off the wire as he went through the yard - that wire was coils you know.
(He kept on to this wire - the wire was still attached to the house?)
Yes sir - still attached to the house and he uncoiled it. as he went on through the alley and sent this same rod - it was made to go down in de ditch of water, and said those same words he said in the back yard and waved his hand over this wire and then the flames came up seem'ly out of the.water through this wire. Jes' how it was [done I] don't know [!ii]. But after that he said to this man that regardless of where dis money was buried, if it was an old well, if it was in Water anywhere, or it was on dry land, dis machine would be sure to find it. And this man gave him the $75. He gave him that when he first went in the house the second day. And he was to go to this man's home at Moundville, Alabama - this side of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, up on de Alabama Great Southern Railroad between Meedan [?] [Meridian, Mississippi] and Tuscaloosa [Alabama]. And sometime that afternoon they left all of a sudden for Moundville where he was supposed to go to find dis money.
(This man went with him?)
Yes sir, this man went with him. [As the reader has already suspected, when the professor "waved his hand like magic his wife inside the house pulled the switch!] (You were telling me yesterday about this candle-burning: You said it is very prevalent along the Gulf here and New Orleans to burn candles.)
[This was several weeks before I reached New Orleans on my first trip.]
Yes sir. (What was your idea about why they burn candles in other parts of the country; you told me that yesterday.) Well, because de religious idea seem'ly is borrowed from de Catholics who burn candles in their religious ceremonies. A deal of dese people are persuaded, some of them are Catholic persuasion and some of them belong to the Catholic Church. Those who do not belong to the Catholic Church, as the Catholics to some extent predominate along the coast and in New Orleans, through Mexico, down through Central American - these peoples ideas are molded by their religious worship. These superstitious get the idea that they use these candles - they use highly perfumed candles. (You were telling me about the perfume they use over there in New Orleans - what was that?) Van-van they name it. The name is van-van - it's a highly perfumed powder jest a little above the odor of oil of peppermint - oil of cinnamon. It has a Wonderful pleasing effect on people who smell it. The people around New Orleans, white and black, around certain districts use that in scrubbing their doorsteps and houses, and even pouring this van-van which is very expensive oil - perfumed oil in the water with which they scrub their floors and even sweept off the brick pavement around their doors. They claim that it brings good luck. Racehorse men and racehorse women who play lots on racehorses are known to use this perfume greatly on their clothes. It's a very frequent thing to meet people with their clothes highly perfumed with this van-van odor. (You were telling about the women in the fast houses; do they use that in some way?) Yes sir - very much so. How do they use that? They use it perfumed in their bath water - they use it also in having their maids to scrub their houses. It's also used in these candles. Some of these candles that they burn, they are very expensive and they are perfumed. They burn that candle and practically shut that room up practically all day. Well, everything in dat house is perfumed with dat incense or whatever they call it.
(What do they do that for?)
That brings luck - that makes dem very successful or lucky, and nine times out of ten luck comes their way.
[After my informant left, I comment to the microphone.]
(This is the Rev. Mr. Young telling some of the things he told me yesterday - I just wanted to make sure I got them down.)
supposed buried-money premise in a rerecorded treasure-search account. The story was rerecorded with prompts based on a poorly recorded prior telling; no verbatim-audio fidelity. narrator-described apparent flames in a wired demonstration. Preserve the rerecording and separate Hyatt wife/switch explanation; the editorial mechanism is not an independently witnessed fact. reported repeated unknown words during a criticized demonstration. Preserve staged/criticized context, narrator uncertainty, wires and Hyatt separate switch explanation. These are attributed source occurrences; outcomes remain unverified.
Read full source (printed page 128) · Read full source (printed page 129) · Read full source (printed page 130) · Read full source (printed page 131) · Read full source (printed page 132)
Entry 546
This was in Caroline [County, Virginia]. This is a cunjuring thing. It Was two sisters. One sister took the other sister's husband. So this sister had a spell put on the sister who took the husband. So she became suddenly ill and sent for her son and he came. And she grew so ill they sent for the doctor and he came, but did not do any good. So finally, the son sent for a neighbor and the neighbor thought she was going to die so she sent for the older son. And when he came his suggestion was to send for an old colored woman who's supposed to be a cunjure. So they sent for her. And she came in a buggy with her grandson driving. And she called for the woman to come out to the buggy that was sick. And they said she could not come. So she insisted on her coming. But she said she could go anywhere in the house except to the front door. Every time she moved toward the front door she got worse. So this cunjure woman got out of her buggy and stood at de front gate opening her bag of fixtures, and she took out a ball about the size of a apple - a wood ball, and asked for a hoe, after which she talked to the ball and said, "Go where I send you and when you have found the spot stand still." So she tossed de ball. It went a few steps and stopped right in front of the front door. And she told the boy to dig two feet right under that ball and there that he would find a bottle and bring it to me, which he did. So she said to her [sick woman's] son, "Go, tell your mother to come to the front door." So she got up and came immediately. She didn't say what was in the bottle she found. And the cunjure said to her, "Let your sister'S husband alone." [Near Fredericksburg, Va., (71), by hand; in Caroline Co.,1886.]
Entry 547
We had a team, the name of it was Blue Caydex - a baseball team, an' we had chalunge of a very hard team, an' we were told to go to an ol' lady, that she could give us somepin that we would win. Anyhow, we goes an' tries the luck out. An' she gave us a little bottle - cut glass. It had eighteen little balls an' somepin [a liquid] into it. One [group of nine balls] wus dark, an' the others wus light, an' they were representin' each team, you see; an' when one of the nine would go down to the bottom, nine would come up to the top. That wus representin' the teams, one goin' down, an' one comin' up wus us. An' she told us to take that an' rub a little bit of it in the sand [of the baseball diamond] before we entered de game. An' we did lak she said an' we didn't have any trouble either.
Entry 552
I've know a woman to do that.
(What?)
Take a little girl's photograph - a little grow awful fast, you see. And she disliked her and she shoved her finger at her and told her, says, "I'll keep even with your daughter" [see Bad mouth in Index]. And she go into her mother's house and it was a friend of her mother's, you see, see, that had her photo on a tintype, and she'd taken this photo and she buried it with de face down. See. And buried it with de face down but before she buried it, she got her some feathers.
(What kind of feathers?)
Turkey feathers, just turkey feathers, and she got those turkey feathers and she cross-laid those turkey feathers.
(How do you mean cross-laid them?)
Just like my hand is laying 'cross my fingers there now [demonstrates].
(Made a sort of X?)
Yes, sir.
(All right.)
And she laid those things down there, and then she covered them, see.
(Well now, what did she do - lay them in the ground with the picture on that?)
The picture on that and then she put some over de picture, and covered 'em up and she stuck one right straight up in de center of it, after she covered it, in de shape of a grave - she stuck one right straight up in the center of it.
(One of what?) [I knew what, but I want a definite statement from her.]
One of those feathers.
(I see. All right.)
Right straight up and down in de center of it. Well, the girl then, she began in the next ten days lingering. They'd taken this girl to the doctor and they'd taken the girl to the doctor. The more they d taken her to the doctor, the more doctor medicine she take, the worse she get. Finally, it was a fellow come along and told 'um - old colored fellow, he come along and told this girl's mother that she was hurt and she never would get over it. See. And told her one of her friends did it, and told her to give him a dollar and he would cure her. So she done what he told her [gave him a dollar]. So when she done that the old man set something at the door like a black cat. See. Set that thing at the door and he went to saying magic and something, calling de Lord's name, and something just fell all out of that thing just like shots, running all over dat house. [In- formant now confuses logical order by giving conclusion before final details.] And that little girl got up and she walked - she hadn't been up walking - she got up and walked and she got all right. Well, this old man then, see - and he told her, "Now, the one what hurt your daughter will be here, but she'll be here before she [daughter] get out de bed."
[The culprit would soon appear but the victim would not become well until later.]
Shore enough she [culprit] walked in, and when she walked in, her husband [not the culprit's] took a wing of a chicken, with the bone in it, and hit her right in de forehead, and when he hit her in de forehead, it got de blood from her, and he taken some of her blood and give to dis man, and dis man throwed [daughter's] spell on hog he had out in the lot [cf. healing of demoniac in Mk.5:1, Mt.8:28, Lk.8:26; see Transference in Index.]
(On a hog?)
On a hog he had out in the lot - the hog went crazy - Just runned - just hollered and just went plumb crazy.
(Where did that happen?)
That was up here at Kings - right up here at Kings' Crossing.
(I see - right near Vicksburg?)
Yassuh.
(How long ago did it happen?)
Well, that's been about four years ago. (I see. Now, what do you mean something like a black cat? Was it something alive?) No, it wasn't alive, but it was in the shape of a black cat, you see, just cloth - showed up just like a black cat, just like you got on dat black coat dere [informants frequently mentioned my black coat - see Coat, my black, in Index], but he had it in the shape of a black cat and he set it on the floor. You see.
(And something fell out of it?)
Yes sir - something come out of it just like little balls - just like little shots, and run all around over de floor.
(I see. Well, did he find this thing that was buried or not?)
This woman brought it - this woman come and brought it - she come and brought it. See.
(I mean, did he find that stuff that this woman had buried?)
That this woman had buried on the girl? Well, she come,: see. Well, she come to visit dis woman dat morning before the child get up. She had it in her hand. She had went.and took it up. See, this man had been there, you see, he made her take it up, you see. And she took it and when her husband hit her, she dropped it out of her hand.
(What did that man hit her on the forehead for? Who told him to do that?)
This man what had cured the child.
(Told him to do that?)
Yassuh.
(Use the chicken wing?)
To use the chicken wing and hit her with the bone of it, so he could get her blood so he could throw the spell on a hog. (I see. Do you know how he put the spell on the hog?) [Fortunately she does not know, the story would have been too complete.] Well, I see the hog hollering and hootin' - never see do nothin' like that.
(I see.)
Entry 638
Graveyard dirt kin be used in many different things. It kin be used in love cases. Well, graveyard dust, if yo' wanta use fo' protection in love cases, yo' use it wit de wonderful water.
(What is the wonderful water?)
It's got from a spring runnin' dead no'th, a spring runnin' no'th - lak dis Way, de stream dis-a-way an' de spring heah runnin' no'th. (You get this wonder water and you get this graveyard dirt. How do you prepare this thing now?) Well now, we'll come on down an' prepare it fo' yo'. Yo' git the stream runnin' no'th - de spring is ovah on whut ah would call de south side of a stream runnin' dead no'th. Be sure dat chew find a spring wit de stream runnin' no'th. Well, we takes our graveyard dust an' we gits it in a clear bottle den wit a stopper to it dat we kin stop up, an' we goes an' puts some of de dirt in de bottle an' we gits our spring wit de watah runnin' no'th - we gits dat an' put it in dere. Den when we's goin' pull a deal of any kind, we sits our bottle with this heah graveyard dust in it. Well, quite natch'l, de dust will settle to de bottom of anything. Whatevah we gits our mind on, what de object we got befo' us - whatevah it may be, whether we make good or whether we lose out. Well, we handle dis bottle - we sets it on de table so de top of it will come clear. Yo' know spring watah is clear as a crystal, an' since [if] it clear as a crystal, why we knows everything whatevah we goin' do, we know we'll put it through. We put it ovah whatsomevah it may be. Well, den, if it's not dat way clear, it not fo' our luck tuh change right at dat time, dis heah graveyard dust will come up dere an' cloudy dat water jes' lak a cloudy day - change - de skies will change. It will change within de period of fifteen minutes. It will come on up an' cloudy dat water so yo' can't be sure atall. Den we jes' keep it dere, an' whenevah we goin' tuh do anything - in love cases or whatevah we may do, we goes an' git our bottle an' set it on de table in a quiet place. It's a great magic watah - it's a magic gift. Den we use dat tuh conquer spirits, yo' see, for sech things as whut dey call hants. We use dis heah spring watah wit de graveyard dust in it.
(How would you conquer a hant in that case?)
Well, if we conquer a hant in dat case, we put a little add into dat watah - we add somepin to dat watah, we'd add sulphur. We'd add burnt sulphur, we'd burn it - we'd burn it on de watah, somepin tuh form a little clond on de watah. Den we go up on dere an' git de cloud off an' put de cloud in dere on top of dat. Dat give us mo' force to conquer de spirit - we'd keep spirits away from anything we'd go tuh do. How to make a man come back. Yo'd have tuh use dis same watah in a case lak dat - it's a mind drawin' thing: First, yo' gotta git chure mind on whatevah object yo goin' tuh undertake tuh do. An' aftah we git our mind pin on dis heah, then we sits de watah befo' us an' we looks at de watah. We naturally sits dere an' looks - sometimes it takes us hours, until we kin git contact with the party whosomevah dey may be. They mind an' mah mind contact wit each othah, an' den he'll come tuh me, at de same time whether dey wants me or not. Den if ah want tuh draw 'em back, ah'll turn de watah, ah'll git de square bottle - see, ah'll turn de square side to me, an' ah'll give dem three days tuh roll in. Dey come back an' dey send fo' me. De same watah draw 'em back - draws through de mind, yore mind an' dis othah party's mind would come in contact together an' why, quite natch'ly, yo'll see 'em in three days aftah that. That is, if yo' stay on it dat long.
Entry 679
That's tis' this fine dirt.
(Goofer dust is almost anything put down.)
Anything that would be to have influence - like you get from dis dirt dauber nest and de pepper I told you about and mix it up, that would be goofer dust.
(Well, what is goofer supposed to be?)
What they mean is to make you goofy.
(Oh, it's goofy dust?)
So now, say, for instance I want you to lose your memory, if you were going. to court or something with [against] me - it would get you where so you would prob'bly forget what you's talking about.
Entry 721
Ah've watched dis from a kid. Ah nevah did believe in roots or anything lak dat but mah experience, it made me believe in roots an' diff'rent things, yo know, fo' dis reason. When ah wus a kid roun' 'bout eight yeahs, ah had a mother an' she liked good times. She'd go out. So at last, one day she went out an' left me an' mah brothah home. So, while she wus away some people came through de yard - jes' a girl an' her sister, an' she made fun of mah brothah. Mah mothah came back an' ah tole dat dey made fun of mah brothah. So she wus a lady liked tuh drink sometimes. So when dey came along - dere wus about fo' of 'em, so she tackled 'em an' dey had a fuss. So about a week or two after, she taken sick. Dese people claimed dat dey poisoned her, yo' know. She wus taken sick an' mah granddaddy and [grand]mother did ever'thing in de worl' dat dey could fo' her - had taken her to doctors an' dey couldn't do her any good. So dey claimed dat dey poisoned her - she dried up an' looked lak [like] a witch, an' would have spells, jes' fall out on de flo'. She jes' come to nuthin' but bones, yo' know, an' went away tuh nuthin'. Dey tell me dat wus whut chew call witchcraft roots.
Entry 833
A fellow that lived about twelve miles out from here, he called himself a hoodoo doctor. People would go to him from all around. He said he could cure them. He used to put them under these spells which would last forty-eight hours. He made them go to sleep. Then he would send his boy to the attic and throw down chickens and guinea pigs. These would wake them about the time the spell was wearing off them, believing it was his method of healing. Then he proclaimed they were well. He's been dead about two years
[d.1934].
Entry 1004
Ah've learned dat chew kin go to de fo'k of a road an' yo' carry two needles with you an' cross them, an' if dere's anyone - (How do you cross them? Where do you cross them?) Jes' cross 'em at de fo'k of de road, jes' lak it's a road goin' disaway an' one disaway. Well, den dis is de fo'k comin' heah.
(When you cross them, you just hold them in your hand or what?)
Jes' lay 'em on de ground an' cross 'em an' yo' cross de needles in de fo'k, right at de fo'k. Yo' lay 'em down an' cross dem an' if dere's a person - dey call it a spell, jes' lak somebody has hurt yo' someway or 'nothah, an' yo' cross ovah those needles, why it will take de spell offa you. (Well now, if I would go out there and put those needles down, you mean I would have to cross over them or what?) De person dat's hurt would cross ovah them - if yo're hurt, if yo' feel dat yo' have a pain dat de doctors cain't cure, an' yo' take dose two needles an' yo' jes' cross dem at de fo'ks of de road an' jes' walk ovah dem. An' dat will take de spell offa yo' den.
Entry 1006
[Before leaving the subject of transference I must give here a remarkable case of disease transferred from the dead to the living:] Well, a man died with the T. B. An' another woman didn't like him [a living man]. She fell out with him because she like him an' he liked another woman. Well, she went to de graveyard [the grave of the man with T. B.] an' she got someone dat knew about dat stuff [graveyard dirt] an' on a certain moon dat bottom sand comes to de top. Well, they knew about dat. They knew jes' when those things would be, so she got this graveyard dirt an' she put it with something else an' she put it in a drink an' gave it to him. Then he begin to pine away jes' like he had de T. B. If yo' want a person to have heart trouble or something like dat, jes' like a person tuh die, why yo' go tuh de person that chew knew died wit dat, an' on a certain moon dat sand comes to de top - de top sand goes to de bottom an' de bottom sand comes to de top. An' yo' get dat sand an' put it in something - put it with something else an' yo' give it to them - an' they'll die with de same thing dat de person dat de sand come from died with. Dat's why lotsa people have such peculiar diseases an' we think it's one thing when it's another - it's not nachural. [Disease is not natural - see No. 647, p.218.]
(It's something that you put in some sort of food or drink.)
Yes sir.
(What do you mean by certain moon?)
Well, witchcraft mostly comes on a young moon.
Entry 1012
Well, ah tell you, jes' like now if a person got a spell on you - well, you have to git next to his friends see and git his friend to pull off a job for yuh. Well, you will have to just take a knife and draw his blood see, and de minute you draw his blood, why that spell is all ovah wit.
Entry 1014
What you do to break up cunjuration - you go out in the country and get a grapevine that has seven joints on it, hammer it over their head until blood comes and make a wish to the Lord [for it] to be overcome. I heard of an old fellow one time putting a spell on a man and the man heard of it and he got a stick for it, and by the time he got to whaling him over the head with the club, he told him if he let him alone he'd take that spell off. And he did take that spell off.
Entry 1103
Now if a person put a spell on yo' an' yo' have headache all de time, yo' kin go to one dem big red ants nest an' take a flour sack - a sack, yo' know or somethin' an' take up de whole, jes' as much dat nest as yo' kin. An' take it back home an' put de whole thing in a pan or kettle an' boil it. An' then bathe yo' haid in dat same watah. An' don't throw it out - jest bathe in it 'bout three times an' throw it tuhwards de sunrise. Dey say dat takes dat spell off yo' - yo' won't have dat headache spell no mo' or whatevah dey put on yo' like dat.
Entry 1108
You can get some assafitidee and gunpowder and wear it around your waist, and sprinkle a little in your shoes; that'll keep the spell off of you.
Entry 1128
I tell yuh I heard 'em say where - say dey go up de street and get ten cent worth - dey say dey get de bloodroot. (The bloodroot.) I hear 'em say de bloodroot and High John de Conquer. I hear 'em tell dat. And dey say dey take dat and make a tea of it. And put table salt with it dey says and dey take it and make a salve of it, and rubs deyself down good wid it, dey says, and dey can become so dat people can't do anything with 'em. I heard dat.
(Well, where would they rub this salve?)
Dey say dey rub from dere neck to de feet.
(From the neck all the way down to the feet.)
And say you rub your hands just like dat [demonstrates], and say dey rubs 'em right on out, and dey can't do nothing with 'em.
(That's to throw the spell off you.)
Throw de spell off. Dey say that throws de spell off.
(Oh, that is used when-the spell is on, already?)
Yes, sir, and to fix it so dey can't put de spell on you.
Entry 1283
An' then yo' kin cure disease with that frog. A frog is wonderful tuh take off spells.
(How would they do that?)
Well, now, yo' kin ketch a frog an' yo' kin let the party that has the spell Spit three times into that frog's mouth an' blow their breath three times in it an' then yo' kin - when they do that yo' read the 23rd Psalms. See, read the 23rd Psalms an' after yo' read de 23rd Psalms, yo' let them take that frog an' throw it ovah dere shoulder jest as hard as they kin an' don't let that frog come back towards where that sick person is standing - keep that frog off from that sick person. An' that frog will carrv that disease off. Yo' kin take off witchcraft fo' anybody wit dat.
Entry 1290
Yo' keeps garlic on yo' fo' hoodoo, keep it in yore shoe - that keeps people from hoodooin' yo'.
Entry 1430
They call it quicksilver. You wear it in your shoe, both of them. Nuthin will harm you, nuthin can hurt chew by walkin' across anything. But be careful how you eat. I've heard them say that they could draw a cross mark across the road. They tell me they put quicksilver in that mark and cover it up. If you cross over that, why you'll have to crawl until you have this spell taken off. [This quicksilver is scrapings from the back of a mirror. I have discussed through-the-looking-glass magic under Horseshoe in subsection Hands. In inform- ants first statement guicksilver is a reversing agent, reflecting evil back upon itself; in second statement guicksilver causes lameness because it is magically pieces of broken glass from the mirror - see margin-title Part of the Spirit Equals Whole of Spirit, p.21.]
Entry 1464
If someone tryin' tuh do yo' somepin round yore home - maybe injure yo' or cumjure yo' tryin' tuh do yo' some harm, if you wanta prevent this trouble, you might read the 7th chapter of the Psalm of David and then walk around yore home about nine times during de night or in de morning between de sun setting and de sun rising, wit salt in yore han' an' call de name of yore enemies or those yo' think about as trying to do yo harm, an dey'll do yo no harn.
Entry 1534
Yo' take three dimes, if anybody do anything to yo'. Well yo' take three dimes an' put 'em in a quart of watah an' boil 'em down to a pint. Well dat spell will git off of 'em.
(What do you do with the water then?)
Yo' drink it.
Entry 1624
I had a cousin. He say he 'us poison. He say they had to put some graveyard dirt on him or somepin or other, you know, to break him an' his wife up. They got him so he couldn't stay with his wife; he couldn't go home without fussin'. A ole lady tole him they went to de graveyard an' got some graveyard dirt an' throwed on him an' sprinkled it around his house to keep him fussin' an' fightin' all the time. So she told him to get some chamber lye an' keep it around his house an' that would kill it.
Entry 1663
If yo' wanta git a spell off anybody, take some sulphur an' put it in yore shoe, po' some whiskey in dere, in yore right shoe, an' drink it - drink dat whiskey an' sulphur right out dat shoe, see. If anybody put a spell on yo', dat'll git it off.
Entry 2779
Now, you can take a white candle, if you want luck. You can take a white candle and three loafs of sugar, and you light it. Set [it] with a name. And you put a piece of paper under it [candle] with the name [this is setting it] and you light it and make your wish. That's for luck.
(What name do you write on that?)
Write whoever you burning it for - write your name or my name, anybody name you burning it for. That's for luck. Now, a red candle.
(A red candle?)
That's a white candle. Now a red candle is for blood.
(Well, how do you handle that - a red candle for blood?)
You take the person name, whoever you wanta get in trouble, and you write the name on the candle all around - up and down on the candle - and you burns it and makes a wish, bad wish. That's for blood, you see. Now a black candle, that's to kill you.
(A black candle is to kill you. Well how would they handle that?)
Well, they take the black candle and they write your name on there, see. And they takes and they cuts that top piece off - like this the top piece, well, they cut that off, and they take and turn it upside down and shape it [make a wick at the bottom end] and they light it upside down. Well, you liable to walk out your door and get killed most any minute.
(Do they use green candles, and blue and yellow, anything of that sort?)
Well, they burn them to different saints for luck.
(Now, are candles burned at any special time or just any time?)
Any time you can burn a candle if you got your saints and you believe in your saints. Well, different days you burn different candles.
(What do you mean by different days you burn different candles?)
Like Mondays, you burns a white candle. Tuesday you burn a green candle. Wednesday you burns a yellow candle or blue candle. But red and black ain't for no luck - that's for undermining work.
(When do you burn those candles? On any day?)
You burn the red candle any day.
(And you burn the black candle any day, too?)
Any day too.
Entry 2943
If I was burning a candle on you here and you'd be in Chicago, the way to make that candle go out, if it was an evil [candle] - if it would be working - if it was a black candle and [or] it would be a red candle - [I] would be burning that candle on you. And the moment you burn an evil candle on you, why it starts with a head - you have a ten- dency to have a headache. That's first starting off you have headaches. Well you light that black candle. I turns around - the moment I find out I may go to some hoodoo or go to a fortune- teller, and she might ketch the vibration right away, if she's pretty well up on clairvoyance work, the first thing she would offer up, that is, to set a pure white light. Then sends her thought direct with concentrating and with will power, and demand- ing whatsomever she desire with controlling power, and that light immediately over there - after she would burn her light one inch - it would say - Pop! - pop! - pop! Burn down at once. It won't go out, though - it just burn clean down. Now, I've seen that over there at de house,1917, right here in Lafayette Street.
(That candle that's burning against you would melt right away?)
Melt jist like - right down like that, just push down.
(It would give her controlling power?)
Yeah, controlling power - using controlling in dealing direct with the astral plane.
Entry 3075
It was a school teacher I was talking to and this ole woman came from Beaufort and she asked her fer a drink of water. And while she was in de house the woman told her she was a doctor and she was a sister of Doctor Buzzard in Beaufort, [S. Car.]. And she said she was so sorry that she talked with this woman, because this woman had taken her spirit for de day. She said, "Ah don't feel like doing anything else today. I am so sorry I gave her that water." Say, "She has taken my whole spirit." And this was a teacher.
(This was a school teacher.)
A school teacher in [name of Charleston school].
(How old a woman was she?)
She was about 39 years old - not older than that. She was a mathmatician in the high school. And she say, "Ah can't do a thing else today because that woman has taken my spirit." (Did she say how she had taken her spirit? Did she know how this old woman could take her spirit away from her?) No, she didn't know. But she said jes' seein' that ole woman - and de ole woman told her that she was a root doctor. Right off she just got in her mind and she couldn't do a thing else fer dat day.
(How long ago did this happen?)
It was Tuesday.
(Tuesday, here in town?)
Right here in Charleston. ["Charleston, S. C., Friday, June 25, 1937 - 495 Mrs. Clayborne - sister and brother in Augusta, James Ramsey & Sofie Lee - No. 4 Percy St. [[Charleston]] working here - Carter [[my contact man from Fredericksburg, Va.]] staying here. Numbers Book 442-621. So this is the place where I interviewed in Charleston.]
Entry 3723
(To remove this spell, if a man has put this spell on the woman.)
To keep 'er from havin' intahco'se, see. An' evah time a man would go to her, his nature, yo' know, his nature won't rise on 'im. (And you were going to tell me how a man would regain his courage, his nature.) Yes, or a woman, see. Now, if yo' trick 'em wit dat snail. (Yes, what about that milk now? This is to get the person's courage back again. All right.) All right. Yo' take - yo' buy a guart of sweet milk, see, an' yo' wash wit it. Eithah one kin wash wit it, see an throw dat away - jes' wash wit milk see. De next, drink half of de milk out first; an' den do it wit dis third bottle, an' den yo' kin use it. An' yo' kin- see, yore courage go back to yo'. See, dat's to break de spell off a person.
(You use three bottles of milk.)
Yo' use three bottles of milk.
(The first bottle you wash with.)
De nex' yo' drink half of it an' den wash wit it, see. (Wash with the other half and the third bottle you drink, and after the third bottle you are all right.)
Entry 3764
He can undo it [impotence] with holy watah an' dese flag lilies dat has de big red an' yellow flowers dat grow in de yard. [Holy water in New Orleans can be consecrated water from a Roman Catholic Church, or water blessed by professional spirituals or shrine keepers; but commercial sellers here and elsewhere prefer holy oil.] Well, jis' git one or two of de buds, little leafs, an' de small leaf of de lily, an' yo' put it in a little hot watah an' let it steep an' make a tea. [The water becomes holy by reading Scripture over it, usually part of a Psalm, or sometimes a prayer.] Yo' wash off wit dat an' it [ailment] will be all gone. Dat will remove de spell. Dat will relieve. [New Orleans, La.,
(803 0r 804), 1126:1.]
Entry 3793
A woman kin give a man some of 'er - sickness. But de way dat chew have to do is git yo' some red shank.
(Red shank. That's a root?)
Yes, kin git dat red shank - lak rusty when yo' dig out de ground, an' as far as it bein' rusty, why it's got plenty of blood in it yo' know. Yo' kin take dat an' make a tea out of it an' yo' drink dat, an' yo' drink a good mouthful of dat tea evah night twelve nights, an' aftah dat twelve nights, aftah de twelve nights is ovah yo' kin go out an' try it. Yo' kin do a little bettah, de nex' night bettah, de nex' night bettah, an' on an' on until yo' jes' cooperate things lak yo' wanta. (That is if a man has lost his nature because some woman has put a spell on him. This restores his nature?) Sure.
Entry 3819
[The sense of this badly recorded cure can be restored:] If woman has man tied up by measurin' an' wearin' [measuring] string, [if she] cross watah - when yo' [she] cross watah, she [nature] come back to yo'. [But otherwise] as long as she wear dat [you won't have any nature except for her.] [For a better insight into crossing water in witchcraft, I recommend an unusual rite, which I will quote in full because it comes from an out-of-print and limited-edition book to be found only in university, college or large library:] [When my boy was little we lived up here near Ursa [[Adams County, Illinois]]. We had an old aunt that was terrible. Well, the truth is, she was a witch. She often said when she milked her cow, she milked every cow in the neighborhood, which is true. Everyone knew it, for if she was milking her cow, no one around could get a drop of milk. Everyone was afraid of her too, afraid she would put a spell on them. I didn't think she would hurt us, but she did. My little boy was strong. He took sick in the legs, he got so weak he could not walk at all. We would put him down and he would fall right over, could not stand on his legs. We took him to the doctor in Ursa, he could not find anything wrong with my boy. We waited several days, then we brought him to Quincy to Dr.x. He could not find a thing wrong. Then I started to thinking maybe our aunt had a spell on our boy and had him in her power. My husband said, "We will take him to one more doctor and if he does not find anything wrong, we will know he is bewitched and will have to take the spell off some way. Well, we took him to the third doctor [M.D.]. It was just the same answer, nothing wrong. It's an old saying, a witch can't follow you over a body of water, if you go one way and come back another way. As soon as you start over the water, she loses her power; but if you come back the same way, she gets her power back. We came to Quincy with the boy, went down to the river, took the ferry boat across the river, carrying my boy - he could not walk, was so weak. Then we walked up to the old bridge and started to walk back to Quincy on the wagon side of the bridge. WHEN WE GOT HALF OVER THE BRIDGE THE BOY WANTED DOWN. WE PUT HIM DOWN. I AM TELLING YOU THE TRUTH, HE STARTED RIGHT OUT TO WALKING AND WALKED ACROSS THE BRIDGE WHEN HE HAD NOT WALKED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. The spell was broken and he was strong in the legs again. Right after that, the old aunt - I should say witch - got down sick and could not walk for several years. So we knew she was the one that had our boy in a spell. She is dead now [[FACI, 2nd ed., p.893.]].] [If I am not mistaken, another crossing-water rite will appear in volume 3 or 4 of HOODOO.1
Entry 5089
Take yore shoes an' cuz yuh tuh fix 'em tuh keep yuh home, keep yuh from driftin' from pillah tuh post.
(How would they do that with your shoes?)
AH HAVE WELL EXPERIENCE OF KEEPIN' YORE MIND TUHGETHAH WIT SHOES. Yuh gO tuh de store an' git yuh a box of cinnamon an' a box of allspice. Take-a ole pair of shoes dat yuh have worn, if a person's mind have been drifted so dat dey cain't stay tuhgethah, an' take de cinnamon an' all- spice an' sugar, an' mix it tuhgethah an' put intuh each shoe. Take de shoe an' turn de shoes tuhgethah an' plant 'em [demonstrates]. (I see. You put the two mouths of the shoes together, and the soles away from each other, like that.) An' de sole away from each othah, an' den yuh kin [plant] dose shoes down in de centah of yore steps. Dat's tuh keep a person's mind from driftin' [away from home]. AH HAVE WELL EXPERIENCED DAT.
(Well, how do you mean, keep the person's mind from drifting?)
Jis' like if some one have put a spell on yuh, tuh be goin' from pillah tuh post, yuh see, an' by puttin' dis cinnamon an' allspice an' sugah in dat shoe, an' turn[ing] de soles of dat shoe tuhgethah [see later] an' plantin' it at de house where yuh live, it'll keep dere minds at home.
(You don't mean put the soles together, you mean put the tops together.)
De tops tuhgethah, yes. De soles go out.
(I see.)
[My correction of informant is one of the few times I ever did this sort of thing. I am not correcting her words but recalling her pantomimic actions I describe. Yet she was right the second time also, magically. What difference can there be whether the two MoUTHS of the shoes are together or the two soles (SOULS)? The significance is the same - love and peace. Significant also is the emptiness of the preceding magic. You are never responsible for any of your actions, because someone may have a spell on you. A perfect example of being irresponsible for your actions will be found in the alcoholic woman (No.78, p.33).]
Entry 5150
Take yore shoes an' put some hot-foot powdah inside de inside sole of yore shoe. Dress dat shoe fo' yuh, dey kin put yuh walkin'. Dey kin dress dat shoe fo' yuh an' give yuh spells. Ah had a woman las' yeah dat went tuh a lady an' she tole her tuh - give her some oil an' tole her, say, "Now, yuh kin gain 'im if yuh git 'im drunk an' git dis in 'is shoes. Yuh git dis in 'is shoes. Git 'im drunk, unless dat he wise. He got plenty sense." Say, "Yuh git 'im drunk an' git dis in 'is shoe." An' say, "Yuh have 'im like yuh wanta." Say, "He'll leave his wife an' come an' stay wit yuh."
(What kind of oil was that?)
It was hot-foot oil.
(For you [the man] to come to her.)
[HOT FOOT POWDER (see p.590 and elsewhere) is used to run 'em 'way from dere. HOT FOOT OIL, not so common as hot-foot powder, runs a woman's husband away to a woman working the spell under the direction of a lady, a hoodoo worker.]
Entry 6146
Take yore hair an' git yore hair outa yore head an' bury it in a snail shell undah de door- step or at de back windah, an' put yo' to gwinin' [going] an' have yo' where dat yo' won't know - dey'll put aspell or headache onyo' see, an' dat head- aohe will jes' lingah an' lingah undah until it kill yo'. Ain't no cure fo' it, crs de doctor can't cure it, de hoodoo gotta cure it. Yo' can't git it cured un- til yo' be lucky enough to git some hoodoo to go back undah dat windah, undah dat doorstep an' dig dat up an' give it to yo'. Well, when he dig it up an' tell yo' vat to do wit it, den it's to hell an' gone. (I see.) [The hoodoo doctor sends it back to hell whence it came.]
Entry 6337
Well, ah kin go out tuh de fo'ks of de road, if ah wants tuh go out dere an' put down a little magic work for business. Ah kin go out dere tuh de fo'ks of de road an' git me a little dirt [see FORK-OF-ROAD DIRT, p.688, and elsewhere]. De fo'ks of de road comin' so [demonstrates]. Prob'ly one comin' - Memoirs.of Alma Egan Hyatt Foundation - east an' one comin' west. Well, ah gits right in de middle of dat fo'k of dat road. Ah don't git very much of dis, jis' a li'le bit of it, dat dirt. Take dat li'le dirt an' has me a li'le bottle, or cup or anythin ah wants tuh put dat dirt in, an' go on back home. Well, ah kin fix dis right up out tuh de fo'ks of de road. Aftah ah git dis dirt an' put it in dat bottle, den ah has me a ten-cent bottle of Hearts Cologne. Put dat Hearts Cologne on dat - nine drops, see. An' aftah ah po' dat in dat bottle, den ah puts anythin' - any othah article ah got lak hair or any- thin'. Ah'll fix dat up. Well now, heah's what all goes in dere: Dat dirt out de fo'ks of de road. Buy a bottle of Hearts Cologne jis' about dat big [demonstrates], a ten-cent bottle. Yuh po' dat intuh dis dirt or whatsomevah dat chew got tuh put dis dirt in, a bottle or cup. An' aftah yuh put dat in dere. den yuh takes hair. Don't care whut part it come from - come from out yore haid, puts it in dere. An' aftah yuh put dat hair in dere, yuh stop dat hair up airtight an' takes it back to dese peoples' home an' bury dis fo' nine inches under de ground. Dat represent de nine mawnin' dat she'll leave dere. [She'll leave on or before the ninth day.] Den go back an' take it outa dere an' goes to a runnin' stream of water an' throw dis in a runnin' stream of water. An' when yo' throw dis, throw it high enough to give a splash tuh dis bottle. Don't look back - jis' throw it ovah yuh haid, don't look back atall. An' jis' long as dat watah an' dat bottle floats - it don't be a big bottle, a little bottle, so [demonstrates]. So long as it goes, dat person dat yuh's aftah, dey is gone.
(You throw it high enough?)
High enough tuh make de splash be heard [over] dat curse words. [My transcriber ommitted dat curse Words; a common practice to end a rite with a cursing incantation. Why the splash had to be heard during or after the curse words is a sort of So be it or Amen.]
Entry 6691
You can dig Adam-and-Eve root up and keep it and let it dry, and when you want it you have it. If anyone puts a spell on you, you boil some of that on the stove and put a little whiskey with it and drink it, and that will cure you. [Fredericksburg, Va., cylinder 80, by Ediphone.]
Entry 6724
Yo' take a black hen aig an' write on it, if yo' think anybody is tryin' tuh rootwork yo' or anythin' lak dat. Yo' write on it whut chew want dat aig tuh do, tuh protect yo' in whut way, an' bury it at de centah of yore gate. An' if anybody come in yore yard wit anythin' dat means yo' any harm, why it will turn back tuh dem.
[This is called returning the spell.]
Entry 6774
If yo' thought somebody wuz HOODOOIN' yo' or if yo' had any pain an' yo' thought it came from somebody's work dat had anything on yo', dat chew kin use a plastahs on dat part wit dirt daub- ah, wit de eithah pound dat up or let it dissolve in vinegah an' use dat applica- tion. It will give relief.
Entry 6856
Evah new moon yo' have a spell. Dey do dis trick on de new moon. [You must] turn it back on de new moon.
Entry 6958
If anyone wanta try tuh put a spell on yo' - whut chew take an' weah it fo', tuh keep dem from doin' dat - is weah a li'le sulphur in yore pocket evah day an' eat a pinch evah now an' den. See, an' dat will keep dem from puttin' de spell on yo'.
Entry 7325
An' black or red peppah, salt, bluestone. Make dat stuff up an' sprin- kle it down, if yo' done a crime an' yo' Wanta git away. Dey goin' take de blood- hound to git aftah yo'. Git dat graveyard dirt an' dat bluestone an' salt an' stuff an' put it in your shoe. An' anywhere yo' go dat dog'll track yo' till yo' got dat, an' den when yo' got dat he can't track yo' no furthah, yo' see. Yo' see, yo' done hoodooed dat dog. Dat dog come on back. An' he can't go ovah dat cuz it's too strong fo' 'im, yo' see - dat graveyard dirt.
Entry 7566
Ah heard dey say yuh go tuh a graveyard an' git de dirt offa simah- man's grave or a sinnah-woman's grave - a single sinnah, dem whut ain't married, offa dere grave. An' bring it an' sprinkle it roun' yore house or put it roun' dere do'step or sompin. An' dey says dat'll take it off yuh. Ah've heard dat.
(Take what off?)
Jis' lak if yuh - whut did yuh ast me? [If somebody were tricking you or something. If somebody was trying to give you bad luck.) Dat would remove it.
(This would take that spell off?)
Yes sir.
Entry 7590
Git dat dirt - go tuh de graveyard. Well, yuh takes a new grave, kinda new, about say a week old. An' dey goes - goes down tuh de haidbo'd, de haidbo'd of de grave, an' dey get dat dirt. Well, dey gits some of yore hair an' some of yore gar- ments [3 ingredients] an' dey take dat an' put it where yuh have tuh walk over it. An' by changin' - do's dat, do it jis' befo' de moon change. When de moon changes, de spell be comin' on yuh. Well, den it come tuh gittin' wuse [worse] an' wuse, an' yuh'll git so cain't no- body do anythin' wit chew an' yuh jis go crazy - die off from it.
Entry 7933
I have heard of them drawing a ring in the ground, and they make the shape of a coffin in the ring. Then you make a mark like this [a straight line lengthwise] through the center of the coffin, and take seven grains of pepper seed and put all up and down that mark and cover it over. Then you draw a mark through the coffin like this [a straight line crosswise]. And they can't get by there. They're going to drindle [dwindle] and drindle. Nothing will do you no good. You're going away from there. That doesn't aim to put you to death at once, that just puts a spell on you and you never get over it. They put that on the path or at the gate where you can't miss it. [Despite my comment in the preceding rite, in the present one I actually managed to squeeze in two comments to show that one straight line bisected the length, the other the width of the coffin.] [The informant's father was a well-known cunjure man, but the son has not been very successful in carrying on the work.]
Entry 8900
[These two unusual rites demand two explanations: (1) an illustration of the crossed-keys design, which has been a detail of the Papal coats of arms for centuries; and (2) a reference to my experience with this ancient symbol. 2+ Since these crossed keys point upward symbolically unlocking the gate of heaven, they are important indeed. How important they become in hoodoo we can learn by reading the remarkable interview called CROSSED KEYS AND VISIONS, Pp.1048-1059, vol.2. The doctor who granted me this interview will now be quoted in the following italicized words; my comments during the interview will be as usual in parentheses, my later-dated comments in brackets:] Ah'm 79 an' ah works mah business [healing and hoodoo] wit de "works of gifts." Ah'm "gifted" - "born gifted, " "born wit a sign." Ah make mah own medicine an' "doctor" people. An' den ah works wit people dat gits in trouble, lawsuits an' all sech things [for this latter type of work, see the following section CoURT CASEs]... Ah was born wit a cross mark on my forehead, an' ah was twenty years [old] befo' ah evah come in contact wit any "workin'" [of healing or conjuration].
[He now tells why and how he started this work.]
Blasting rock way back [years aqo] in mah home ah found dat key undah a rock, stronge form [for a key]. Ah work dat key fo' evahthing.
[He shows me the key and here is my immediate description of it.]
(They are double keys, the keys that are crossed.)
Ah worked evahthing by dem, don't care if yo' in a lawsuit or whut. Ah don't give yo' no "roots, " don't make no "hand" tuh send yo'. [For HANDS: MAGIC HELPERS see pp.519-669 and everywhere.]
(You found this key?)
Yes.
(You had a mark on your forehead, you say?)
One lak dat, de mark of dat [crossed] key, right in mah forehead. [This "x" on his forehead was not a birthmark but some prominent crossing in the web or netting of that part of the amnion forming the caul at his birth. I was especially interested in this "x" because two years previously at Charleston, S. Car., Doctor Brown could see the same mark on my, the author's forehead: "The mark that Doctor Brown inwardly saw on my forehead was the tav or taw =.sign or cross, 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Presumably - or at least I hope - I bore the mark of the elect or chosen of God (Ezk.9:3-7); not the mark of the beast (Rev.14:9)" - p.1290, v.2.]
(And then later on you found this [double key in the.form of a cross]?)
Yeah, aftah twenty yeahs. Now, ah was born wit dat mark on mah forehead. Ah found dat key undah a rock where we's [we was] blastin! one day, I an' daddy. We went back to take up de rock an' we found dat key, an' it wus jes' as bright as it wus [is] today. An' ah kin do evahthing ah want. Ah kin work business by dat ring [in the key, he points to it].
(That little ring on the end.)
Ah kin work diff'rent object [parts of the ringl, 'cordin' to whut yore case is. Ah kin work dat mark [something on key] an' ah kin work dis heah key up heah - jes' 'cordin' to whut de case is.
(You use various parts of that key for various cases?)
Yessuh. [Though informant's double key is appropriate here, one problem remains. Did he lie about finding the key 60 years before my arrival? Even a lie would not invalidate his actual work. Another fact we must remember, the difference be- tween the real world and the world of dreams and wishes is very thin in hoodoo. What I mean can be learned by reading the interview, SHE FORESAW AUTHOR IN A DREAM, PP.1085-1097, vol.2. Finally, WHAT A REVERSAL OF CLAIMED HISTORY IT WAS TO FIND THIS KEY UNDER RATHER THAN UPON A ROCK!] [These Papal keys, stamped from metal, were formerly sold in religious, curio, occult, and hoodoo shops, as well as by mail-order firms. Also used, especially as good luck pieces, were old coins and medallions. One of the latter was given to me by an informant back in the late 1930's. It reads on one side, Bullock Electric Mfg. Co. Cincinnati; on the other side, National Association of Station- Hrmy Engineers, Boston, Sept. 2-6, 1902. One of the most interesting of these many devices were the two colored stones or rocks used by a doctor in New Orleans, see margin title ROCKS, pp.198-204, vol.1. What I found in the field among be- lievers back in the late 1930's and early 1940's may not be there today. Fashions in this sort of thing change rapidly in the world of wishful thinking and commer- cial magic.]
[We have not reached the actual rite:]
You can take the Bible and you put a key - you get the KEY OF ST. PETER. You take that key and you wrap it with the handkershief. See you wrap the Bible with handkershief. And you have the key in the Bible. And you get another friend with you which is going to talk with you, he has gotta say the same thing you say. Well, each side you hold the Bible and then you speak. Each of you use one finger. You don't leave any other finger touch it but those two. And you hold it. And then you say this little prayer. You say: By St. Peter and St. Paul, the one who stole my things, turn Bible and fall. Now, if you say: Mack or Henry stole it from me, turn key, Bible and fall, then if Henry stole it, that Bible will turn and you can go right to Henry and get the goods. Go right to Henry, or George or Peter or whosomever it may be and that's the words they use: By St. Peter. [New Orleans, La., (809), 1137:4.] [For anyone interested in the development and use of the preceding keys, see David Lindsay Galbreath, A Treatise on Ecclesiastical Heraldry, Part I, Papal Heraldry, Cambridge, England, W. Heffer and Sons, Ltd., 1930. This learned work, well illustrated and docu- mented, gives many arrangements of the keys from coats of arms, seals, bookstamps or bookplates, architectural decorations, gonfalons, etc.]
Entry 8950
You will go to a creek where ther's water running at. You get you some of that sand out of the bottom of that creek. See, some of that white sand, and you get you some of that run- ning water, see. You brings it back home, you puts it in a clean basin. See, put that sand in the bottom of that basin. You puts that water in there. You take and you write your name on a piece of paper nine times. See. And you puts it in that water. Well, it's natural when that paper gets wet, it's going to sink under that water, you understand. That paper sinks under there and you stand up in it and you repeat the Lord's Prayer for seven times and make your wish. And whosomever got anything from you, they ain't going to rest until they bring it back.
(I see, if anybody has stolen anything?)
If anybody stole anything, it keep 'em tormented until he bring it back. (What do you mean by repeating the prayers seven times? You mean all on this one day?) Yes, sir.
(Or seven different days?)
Oh, no sir, just one time, yo' see. An' while yo' repeating that, that paper going to come back to the top of the water, you see. And when it come, it going to begin to float around, see. It float around, you see on that water. An' then you don't take it out; see, yo' leave that paper float in that water. See. And it's goin' keep him tormented until he brings that back. It going to create a fear on him, he can't rest nowhere.
(I see.) [New Orleans, La., (873), 1426:4.]
[Despite the following do-it-yourself rites about court cases, it was always advisable in serious crimes to employ the service of an expert, especially of a legendary person like Doctor Buzzard, who never appeared in court but sent an animal to do his work (pp.891-905). At an earlier date some witchcraft people could break up a trial by thunder and lightning, so it is said. Much of this court material is scattered throughout Hoodoo - see interview COURTROOM SPECIAL- IST, Pp.1423-1449, v.2; SIFTER AND SCISSORS, No.604, p.204, v.1; and especially a rite, No.9024 in this present section, one of the finest statements in Hoodoo; My amazing experience with Doctor Washington of Charleston, S. Car. He, using me as a guinea pig, explains how he could free me from the clutches of the law, if I were a bootlegger and had been arrested! This freedom he describes by asking me questions and then answering them himself - Shakespearian! Indirectly he will bribe the court through a go-between with the money I pay him in advance, keeping a part of it as his commission, and work his real magic with 2 black hens. Washington, after talking to me, had a fight with another doctor out in the court- yard of the house where I was interviewing. I refer to this fracas later while in Brunswick, Ga., after two doctors likewise had a quarrel outside the house where I interviewed (lines 5-6, 15-16, p.337, v.1). Washington, as also most other doctors, paid me the great compliment of my life, without any suggestion or pretense of mine. He and they considered me a hoodoo man from New York City! Big-city life would make me ignorant of animals that crawled or hopped or flew. Consequently he offered to help me by taking over any live-things-in-you cases coming my Way in Charleston - See DOCTOR WASHINGTON ASKS FOR DOCTOR HYATT'S "LIVE-THINGS-IN-YOU" CASES, pp.2253-2258, v.3.]
Entry 10096
I heard one fellow tell that too. As near as I can recall what he said. You take a black cat at twelve o'clock at night, boil the cat in hot Water until the flesh is boiled away from the bones. The first bone that floats up to the top of the water, you say certain words - I don't remember the words. You tie a string to the bone and keep the bone in your outh a certain length of time. Then tie that string around your neck with the bone hanging to it. That puts the person in the power of what they call...in ocher words he sells himself to the devil. He can work wonderful miracles. Be can do anything he wishes. It gives luck in gambling, too. [Fredericksburg, Ta., by Ediphone,62.]
Entry 10097
Now, ef ah wanted tuh sell mahself tuh de devil, so ah kin be a hoodoo ' do all kinds of tricks, ah would go tuh de fo'ks of de road at tvelve 'clock Inight - on a Sat'day night. An' dere [at forks] ah'd stay an' leann dese tricks an' git a black cat bone. Boil de black cat chew undahstan', an' git 'is bone. An' when ah see dat bone through a looking ' glass until ah turns dark, ah git dat bone in dere. An' ah'd do whut dat bone tell me to. An' ah kin do anythin' ah wanta do, an' go anywhere ah wanta go.
(What do you mean about turning dark in the glass?)
When yo' see yuh got a certain bone an' yo' pull it through yore mouth, dat glass turn dahk, yo' undahstan'. Makes 'im know dat he's got de right bone.
(Makes what turn dark, the man?)
De glass will turn dahk [everything disappears!].
The informant presents a hypothetical Saturday-midnight road-forks visit and black-cat-bone test, initially describing himself turning dark before clarifying that the glass turns dark. The interviewer's questions and Hyatt's disappearance gloss remain separate; the wording is not silently reconciled.
Entry 10363
Woman, when man asleep, takes piece of string, measures him, ties it around her leg [making 1 knot in string] so that he will have no nature for any- one else. He can break spell only by getting the string. [Washington, D. C., 798:1.]
Entry 10890
Take cat hairs an' dog hairs an' mix it together an' throw it around undah that house, an' nobody lives there. (Why won't they live there?) Why? Because when they git in there, it'll be confused so they cain't stay there. Dog and cats don' like each othah. Dat's whut chew call a black art trick.
Entry 11262
The candles ain't much good, but it is an incense that you kin get and burn it, and talk to dis incense and whatever you want to happen, well, if you handle it right, it will sure do what you want it to do. If you want to drau de person or you want to send 'em. Either come or go. But you must have that HOODOO DUST along with it. It ain't no good to draw along by itself, but it has power. But it takes more than that, you know, to make it act.
(Has that any special name?)
Odor of Bangum.
(Odor of Bengum?)
That's it.
(Incense? And you put this hoodoo powder with it?)
That's the idea. (Is that hoodoo powder made specially, or do you buy that from somebody, mix it or what?) Well, yes, there's people that makes this hoodoo powder and something that you kin buy from the drug store is used for other purposes, but you kin mix it together. Why it's all right just the same. (What would you buy in the drug store? What sort of stuff would you buy there?) Well, you might go dere and get you a little High John de Conquah. You kin get that in a powders, too; most any way you want it. Mix it up dere together with the perfume and so on. Dere's other little stuff that you mix in it. Get it lined up right and whatever you want to happen, it'll happen.
Entry 11263
They tell me you git two rocks and you begin to work dat stuff. If you git this gold-finding hand that I spoke of, begin to walk backward and for- Ward from de front to the back door, and TALK TO DIS POT AND DEM ROCS WILL BOIL DE WATER IN DAT POT.
(You do what?)
You kin walk backwards from de front door to the back door, after you git dis gold-finding hand, and you kin boil water in de pot without a fire.
(Boil water in the pot without a fire?)
Boil it over. [Norfolk, Va., (Doctor Paul Bowes) 460:5; 462:2; 464:2.]
Entry 11686
Yo' go out dere 'fore day in de mawnin' an' git a twig offa tree at de fo'ks of de road an' use it. Yo' kin use it fo' luck, fo' bad luck, an' dey use it with dis red flannel. Ah 'magine yo' seen red flannel. Yo' use red flan- nel. An' git chew a twig while de sap is in it, but chew cain't git it when it's dry, at de fo'ks of de road. Dat cause people tuh has spells, fallin' outa beds, agony in de haid, agony in de feet, athaletics feets an' all lak dat. (What do you do with this twig? How do they work that?) Well, yo' git chew a piece of red flannel an' git chew some turpentine an' asafetidy an' boil it all tuhgethah in 'bout, jes' say 'bout a cup of watah an strain it an' po' all dat drugs [dregs], let say yo' has drugs tuh it, an' strain it through dat red flannel. An' aftah yo've strained it through de red flannel, den yo' use only de watah, understan'. Set dis watah in a dark place in a closet an' keep dis twig in dis red flannel wrapped. Yo' kin weah dis roun' yore neck fo' luck fo' yo'self. An' de watah fo' bad luck yo' kin sprinkle around a person's do'steps tuh cause 'em tuh move. If yo' wanta sprinkle it fo' luck, if yo' Wanta sprinkle it, yo' kin sprinkle it tuh cause 'em tuh move. Yo' kin sprinkle it fo' a person dat's sick, tuh make 'em have iller health. Yo' kin sprinkle it where a person is sick, tuh make 'em have bettah health; accordin' tuh whut chew magic' but chew gotta git it from de fo'ks of de road 'fore day in de mawnin'.
Entry 11844
I tell yuh jes' what 'tis. My uncle it was, was tellin' me this. That's why I was goin' tell yuh. A lady that he was courting, he was going with her, and of course this man [rival or hoodoo man] tole him that he was hurt, because he thought he was going with her. And he told him that the lady had put somepin in a bottle an' buried it under the doorstep. And that thing that she buried under the doorstep was some of his hair that she'd gotten from the barber shop and mixed it with some salt, pep- per and whiskey, and buried it under her doorstep, and that whenever he walked over it, would hurt him. [At least we know uncle liked whiskey!] But if he would take this up and put it in some boiling water, and if it floated, then he could ward off the spell that she had put on him, and that he probably could throw it back on her, on the parties who was puttin' it on him. He could take and just take this out and roll it under his arm. [then] roll it in some meal.
(Hold it under his arm?)
Roll it. Yeah, roll it under his arm.
(Oh, under his arm first.)
Yeah, and then put it in some meal and make it into a cake-like, and bury it underneath the steps, the same step where the other stuff was buried, and that would return it on her.
Entry 12003
If a person cuts up victim's hair, corks up pieces in a bottle of water, buries bottle under victim's door, these pieces Will turn into snakes and run the victim crazy. The victim can be cured only by finding a "DOUBLE HEAD." [This term is a rather rare name for a "TWO-HEAD" or "TWO-HEADER, " a person who knows so much he needs two heads to hold it, a hoodoo doctor.] [Fredericksburg by Ediphone.]
Entry 12269
Git some High John de Conkah root an' chew it as yo' talkin' to the bOSS an' HE'LL NEVAH NOTICE THAT YORE CHEWIN' SOMETHIN' TUH CAUSE YO' LUCK, an' when yo' git ready to walk out why yo' jis' spit dat root whut yo' chew right round his feet. [Memphis 1517:6.]
Entry 12292
Dat's in de lines of castin' a spell upon a person. Go tuh work an ties 36 knots, if yo' wanta cast a spell upon a person. Put a spell upon a per- son, ties thirty-six knots. Take a strand of thread and tie 36 knots an' let 'em be three inches apart. Dose knots, let 'em be three inches apart 'sposed tuh be in dat thread. An' yo' wil] throw dat thread, after yo' git dose 36 knots tied in it, why den yo'll throw dat thread ovah yore haid an' don't look back. An' yo'll step out de road - anywhere's dere a road - from de middle of de road, throw dat thread ovah yore haid an' don't look back. An' dat will really, de fac' 'bout it, suh, will give dem a purtty tight time. Make 'em crazy - whushy in dey mind.
(How do you know you've got the right person when you are tying those knots?)
Why dere 36 knots! "Cos' yo' know yo' absolutely got de right person.
Entry 12375
Lak now, say, if yo' wuz mad wit me. Well, if ah go to one of dese iucky men's, see, an' git me some of dis hoodoo stuff. Well, now, yo' don't come tuh mah house but Sarah ovah dere comes. Well, yo' give dis tuh Sarah an' Sarah vill come to mah house an' de fireplace is broken up heah or down heah. [Sarah vill] poke dat stuff in dere. All right. I got tied because it's in mah house all de time.
Entry 12441
Well, de mockin'bird eggs is puttin' spells on people. Yo' write, jes' like yo' write on 'em [black-hen eggs previously given by informant]. Yo' take dose eggs, de same identical way. Well, yo' take dat egg an' yo' put it somewhere where he breed, an' den when he breed it, why den dat will be his luck, his bad luck, dat happen to him wit dat mockin'bird egg. [You write on egg whatever you want to happen to victim and restore egg to nest. When egg hatches your wish comes true.]
Entry 12499
[As in the preceding rite, only my attached pencil resume remains: "1 needle [down],1 needle up, let pin go between an' put in [stick into] hat bow [with] sugar and garlic an' wear next to you." What simple instructions: 1 needle point down,1 needle point up, and 1 pin between the 2 needles. Remember, we are sticking these needles and pins into a hat bow. Here we have a magic design, the oldest type of folklore in existence, examples by the thousands, and older than written history. We Could play with the present possibilities but suppose we confine ourselves to 4 of them: In diagram 1 the points of the needles do not touch the pin; in diagram 2 the needle points touch the pin. The heads in both diagrams form a triangle, symbol of the Trinity or the 3 Holy Names. In diagram 3 the pin crosses the centers of both needles and it separates them or is between them. Again the 3 heads form a triangle. More than this, we now have 2 Greek crosses tt or a double- cross, if you decide to undo your work. again diagram 4 again separates the several times in HOODOO. The 6 spokes of the rimless wheel of course construct 3 X'CRoSSES.]
Entry 12696
Mah wife got sick, she^ wuz sick a month. Ah pray tuh God tuh learn me, to teach me dese things. Ah goes an' git - she wuz washing some clothes out dere. Ah wuz goin' wit a woman dat didn't live so fur from dere. Dis woman done put some kinda powder or dust or sompin in mah ole woman's dresses an' dat put a spell on her - paralyzed her, mah wife. Ah pray tuh God tuh teach me in learning dese things.
Entry 13064
Well, dey kin put walkin' spells on you with your shoes.
(How do they do that?)
Dey take jes' one of your shoes an' go get dem a snail, an' den get some of your ole clothes or somepin you wear. And take and cut it up - take some scis- sors and cut it up fine. Take dat snail and get some of dat snail slime off of dat snail. Put dat in de bottom of your shoe and you'll leave dere walkin'.
(What do they do with those clothes they cut up? What do they do with that?)
Dat clothes what dey cut up. Well, you see, dat's jes' somepin to help dat snail slime, make you leave dere.
(Well, do they put that cut-up stuff in that shoe or what?)
Yas suh, dey sprinkle it in dere, jes' cut it up fine.
Entry 13067
Dey say if yo' put a snail in a person's path an' yo' put it 'bout dat far into de groun' [demonstrates]... (Three or four inches under the ground?) Yeah, jes' 'bout. An' he walk ovah dat, dat will cause dem to have aches an' pains of all kinds. Dat will put spells on dem, too.
Entry 4402
[The tree-hole rites of this margin title are only a part of the total number to be found in the present section and elsewhere in the text of HOODOO.] If yuh wanta put a spell on a person or make 'em lingah in misery an' suffah foa long time, yuh could take some of dere pass an' bo' a hole in de tree an' stop it up an' dat would cuz 'em tuh suffah deyselves away. Ah heard dat chew could do dat.
Entry 10761
They put it [bluestone] in a bag and wear it around their neck to keep away some kind of spell.
The short account describes wearing something in a bag to keep away an unspecified spell; 'bluestone' is bracketed editorial wording.
Entry 2736
(What kind of name did you say? Algiers is what kind of name?) [I had not yet been to Algiers.] Jest dat ole antique name - you understand what I mean, of being a Hoodoos town. You know what I mean. That's that [town] cross the river at New Orleans, you know - jest got that ole antique name there. (Well, those hoodoos, are they any good?) Oh, some people very good, yeah. Ah've did some wonderful work there in Algiers. I was with Helen, and Maud, Frances - the Seven Sisters they call 'em. Yeah, they's very good girls - they are very good inter- pretaters. They had a mental capacity - all those girls did, and [Someone? one of the girls] is one of the best card readers in the country. [I doubt the existence of the original Seven Sisters as seven individuals; but. the idea of them, like that of Dr. Buzzard, was widely known and copied. Even Seven Brothers were invented (see below), perhaps from the seventh son of the seventh son, and of course there had to be a Seven Sisters root (p.645).] (I see. Well, I suppose there are just as good outside? You get some people just as good away from there?) Oh sure. The town don't make the mental capacity of a man - either de State [Louisiana] don't make that. It's just an old wife's saying away back in old antiquity - saying Algiers - 'cause that's the first originator, understand me, of de hoodoo proposition. Yeah, years back prior to me and yours birth, yeah.
The informant discusses hoodoo work and Algiers reputation. The work, origin and practitioner accounts remain attributed, with editorial doubts preserved.
Entry 6916
If cunjurated boil silkweed [= milkweed] an' John de Conkah in a pint of watah down to halfa pint [magic rite of decreasing amount]. Take 3 swallahs a day.
The bracketed note calls the preparation a magic rite of decreasing amount. That classification is editorial; it does not establish an informant's description or efficacy.
Source passage
printed interview with editorial and production layers · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
see me all de time, don' choo? [Asking Cubby.]
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
Yeah. I see you all de time.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
(Well, just tell Mr. Cubby and tell these people I'm not a policeman, you can see that.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4497
Dere's a lotta dem [healers]. Dere's Zeffie Hill.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
I was tellin' 'im about her.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
MIFFIN
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
Tha' Zeffie Hill is good.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
I was tellin' 'im about them. Those are the people who say they heal. That's those yo' were tellin' about comin' in on Sundays.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
MIFFIN
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
Yeah. Dey don' do nothin' but heal, give yo' numbahs to have luck an' things. But dese othah people - dey supposed to be good.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
I heard also there was some good ones down in Clewiston.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
MIFFIN
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
Yeah, dere's some good ones in Clewiston, Florida. But where at in Clewiston, Florida?)
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
I know I could find that out from her. She gits in on the weekends. She lives in Clewiston but she lives in...
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
[Mrs. Miffin breaks in before Cubby finishes statement.]
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
But yo' know whut, if Jera
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
[?]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
hadn't o' died - I know one lady tha' he'ped them a lot. But Jera died and Jera always say,
reported or enacted speech · Miffin (speaker in this passage) · Named speaker in the recounted account; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"I'm goin' give yo' this woman's address if anythin' evah happen, give her my name an' tell 'er I sent yo'.'
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
But I didn't get to Jera before... Yo' remembah Jera Jones an' she died?
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
[Asking Cub- by.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
She say,
reported or enacted speech · Miffin (speaker in this passage) · Recounted woman whose identity is unresolved; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"I could git yore son out of trouble.
reported or enacted speech · Miffin (speaker in this passage) · Recounted woman whose identity is unresolved; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
I don' know why I sat down so long, I didn't have the money to pay an' go like dey was goin' an' I jis' lef' ev'rythin' in the han's of the Lawd. Tha's jis' how I wus 'cause I didn' b'liev' in 'em, but now I do. "
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
Cause I see too many things happenin' now. Tha's true, don' choo think so?
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
[To Cubby.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
In some cases.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4497
In some cases, yes.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
[A pounding noise here - apparently it is her children pounding their fist on the car door glass]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"Darrell get away from there!"
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"Go ahead home!"
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
I've seen some things happen I can't explain them myself so it would tend to make yo' sorta believe it.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
(Well now let me give you an illustration - that man you talked to that said he was going to put warts on your arm. Now if you were in the proper frame of mind it's just possible that he could put them on you. See what I mean?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
Sho', look what I did about 3 weeks ago. I went to a house - me an' this girl was goin' wid dis same boy. Dis woman, ol' 'nuff fo' my Momma now. This stuff from spirits from whut I know fo' myself. Okay, dey kep' sendin' fo' me an' I know I don' drink no likker. I know good and well I don' drink likker. An' I goes up there - sit there - de bar. Dey had a ha'fa pint settin' up there on de table an' I said to 'er, I said,
reported or enacted speech · Miffin (speaker in this passage) · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"Well, look, I don' drink no likker."
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
reported or enacted speech · Miffin (speaker in this passage) · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"Yeah, drink some."
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
An' the devil tol' me to drink tha' likker an' boy I'm tellin' yo' - my little daughtah could tell yo' - I came back downstairs, I be- gin to git real sick. She po'ed the likker an' she po'ed the Coca Cola in. The Coca Cola floatin' in the likker an' I came back downstairs an' in about 30 rinutes I got deathly sick an' I got so sick I jis' layed across de bed. An' dis same little girl whut was standin' right dere
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
[she may be referring to one of the children who earlier was pounding car window]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4497
. I sta'ted vomitin', an' san, dese li'le things - white an' dey are wrapt up jis' like a worm. Jes' like a worm an' dey come outa me for about 30 minutes an' I wus so sick! Yo' lmou I got a fo'k an' I took one out an' I tried to unwrap it. Ev'rytime I try to unwrap it they wrap back up an' there's about 30 of 'em in dere an'I gen' to de doctah an' yo' know whut he tol' me? I was likker poisoned!
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(You were what?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Likker poisoned. Dat likker was poison.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(Uh huh.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
[At least I am noncommital!]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
An' yo' know right today she come right dere an' sit on dat step, dat bench right dere ev'ry day. An' I JIS' HATE 'ER TO MY HEART. An' I jis' came right - an' I tol' 'er de othah day,
reported or enacted speech · Miffin (speaker in this passage) · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
"Don't come to my house no mo'."
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
She ol' 'nuff to be my momma an' she goin' wid dis young boy.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(Well why did she do it to you? Is she jealous of you?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Goin' wit de same main. I mean, yo' know she's do dese hot things yo' know, dese lookin' things an' dat woman couldn't see me ag'in no mo', 'cause dat guy is good an' I could git dat money an' a lot of women can't see no man takin' care of no woman. Dere Some Women dat cain't. AN RIGHT DEN AN' DERE I MADE UP IN MY MIN' UNLESS IT'S JESUS, BABY, DAT'S THE ONLIEST PERSON CAN GIVE ME A DRINK - JESUS. If I drink it I be by myself. It's somethin' I bought by my- self, not wit nobody 'cause I been deathly sick from likker. I won' bother wit it. An' she go to dis main up here all de time but he don't do nothin' but heal, yo' know?
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Heal.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Up in Tumesea[?], yo' heard of 'im?
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(What's his name?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
I don' know his name.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Tumesea
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
[?]
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
, Georgia?
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Yeah. Doc - dey call him Doc.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(Where is it now, what's the town?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Tha's in Tumesea
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
[?]
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
, Georgia.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Dat's in Thomasville.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
[Now it sounds like they are saying Thomasville.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(Thomasville?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Yeah. But Honey
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
[Who is called Honey?]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
yo' know he got his church, but he do not do no nasty deal. Tha' man's straight. He's a healer, he's straight.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(Just a healer. In other words he doesn't put any conditions on you but he will remove evil conditions.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
He will move evil conditions but he will not put nothin' on you.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(I see.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Now, I def'nit'ly knows dat.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(Well ther'e
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
[there are]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
some of these people I'd like to talk to just to get their experience.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
[My desire will be granted in some of the following interviews.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Yeah. But dere's a lot of 'em yo' go to yo' git a good cussin' out, dat's whut yo'll git 'cause most people don' wan' choo to know dey doin' things like dis. A lot of 'em don', do dey?
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
[Asking Cubby.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
No, dey like to keep it a secret.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Lak to keep it a secret.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
CUBBY:
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
They have quite a few 'roun' here, but yo' can't fin' out.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Dere's a lot of 'em roun' here. I'm lookin' at one dere...yo' know who I'm talkin' about, lookin' at one dere right yonder. I mean yo' don' git nothin' dere an' I know yo' don' git nothin' from 'er but a good cussin' out. Oooh, cause she don' - she will not talk to yo'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(In other words you just have to take it along easy.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Yeah.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(And they have to really trust you and know who you are and all that sort of thing.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Yeah, yeah. Dese people roun' here do not trust yo' too much, yo'd better b'lieve.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(Well, I don't blame them. I tell you today the way the world is...)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Mos' of 'em - yo' tell 'em somethin' they go on an' tell the pollece, don't they?
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[Says to Cubby.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
That's right.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4499
De pōleece dey turnin' up givin' yo' all kin'a dirty things. An' yo' jis' cain't blame people fo' tryin' to pertek [protect] themselves.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(Well years ago there were a lot of stool pigeons. Are they dropping out?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
No...dere's a lot of 'em bein' dropped, dere's a lot of 'em bein' kilt.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(Well, certainly as sure as a white man came around they ran and told the police that some fellow was out there working...)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Yo' fin' a few. Well, yo' don' fin' - yo' wus young when there wus stool Pigeons. Boy, that Abraham, Abraham, uh Alford... It was so many of 'em dat... dat fellow got kilt... James. Dere's a lot 'em got kilt, them gangsters from Tampa had dem kilt off. Yo' can't be bothahed...dose b'lievers...dose people don't b'lieve in things. Aw, they had them dropped off.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[She rambles on and on in this paragraph. I was uncertain of most of this. Mrs. Dyel.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(What about those people who give you lucky numbers? Have you ever gone to anyone to get a lucky number?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
I'll go to one. I go out dere on Hamm Road ev'ry week to get me one
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[laughs]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
The lady I took you to the other day.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[Meaning Dr. Hyatt I believe. Mrs. Dyel.]
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Ev'ry week. An' yo' know what...
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(Oh, oh, which one was she? The white woman or the colored?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
The white Woman.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(Oh, she gave numbers - from Palmetto?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Yes. Yo' know I went out dere an' yo' know whut she tol' me? She tol' me to play a one-six an' a five-six. Yo' know whut, I didn't have but $5. Yo' know that I stood up dere an' let dat one-six came by an' paid $85. I wen' out dere a Thursday an' do yo' know it came out on Friday night an' I stood up dere - I didn't have but $5. I stood up dere an' said,
reported or enacted speech · Miffin (speaker in this passage) · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
"Dere ain't going to be no one- six, de odds is too high."
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
An' here comes one-six. $85... I was sick. She gave me dat number. I gave 'er $2. She gave me a one-six and a five-six. The five- six came in de las' race. $85...an' I wus dead broke. An' she gave me the two- eight, the two-eight came...
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[Transcriber Mrs. Dyel says, "The paragraph was dif- ficult to transcribe. She is talking very fast."]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(Well how would she get those numbers?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
I don't know...she wus a min' reader. She read 'em.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(Do you know I talked to that woman. Yeah, isn't that right Mr. Cubby?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Did she talk all right?
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(She wasn't doing much talking to me.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
She was lookin' at yo' do'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[though]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
wasn't she? Studyin' yo'?
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(Well this is the white woman, isn't it?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Yeah, yeah, but I like tha' main
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[man]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
bettah.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(Is there a husband, that man in the same house?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Yeah. I like that main
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[man]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
bettah than I do tha' woman.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(Well, I think she's clever.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
She is re'ly clevah.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(She's quite a talker and quite intelligent. What was her name? Something? Something?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[Name purposely omitted.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Yo' know what else she do? Now I've knowed people to git into a little trouble an' dey have to pay her so much, about $37. But she's straight dey say.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
(I think she was a little bit frightened about me.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Yeah, she prob'ly was.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
(She may talk to me again. I don't know. She was verv nice about it. I think if these people knew they were not going to be personally involved, that there is no name given or anything of that sort, I think they would really talk, don't you?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Yes. I think they Would. That's the main problem.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4500
But there is so many things bein' goin' on when dey wus tellin' de po-leece ev'rythin' - I mean yo' can't blame 'em, can yo'?
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
(Oh, I know. Well, how is Palmetto? Years ago you used to always...)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Oh, no, no. It's no mo' o' dat now. Now, if yo' hear of a number, ev'rythin' comes strictly from de dogs. Yo' cain't even fin' none 'roun'. People got so bad in turnin' dem up dey jis' had to give it up.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
[Cubby says something and she repeats it. I cannot tell what they say.]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Cubie stop an' people stop wit it, yo' see?
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
That's right.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4500
When they stopped dat over in Cuba they automatically...they prob'ly be doin' some kin' of ol' mess from the dog. But they don' bothah wit it. I don' know nobody over here [in St. Petersburg?] playin' no Cuba anymo'. Dere's no sech word as a Cubie no mo'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
(Cubie?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Cubie.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
(Cubie? What's that?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Jes' a number, dat's wha' dey call it at Palmetto
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
[Florida]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
CUBBY
contact participant · Cubby (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Jus' a number. Jus' a new name.
uncertain turn attribution; attribution alternatives: Miffin (speaker in this passage), Cubby (speaker in this passage); attribution is uncertain; context excerpt; unresolved source attribution, context only · Vol. 5, p. 4500
An' boy I used to know some people used to write [or ride] it 6 or 7 hundred dollars a week but all of 'em gone, dey jes' forgot 'bout it.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
(People who sold numbers?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
If dey were throwin' time on yo'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
[giving prison terms]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
like dey wus throwin' on dose people, yo' would've stopped too. 10 or 15 and 20 years. Who want dat time? Nobody!
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
(In other words you can't go around to shops - years ago you could go around and buy numbers any place. You could get them for a penny a piece.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Ooh, no. Yo' can't buy 'em here no mo'. Know
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
[Do you know]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
where ev'rybody go at night? To the dogs. Ev'rybody
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
[go]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
to the dogs
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
[dog races]
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
now. An tha's fas' money too.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
(I see. Did you ever get a lucky number that worked?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Who, me? No, 'cause I'm a lucky dreamer. See, I can dream my own numbers, see. I'm my own...
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
(What do you mean dream a number?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Well, don' choo dream?
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
(Yes.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Well, I jes' dream. I have good dreams. I'm a good dreamer.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
(And do you remember any numbers in the dream, things of that sort?)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Who me? I remember ev'rythin' I dream.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
(I evidently don't sleep well. I don't remember my dreams.)
informant · Miffin (speaker in this passage); context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Yo' know wha' I did Thursday night? I had my rent - $60! The rent man there put up a sign to move. I wusn't workin'. Sixty dollahs behind in de whole time I been dere. At leas' I got my four kids home. Here he comes wit a sign. I layed down We'nesday night - I'm jis' goin' to tell yo' what I did. An' I wen' to bed. I wus so disgusted We'nesday night. Yo' know whut I dream? A main [man] whut I use to go wit came an' tol' me, I said, "Where yo' been so long?" He said, "I got in some trouble." I say, "Yeah?" I say, "What kin' o' trouble?" He say, "For a cell mate." I say, "How much did yo' git?" He say, ''$42, 000." I got ready - I had $3.00. This jis' to show yo' yo' got luck on yo'. [She
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"Well, look, I don' drink no likker."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"Yeah, drink some."
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4497
Dere's a lotta dem [healers]. Dere's Zeffie Hill.
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4497
In some cases, yes.
Nested source context: continuing window edge · Vol. 5, p. 4497
see me all de time, don' choo? [Asking Cubby.]
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4498
"Don't come to my house no mo'."
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Up in Tumesea[?], yo' heard of 'im?
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Yeah. Doc - dey call him Doc.
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Dat's in Thomasville.
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Lak to keep it a secret.
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Dere's a lot of 'em roun' here. I'm lookin' at one dere...yo' know who I'm talkin' about, lookin' at one dere right yonder. I mean yo' don' git nothin' dere an' I know yo' don' git nothin' from 'er but a good cussin' out. Oooh, cause she don' - she will not talk to yo'.
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4499
"Dere ain't going to be no one- six, de odds is too high."
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4499
De pōleece dey turnin' up givin' yo' all kin'a dirty things. An' yo' jis' cain't blame people fo' tryin' to pertek [protect] themselves.
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Yo' fin' a few. Well, yo' don' fin' - yo' wus young when there wus stool Pigeons. Boy, that Abraham, Abraham, uh Alford... It was so many of 'em dat... dat fellow got kilt... James. Dere's a lot 'em got kilt, them gangsters from Tampa had dem kilt off. Yo' can't be bothahed...dose b'lievers...dose people don't b'lieve in things. Aw, they had them dropped off.
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Ev'ry week. An' yo' know what...
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4500
"Where yo' been so long?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4500
"I got in some trouble."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4500
"Yeah?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4500
"What kin' o' trouble?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4500
"For a cell mate."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4500
"How much did yo' git?"
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4500
But there is so many things bein' goin' on when dey wus tellin' de po-leece ev'rythin' - I mean yo' can't blame 'em, can yo'?
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Cubie stop an' people stop wit it, yo' see?
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4500
When they stopped dat over in Cuba they automatically...they prob'ly be doin' some kin' of ol' mess from the dog. But they don' bothah wit it. I don' know nobody over here [in St. Petersburg?] playin' no Cuba anymo'. Dere's no sech word as a Cubie no mo'.
Nested source context: unlabeled live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4500
An' boy I used to know some people used to write [or ride] it 6 or 7 hundred dollars a week but all of 'em gone, dey jes' forgot 'bout it.
Nested source context: continuing window edge · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Yo' know wha' I did Thursday night? I had my rent - $60! The rent man there put up a sign to move. I wusn't workin'. Sixty dollahs behind in de whole time I been dere. At leas' I got my four kids home. Here he comes wit a sign. I layed down We'nesday night - I'm jis' goin' to tell yo' what I did. An' I wen' to bed. I wus so disgusted We'nesday night. Yo' know whut I dream? A main [man] whut I use to go wit came an' tol' me, I said, "Where yo' been so long?" He said, "I got in some trouble." I say, "Yeah?" I say, "What kin' o' trouble?" He say, "For a cell mate." I say, "How much did yo' git?" He say, ''$42, 000." I got ready - I had $3.00. This jis' to show yo' yo' got luck on yo'. [She
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"I'm goin' give yo' this woman's address if anythin' evah happen, give her my name an' tell 'er I sent yo'.'
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"I could git yore son out of trouble."
Nested source context: live aside to present children · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"Darrell get away from there!"
Nested source context: live aside to present children · Vol. 5, p. 4497
"Go ahead home!"
Nested source context: present recording context · Vol. 5, p. 4497
[A pounding noise here - apparently it is her children pounding their fist on the car door glass]
Nested source context: unresolved place and addressee qualification · Vol. 5, p. 4498
[Now it sounds like they are saying Thomasville.] (Thomasville?) Yeah. But Honey [Who is called Honey?]
Nested source context: healer scope qualification · Vol. 5, p. 4498
(Just a healer. In other words he doesn't put any conditions on you but he will remove evil conditions.) He will move evil conditions but he will not put nothin' on you. (I see.) Now, I def'nit'ly knows dat.
Nested source context: transcription uncertainty qualification · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[She rambles on and on in this paragraph. I was uncertain of most of this. Mrs. Dyel.]
Nested source context: transcription difficulty qualification · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[Transcriber Mrs. Dyel says, "The paragraph was dif- ficult to transcribe. She is talking very fast."]
Nested source context: name suppression qualification · Vol. 5, p. 4499
[Name purposely omitted.]
Nested source context: transcription and voice uncertainty · Vol. 5, p. 4500
[Cubby says something and she repeats it. I cannot tell what they say.] Cubie stop an' people stop wit it, yo' see?
Nested source context: cross page production qualification · Vol. 5, p. 4500
[She
Nested source context: cross page production qualification · Vol. 5, p. 4501
continues with this story, speaks rapidly and in incomplete sentences, does not speak clearly - impossible to transcribe]...an'
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4497
Dere's a lotta dem [healers]. Dere's Zeffie Hill.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4497
In some cases, yes.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Up in Tumesea[?], yo' heard of 'im?
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Yeah. Doc - dey call him Doc.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Dat's in Thomasville.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Lak to keep it a secret.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4498
Dere's a lot of 'em roun' here. I'm lookin' at one dere...yo' know who I'm talkin' about, lookin' at one dere right yonder. I mean yo' don' git nothin' dere an' I know yo' don' git nothin' from 'er but a good cussin' out. Oooh, cause she don' - she will not talk to yo'.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4499
De pōleece dey turnin' up givin' yo' all kin'a dirty things. An' yo' jis' cain't blame people fo' tryin' to pertek [protect] themselves.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Yo' fin' a few. Well, yo' don' fin' - yo' wus young when there wus stool Pigeons. Boy, that Abraham, Abraham, uh Alford... It was so many of 'em dat... dat fellow got kilt... James. Dere's a lot 'em got kilt, them gangsters from Tampa had dem kilt off. Yo' can't be bothahed...dose b'lievers...dose people don't b'lieve in things. Aw, they had them dropped off.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4499
Ev'ry week. An' yo' know what...
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4500
But there is so many things bein' goin' on when dey wus tellin' de po-leece ev'rythin' - I mean yo' can't blame 'em, can yo'?
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4500
Cubie stop an' people stop wit it, yo' see?
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4500
When they stopped dat over in Cuba they automatically...they prob'ly be doin' some kin' of ol' mess from the dog. But they don' bothah wit it. I don' know nobody over here [in St. Petersburg?] playin' no Cuba anymo'. Dere's no sech word as a Cubie no mo'.
Unresolved source context: exact live turn attribution unresolved · Vol. 5, p. 4500
An' boy I used to know some people used to write [or ride] it 6 or 7 hundred dollars a week but all of 'em gone, dey jes' forgot 'bout it.
partial continuing interview window with context only edges
These pages contain part of the continuing Miffin, Cubby and interviewer conversation; neither the complete interview nor every topic is included.
The opening address to Cubby continues from the preceding page and is included as context only.
The closing dream and rent recollection continues on printed page 4501 and is included as context only. The following context reports that transcription was impossible; no dream-number account is reconstructed.
Unlabeled switching turns retain localized Miffin/Cubby holds; explicit labels do not qualify every following unlabeled line.
Transcriber uncertainty, name suppression and literal place-name alternatives remain visible.
Honey question and Thomasville suggestion do not resolve identity.
Reported healing/poisoning/success and healer/harmful-working distinction remain attributed historical claims; privacy/police qualifications retained.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 5, p. 4496 · Vol. 5, p. 4497 · Vol. 5, p. 4498 · Vol. 5, p. 4499 · Vol. 5, p. 4500 · Vol. 5, p. 4501
Source passage
printed interview with editorial and production layers · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
fold away from you. Here we have a special magic rite of overlapping or corre- sponding or accordion folds.]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(You put his handkerchief in the pot and you put this piece of paper in, too?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
In too - into it an' tie it nine times.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(Tie that handkerchief nine times.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[Make nine knots in it.]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
But yo' put dat sugah in dere now, remembah. An' yo' put de sugah in dere an' put it on in watah an' start it tuh cookin'. Den yo' call 'im by 'is name, say,
recited or prescribed formula · Current practitioner speaking in this passage · So-an'-so (prescribed addressee); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
"Come on back heah, So-an'-so, "
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
an' so on.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(After this water has finished cooking, you take it out and scrub with it.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; supporting excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Scrub yore front steps. He'll come on back. Yo' take de right-foot sock an' put it right up in de front of de do' an' yo' pee on it nine mawnin's an' yo' leave it dere. Dat's tuh keep 'im from gittin' away. Dat's one way of
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[doing]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
it.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(Do you put it down any special way?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Put de toe tuh de do' an' spread it out wit de toe tuh de do', wit de nail in de middle of each toe, so it will be smooth. Ah don' take no 'mount of nails. Ah jis' nail it down till it's smooth, so it won't be no wrinkle undah yore rug, becuz de man is a superstitious
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[suspicious]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
thing. Yo' have tuh look fo'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[watch]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
hin as well as he do yo'. Yo' pee on it fo' nine mawnin's. Dat's one way. But de way ah have of doin', ah bear
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[bury]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
it undah de steps, de same way
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[with the nails]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
, but ah druthah
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[rather]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
bear it undah de steps becuz he won't hunt it dere.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(He won't see it there.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Yo' kin pee in front of dere fo' nine mawnin's. Yo' kin run people away wit dey shoe. Yo' kin go on down heah to de railroad an' git abo'd one dem flatcars, an' take yo' five 20-penny nails an' nail it down dere jis' tuh de box
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[over the hotbox]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
, an' when dat car roll yo'll roll - yore an'will roll an' keep yo' rollin'. Ah burn 'em.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(What do you burn the shoe for?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Aw, fo' luck. Ah take sulphah, sugah, cinnamon an' bluestone an' burn 'em an' puts money an' burns money in 'em - take some nickels or dimes, pennies or Ohatevah yo' got. See, de money is jis' as good as it evah wuz. Put it in dere am'take a little oil of cedar an' put in dere an' burn it - see, opposite de do' lak dat
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[demonstrates]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(Right in the middle of the front of the door, the saddle of the door. What Ls that supposed to do?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Fo' luck - spo'tin'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[sporting]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
houses, fo' transits
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[transients]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
, anythin'. If he's done quit chew an' gone off - see, dis bed heah.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[On my first trip to Memphis, I interviewed in a bedroom of the down-town hotel for black people, Eureka Hotel - see INTRO., v.1, p. XXxl11.]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Yo' take his pichure an' git chew fo' pins. Yo' turn 'is haid down, undah- stan', pin it on de back of dat bed, an' go on an' lay down. Dat keeps 'is min on yo' in dat bed.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(Which way do you stick it, looking outside
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[away from]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
or facing the bed?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Tuh de bed.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
[The man in the photograph at the back of the bed, his head down, looks chrough the bed headboard at the woman on the bed!]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(What else can you do with the picture?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Well, yo' kin take it an' put it ovah watah an' draw 'im back.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
(How do you do that?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1863
Take de glass an' take de pichure an' set de watah lak dat, but if it's a
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
small one, smallah dan de glass, den yo' know whut chew do, yo' git chew a little whiskey glass an' put watah in it but don' let de pichure tech it. An' yo' double dat lil pichure on dat lil whiskey glass an' set it in de inside - yo' know, let it spread out enough dat it will hold itself. Put it undah yore bed.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(Do you put that.picture in
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[the glass]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
just any way or do you put the head standing up?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
On 'is haid alway8. Dat
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[dragon's blood]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; supporting excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
one de greates' thin's yo' kin use. Yo' kin use it fo' peace or yo' kin use it fo' de devil. Fo' peace ah use it wit sugah, but dragon blood will stop it
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[devil work]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
. Any time yo' don' want a fuss, yo' gotta put sugah in it.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(What do you do, burn it?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Burn it. Den yo' covah it. Dere lotta thin's yo' mix wit it tuh keep people from knowin' whut it is - Balt. An' yo' dig roots, but chew don' wan' people tuh know whut de roots are.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[The FOLLOWING STATEMENT ABOUT THE UNUSUAL BLACK CAT ASHES IS AMAZING. My informant first tells how she or rumor says these ashes are made and then, after our brief digression with the black cat bone we return to the use and price of black cat ashes.]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Git chure own black ket aahes, Yo' git some undahtakah to take de ket
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[cat]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
an' fill it fulla fohnenhide
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[= foam-en-hide = formaldehyde]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
, joo know, an' den yo' go where dere de crematory an' git 'im tuh burn dat, an' den yo' ketch all de ashes. See, yo've made yer own ashes. An' jis' git chew a ket yo'self an' kill 'im
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[and take him to the undertaker]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(What about the black cat bone?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Aw, well, yo' put 'em in boilin' hot watah an' cook 'im an' de bone dat rises tuh de top, yo' take it tuh a gtream of watah. All de rest of dem will sink, sho'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[sure]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
as ah'm livin', but chew mus' sell yo' soul tuh de devil tuh mastah dat.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(How do you sell your soul to the devil?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Ah've nevah learn tuh do dat. But sellin' yo'self to de devil, yo' know whut dat is don' chew? Yo' don' believe dere is a God, dere nevah wuz a God.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(How do you use these black cat ashes?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Dat black ket ashes ia 'bout one de highest
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[hoodoo ingredients]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
yo' kin buy. Yo' cain't buy undah five dollahs right roun' at de cornah heah.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(You mean at the drug store?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Five dollahs.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(What do they use it for?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Well, sometime dey use it fo' success - dey fo' drawin'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(Mostly hands?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Gamblin' han's.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(How would you make a good gambling hand?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Well, sometime ah'd git bat hearts, dry 'em. Yo' know dey'll dry if yo' jis' take 'em an' lay.'em in de sun an' dey'll wizzle
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[= wizen]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
up. An' yo' take dat bat heart an' yo' take nine needles an' yo' break dose needles off at de top. An' yo' stick nine needles right aroun' dat heart. Yo' take yo' a piece of lode- stone - it's cordin' tuh whut colah it is, whoevah yo' makin' a han' fo'. When yo' read
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[the cards]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
fo' 'im yo' kin
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[tell]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
what he needs. Yo' kin take white lodestone or black lodestone an' dere is a she lodestone made lak a woman. Dat's a she lodestone
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[demonstrates, or does she show me one?]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
(Just in the shape of a woman.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Yeah. Yo' kin git dat at Dahinton
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[Darlington?]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
Bros., Natchez, Miss.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[She lodestone in the shape of. a woman is rare in my experience. This would
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
be powdered she lodestone pressed into the semblance of a woman, a very small form so that it could fit into a hand. This figurine appears to have been a spe- ciality (or specialty) of this business firm. See margin-title LODESTONE: HE AND SHE, Pp.601-603. [We now return to the gambling hand made with a bat heart.]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Yo' take de nine needles, yo' break 'em off sho't
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[short]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
yo' know, but yo' stick 'em in de heart. Den yo' put yore heart in cloth, silk an' flannen - red flannen
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[flannel]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(You use both of them?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Uh-huh, one's de inside bag an' one's a' outside bag. Some of 'em use shammy. An'den yo' take dat
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[heart]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
out an'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[as a substitute]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
yo' put dat lodestone in dere an' yo' keep a silvah dime in dere. Dat silvah dime, dat'll las' yo' a long time, not gratin' it. An' yo' put a lil dat silvah money in dere, an' yo' put dis lodestone an' nine needles, an' yo' put a lil piece of John de Conkah, an' yo' take a lil piece of devil's-shoestring, an' yo' sew dat bag up an' wish. An' den yo' dress it. Wish success tuh yo'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(What do you use specially to dress it?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Hell, ah use - sometime ah use bergamine
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[bergamot]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
an' wintahgreen mixed, but ah us'lly use oil of cedar an' Jockey Club
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[Perfume]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
. But yo' see in some in- stance, tuh make yore stuff go fur
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[further]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
, yo' git chew toilet watah an' halfa bottle of Jockey Club, becuz it's
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[a full bottle is]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
mo' expensive. But chew Hn make it
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[go further]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(The inner bag is of silk and the outer one is the flannel?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
No suh, innah bag is flannen, an' de outah bag is de silk. Take a bath in sweet spirits of nitre fo' nine days an' garlic. Yo' take it an' po' it in yore bath watah. Yo' take a little Red Seal Lye, yo' know. a lil lye on a knife. Yo' put it into yore bath watah an' den yo' po' de sweet spirits of nitre in dere an' nine pods of garlic cut up, an' take a bath in dat. Den yo' Hn go tuh de rivah an' take a bath in runnin' watah, an' dat's luck.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(After you take the bath?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Bo, ah say eithah one of dose. Dey are two diff'ren' thin's dat ah'm tellin'. One if yo' in a stream of bad luck an' yo' want chure bad luck
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[to change]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
. Some people
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[doctors]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
send dere customahs to de
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[Mississippi]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
rivah tuh take a bath in runnin' watah tuh wash de jinx off an' it'll roll on down
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[the river]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(Hou of ten do you do that?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Fell, one or twice, but yore luck will change.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
{For bathing in the Mississippi River at New Orleans on May 1, see p.381, No. 986.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(For this luck in gambling
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[I mean]
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
for this bath nine times, do you take it at any special time?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Any time you kin make it
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[= any time you get ready]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
. De furse thin' yo' do, yo' git chew some love powdahs, yo' kin buy 'em at Mff'ren' places,
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[and]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
peace powdahs. Den anothah way yo' kin do, if yo' know de man's name. Den jis' lak yo' know bo yo' goin' tuh work fa', well yo' go dere, an' yo' go to de icehouse an' yo dt chew a dime piece of ice, an' write his name an' put it in dat ice, an' wrap at ice up tight an' don' 'low
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[allow]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
nobody tuh break dat ice. Dat cools 'im Ian' he'll talk wit yo'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(hat do you do with that love powder in the meantime?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
gell, dey use it sometime an' women use it tuh make men love 'em, tuh make boevah yo' meet be cool, peaceful.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Do you make your own love powder?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1865
Bo suh, ah don't make mah own love powdahs but ah do makes some powdahs.
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Yo' kin go - jis' lak yo' git up in de mawnin' an' take jis' nine clear buck- ets Of watah. YO' DO SOMETHIN' DIFF'REN' EVAH TIME YO' MAKE LUCK IN BUSINESS.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[This is an unusual rule, probably informant's own, one that will keep an expert operator like the informant mentally agile. For this type of luck, see BUSINESS AND CUSTOMERS, Pp.669-744.
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Yo' throw nine buckets of watah on yore front po'ch an' sweep. Don' nevah sweep yore po'ch off, always sweep it back. Cleah watah from de hydran'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[con- sidered running water]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
. But don' speak to nobody while yo' doin' it. But evah time yo' do somethin' diff'ren'. Well, de nex' time ah do it, ah use bergamine an' wintahgreen mixed; scrub mah front wit it, dat an' one bucket of watah. A dime's worth will be enough fo' two scrubbin's. Go an' git chew some pure hick'ry an' take dat hick'ry an' burn it in de stove, an' yo' rake it out an' git chew some bluein', de stick bluein'. It blue clothes, yo' know. Yo' wanta keep de blues away
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[cops wearing blue suits]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
. Yo' take dat hick'ry an' bluein' an' mix it togethah an' yo' put it ovah yore do'. Put de ashes an' de bluein' ovah yore do'. Pulvahize it tuhgethah, in any- thin' yo' want. Eithah put it in a lil box so it ovah dat do'.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
(That will keep the law away.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Den lak yo' wanta win a suit or anythin'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[any court case]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
. Yo' go down heah
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[the market]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
- yo' know whut double pansy whut grows in gardens an' thin's.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
(Double pansy.)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; supporting excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Well, yo' git chew nine new leaves of double pansy an' yo' put it in yore shoe an' yo' write six Disciple names an' wrap dat double pansy up in dat papah where de six Disciple names are in. Yo' write de Twelve Disciple name an' weah six in each shoe an' put a piece of double pansy in each shoe. Undahstan' me, but chew fold it in papah an' den put it in yore shoe. Now, de furse six take an' put it in yore right shoe, de nex' six yo' put dem in yore left shoe, when yo' go into co't Or anythin' lak dat. ANYTHIN' DAT CHEW WANTA MASTAH, YO' WEAH DEM TWELVE DISCIPLES. De way tuh do lak yo' got a lotta enemies. In dat case an' yo' wanta git rid of 'em so dey cain't talk, yo' go git chew a beef tongue. Yo' take dat beef tongue an' yo' write dere name, all dere names, an' yo' stick a hole in dis part of de tongue - de tip of de tongue - an' yo' stick dose names up in dere. Dat's used personal, understan'. Den yo' take it to a flue an' let it down dere an start chew a hot fiah, an' go on to co't
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[court]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
. Yo' kin jis' put it on a wire yo' know, so it will hang dere. Yo' hangin' 'em.
interviewer · Hyatt (interviewer); context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
(Well, why do you want to warm then?)
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Ah'm hangin' 'em
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[not warming them]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[This rite causes a hung jury.]
informant · Current practitioner speaking in this passage; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Ah know from experience. Yo'll laff when ah tell yah. A fellah killed mah uncle heah, two of 'em, an' ah drawed em back heah. Ah tole 'em, ah said, "Dey goin' ketch 'em, ah ain't goin' put mahself tuh no trouble." See, yo' gotta have fo' aig an' dey mus' be de aig of a black hen. Dey cain't stay 'way. Yo' put two undah his [murdered man's] arm, two undah his haid. Yo take yo' a pair of scissahs an' cross it in his back - steel. [To open the closed scissors makes a cross of steel.] It done wit steel, an' shet dem han's up an' let dem arms tight down on dem aigs. When dem aigs bus' he cain't stay still. Dey'll git back heah. He'll come back hisself, yo' don' have tuh hunt fo' 'im. (This case with your uncle, did you get the man?) Yessuh. (Did that happen right here in Memphis?) Right heah in Memphis. Dere a piece in de papah about hoodoo hero[ine] dis
Nested source context: recited or prescribed formula · Vol. 3, p. 1863
"Come on back heah, So-an'-so, "
Nested source context: continuing window edge · Vol. 3, p. 1863
fold away from you. Here we have a special magic rite of overlapping or corre- sponding or accordion folds.]
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 3, p. 1866
"Dey goin' ketch 'em, ah ain't goin' put mahself tuh no trouble."
Nested source context: continuing window edge · Vol. 3, p. 1866
Ah know from experience. Yo'll laff when ah tell yah. A fellah killed mah uncle heah, two of 'em, an' ah drawed em back heah. Ah tole 'em, ah said, "Dey goin' ketch 'em, ah ain't goin' put mahself tuh no trouble." See, yo' gotta have fo' aig an' dey mus' be de aig of a black hen. Dey cain't stay 'way. Yo' put two undah his [murdered man's] arm, two undah his haid. Yo take yo' a pair of scissahs an' cross it in his back - steel. [To open the closed scissors makes a cross of steel.] It done wit steel, an' shet dem han's up an' let dem arms tight down on dem aigs. When dem aigs bus' he cain't stay still. Dey'll git back heah. He'll come back hisself, yo' don' have tuh hunt fo' 'im. (This case with your uncle, did you get the man?) Yessuh. (Did that happen right here in Memphis?) Right heah in Memphis. Dere a piece in de papah about hoodoo hero[ine] dis
Nested source context: cross page editorial continuation · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[She lodestone in the shape of. a woman is rare in my experience. This would
Nested source context: editorial expansion · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[con- sidered running water]
Nested source context: rumor or informant qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1864
[The FOLLOWING STATEMENT ABOUT THE UNUSUAL BLACK CAT ASHES IS AMAZING. My informant first tells how she or rumor says these ashes are made and then, after our brief digression with the black cat bone we return to the use and price of black cat ashes.]
Nested source context: condition and negation qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1864
as ah'm livin', but chew mus' sell yo' soul tuh de devil tuh mastah dat. (How do you sell your soul to the devil?) Ah've nevah learn tuh do da
Nested source context: substitution qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1865
[heart] out an' [as a substitute] yo' put dat lodestone in dere an' yo' keep a silvah dime in dere. Dat silvah dime, dat'll las' yo' a long time, not gratin' it. An' yo' put a lil dat silvah money in dere, an' yo' put dis lodestone an' nine needles, an' yo' put a lil piece of John de Conkah, an' yo' take a lil piece of devil's-shoestring, an' yo' sew dat bag up an' wish. An' den yo' dress it. Wish success tuh yo'.
Nested source context: answer correction qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(The inner bag is of silk and the outer one is the flannel?) No suh, innah bag is flannen, an' de outah bag is de s
Nested source context: alternative baths qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1865
(After you take the bath?) Bo, ah say eithah one of dose. Dey are two diff'ren' thin's dat ah'm te
Nested source context: editorial interpretation qualification · Vol. 3, p. 1866
[This rite causes a hung jury.]
partial continuing interview window with context only edges
This passage contains part of a continuing interview; neither the complete interview nor every topic is included.
The opening editorial discussion of folding continues from the preceding page; it is included as context only.
The closing recollection about an uncle and a murder continues on printed page 1867; it is included as context only.
Missing bracket/brace and malformed prompt delimiters remain literal; authored bounds distinguish editorial and live source.
Hyatt explicitly frames cat-ashes preparation as informant or rumor; do not infer personal practice.
Retain cat-bone sell-soul qualification and never-learned answer; bat-heart/lodestone substitution; reversed bag correction; alternative baths.
Local practitioner identity only; no resolved person, plant or business identity.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 3, p. 1862 · Vol. 3, p. 1863 · Vol. 3, p. 1864 · Vol. 3, p. 1865 · Vol. 3, p. 1866 · Vol. 3, p. 1867
Source passage
continuous interview · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
editorial speaker label; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
MIFFIN
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
This is about two good frien's. An' mah cousin sta'ted co'tin'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
[started courting]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
this lady's husban'. An' this lady fin' out tuo ont's later tha' she
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
[cousin]
informant · Current interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
wus co'tin"er husban' an' she had dis spell put on 'er. An de spell wus dese snakes an' some othah insex. Dat whut de doctor says.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
(How many years ago did this happen?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4493
Ooooh, Miz Carrie been dead - been about six yeahs now. No, it hasn't...yeah, about six.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see. Where did this happen, by the way?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
This happen in Savannah, Georgia.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Oh, in Savannah, Georgia.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
She came down
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[to Florida]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
when she got sick. Dey sent 'er down here to see 'er brothah.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Den 'er brothah taken 'er from here to a root doctor.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Where did he go to, do you know?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
I don't know where dey went - some part o' Florida.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Some part of Florida.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Uh huh. An' this main
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[man]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
worked on 'er an' she went back 3 or 4 times an' dey got some snakes an' a lotta insex. An' 'er skin it turnt as black as de snake, as rough as de snake hide. An' all 'er hair, bald, completely bald.
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[Children can be heard in background.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
An' den she got so desp'rate an' less den two mont's time she died.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
But dey did git dese snakes an' things out, 'cause her brothah brought de jars back wid dese things, yo' know, in it.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see. Then what happened to the woman who put this...)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Well, de woman taken sick two mont's later an' she died.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Now this is the woman who put this spell on this other woman?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Uh huh. She got sick an' died sho'tly aftah mah cousin Carrie died.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see. Well when the brother took this woman there - this woman was your cousin wasn't she?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Uh huh.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(When he took her there, did the root doctor say anything when she came in or what?)
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
What some doctors say on first seeing you can be interesting: see CONSULTA- TION TECHNIQUE, pp.307-321, v.1.1
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Well she went back 2 or 3 times an' he had to keep workin' on 'er. Yo' know, to try to git it all out of 'er. But when they fin'ly didn' git it all out of 'er she had turnt so black an' it had poisoned her through an' through. An' so he tol' 'er he couldn't do her any mo' good an' she died sho'tly aftah.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see. And what did you say about her skin?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Her skin turnt as black an' rough, jis' like a snake. He said she had some- thin' like snakes, somethin' out of a poison snake into her system.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see.)
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Who turned the spell back on the woman?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
My cousin
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[husband of cousin, Carrie]
informant · Current interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
did, he had it turnt back on 'er.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Did the same root doctor do that or...)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
No, not de same one, but de one she wus goin' to down here gave her de stuff dey put back on 'er up dere.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(Oh, I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
She had to go back to Savannah but after dey taken her back up to Savannah, dey brought 'er back down here an' she got so sick an' den dey took 'er from here back up to dere an' she died.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
But now de woman did confess dat she had 'er fixed by
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
[for]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
botherin' wid 'er husban' - bein' a good frien' to 'er now, she confessed dat.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
(I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Yes, she did.
Nested source context: reported doctor treatment and statement · Vol. 5, p. 4494
Well she went back 2 or 3 times an' he had to keep workin' on 'er. Yo' know, to try to git it all out of 'er. But when they fin'ly didn' git it all out of 'er she had turnt so black an' it had poisoned her through an' through. An' so he tol' 'er he couldn't do her any mo' good an' she died sho'tly aftah.
locally coherent subpassage
The editorial comment on printed page 4494 has an unclear closing mark. The following answer belongs to the interviewee.
Miffin’s self-correction about six years remains unresolved.
Doctor diagnoses, cousin relationships, return of the spell and confession are narrated claims, not additional live voices or established facts.
The editorial CONSULTATION TECHNIQUE bracket retains its printed closing glyph.
Children heard in the background are recording context, not participating testimony.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 5, p. 4492 · Vol. 5, p. 4493 · Vol. 5, p. 4494 · Vol. 5, p. 4495 · Vol. 5, p. 4496
Source passage
continuous interview or recording context · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1389
The nature of me picking it on out
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1389
[how I learned hoodoo]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1389
- I was holding a position and to the position I was holding there was an old man, and my sisters, all of 'em, was scared of him. Well, I did all his readin' and writin' fer him.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1389
[Compare this with how Zorro began his career with Mysterious Parker - p.1166, line 38f.]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1389
So, during the period of time he
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1389
[did so many things]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1389
like that I didn't know, the old man he had so much diff'rent magic he could
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1389
[do]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1389
. So the first thing he would do, he would take my hat - take my hat and spit in it and tell me to go out on de corner. I'd go out on de corner and I'd tip to some young girl. Now, the girl may be going to the store for her people or some- thing. When she come back I could have an interview with her. And when I'd have my interview, her people could never keep her away from me. As in a period of time - he died somewheres in 1918.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1389
(What do you mean by interview with a lady?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1389
Had to go right home to do conversation with her - never seed her before.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
(At her home?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
To her home - right dere at her home. She would invite me. The way she talked - I'd tell her - she'd tell me to come in in the presence of her people. I met her just like that - meet her on the corner there and tipped my hat. Then off from that time she'd never be satisfied. This old man - his name was - I never learned any more - his name was Uncle Charlie Jackson.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
(Where did he come from by the way? What part of the country did he come from?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
Oh, he was down in Alabama. And he had three very large snakes. And if a person would come to him for to kill a person, the largest snake what he had would come out and crawl up in de door. That was his magic - that was the agree- ment what he made, you see, with the devil in selling hisself to the devil. Then he had another one what would remove evil spirits from a person. If you came in- to his place, while sittin' down into the chair, this snake would crawl all around you, all through the chair. You get up, you go by God. If you come for a gambling hand - his gambling hand was guaranteed fer one year.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
[See HAND, TIME LIMIT FOR, p.577.]
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
He would take you into a little room and set you in there and when he get ready fer you, he would tell you - he would send fer yuh. Well, if he couldn't stand - the same way, if a person would come by for to kill a person. If you could jump over de snake what would coil up into the door, when you git back home he would be done kilt - this person. If you wanted a gambting hand - if you wanted to get that from him, when he get ready, then he send this other medium-sized snake in there. If you could stand fer him to come there and crawl around and you follow him back into the room, he would give you the gambling hand.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
(How did he make his gambling hand? Did he ever tell you?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
Oh, he - makes 'em very diff'rent simple ways.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
(What was his way? Did he tell you that way?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
The way he made 'em, he did. They was made out of little children's finger.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
(Oh, the baby fingers?)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
Baby finger j'ints - the j'ints of baby fingers and what we call the corime, the red corime seed.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
(Red corimee seed.)
informant · Current unnamed interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 1390
The red corimee seed. And he would use this here devil's-shoestring, and he would use this here Sampson snakeroot. Into these fixin' - when he would fix them - would be under the new moon. After he would fix them then, he would give them to you on the 15th of the month of the full moon. He would either wait till the moon be in full expanse of the earth, then he would give that to you.
locally coherent printed subpassage
The current speaker remains unnamed. Statements about Charlie Jackson, his alleged acts and the death date are reported in the source.
The printed account does not establish the identity of the unnamed speaker.
Snake behavior, agreement with the devil and contents of hands remain that speaker’s account.
Zorro and time-limit cross-references are editorial; they do not establish that the narrated people or practices are the same.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 2, p. 1387 · Vol. 2, p. 1388 · Vol. 2, p. 1389 · Vol. 2, p. 1390 · Vol. 2, p. 1391
Source passage
printed interview with editorial and production layers · Source-local attribution; no resolved person identity is asserted.
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
I says, "an' when I dress this house," I says, "if it's true," I says, "you will have no trouble."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
An' I goes to work. I goes down to the drug store an' gits me a box of sulphur, goes to the store
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[grocery]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
an' gits me a box of cayenne peppah an' some salt brian. I goes out on the hill.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
(What?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
Fresh fish salt brian
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[fresh (= unused) brine from salted fish]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
. Gets me botter
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[bottle]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
of vinegar. I goes out dere on the hill an' fields an' I digs mah'erbs. I goes on back an' boils 'em, strip zim
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[strips 'im]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
off, bathe zim from his knees on down.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
(What sort of herbs?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
Whut did I get? Runnin' brier an' pokeberry
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[poke or pokeweed]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
root. An' he's up walkin' an' goin' all up yonder on the railroad track now, pickin' up coal ev'ry mornin' of his life.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[Theoretically, large lumps of coal fall from an overloaded tender of a steam engine or smaller lumps from coal cars of a freight or coal train; actually, human hands usually assisted the coal. Any walking along tracks was illegal.1
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
An' after no sooner 'an
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[than]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
I got 'im up, the prior
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[proprietor]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
told 'im he wanted his room - he couldn't rent it no longer. An' told 'im he wanted 'im keep me away from there. He
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[proprietor]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
was goin' to these here so-said-to-be cunjures an' gettin' dus'
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[dust]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
an' stuff, an' I found stuff 'tween the mat- tresses
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[while]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
he
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[proprietor]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
out at work. So after I cut mah cards an' find out where de stuff was, why I went on an' get it.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
(What do you mean cutting your cards?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
Cuttin' mah cards? Run a deck of cards. I kin run a deck of cards an' tell anything I want to know. Yes sir.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
(What did you want to find out?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
Find out where he had it put.
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[Side one continues.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
Now listen. I wan'a tell yah. I take a deck of cards an' tell anybody more than they wan'a know. Not only take a deck of cards, I kin take a cup an' tell anybody more than they wants to know.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
(I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
See.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
(Uhuh.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
I'm out of a family - I'm a son of a mother that could even down-tell
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[out- tell]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
you - she walk in here an' call your name, tell you where you live, tell you the number of your house, how many children you had, whether your wife was livin' or not, w'a' kin'a hair she had, how old she was, W'a' her name is. That's the kin'a mother I had.
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[Side one will continue later.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
(Where did she live?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
Greensboro, South Carolina. That's where I come from. I come from there where it
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[root working and allied practices]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
is known to be the very best dey is goin'. Yes sir, yes sir.
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[Side one continues.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
An' I don't care w'a' kin'a spell's on a person or how a person is sufferin', I kin walk in the house, I'll be in the house five minutes - not only that, I don' haft, I don't har'ly even, don' haf to ast a person. I kin walk along the street an' lbok at a person an' tell w'uther they's hurt or not.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
(Uhuh. Is there anything about their appearance, their face or anything that.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
Well, I tell yuh. A person of that kind kin see it.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
(Oh, I see.
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
[You]
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 936
see it.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
Yes sir. A person of that kind kin see it - a person of, like myself. You see.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
(I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
I knows, you see.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
(Uhuh. I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
I knows. An' then on top of my knowin', I know whut to do to break it up
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[End of side one.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
- whut to cure it.
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[The last four words are on the cylinder but not on the record.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
An' then on top of that
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[there is]
informant · Current interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
sich a things as they call this here witch'ry. You believe in witch'ry?
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
(I've heard about it but I don't know. I have never had any experience. I don't know whether to believe in it or not.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[This was about the best answer I could have given to his difficult question. If I had answered, "You believe in witchery, therefore it exists for you; but I do not believe in witchery, therefore it does not exist for me, except in that it exists for you" - if I had so answered, would his second question have followed?]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
Well, did
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[do]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
you believe in there
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[is]
informant · Current interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
sich a thing as a witch?
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
(Well, I don't know.)
informant · Current interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
Well, there is sich a thing as a witch.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
(There're the things that ride you, aren't they?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
Yes sir.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
(How do you keep them from riding you?)
informant · Current interviewee; supporting excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
Well, you kin take a pair of scissors an' put underneath your head or you kin take a new piece of lumber an' put it underneath your head
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[the latter being unusual]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
(What are these witches?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
Well, I'll tell you. A witch is a person that has sold herself to the devil an' he comes in a spirishal
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[spiritual]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
way. See, jis' like you has got your mind on a home wheresomever you live, you worry about your parents, your people, your brother or your father or your wife or your sweetheart or your mother or your daughter an' they rest upon you - in your mind - why it's quite nach'al
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[natural]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
fer something to have happened to 'em an' directly they feel it. You kin feel it. You see, you kin feel the burdens of it. Well, the same way with a person dat's so deeply into anything an' 'twill follow 'em in their sleep. Have you read any such or in your travels? Haven't you already see
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[seen]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
the future out of your work in your sleep?
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[Side two begins.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
Well, that's the way that is. So then, on top of being so interested in it, self confidence is the best of all. Self confident. I walks in a house - if I had someone to send I would go an' say - I could send fo' 'er. I walked in a house up here on Catherine Street in thirty-five
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[1935]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
dat people had come from Petersburg
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[Virginia]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
over here that wus suppose to be root doctors - it's no better than Florence Turner. Dr. E. Turner ou' chere
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[out here]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
wus her doctor. He walked in the house - she'd taken sick. He walked in the house an' ast that
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
[whether]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
she had caused her little boy to call 'im. He said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
"Florence,"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
"w'a's the mattah?"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
She says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
"I don't know, doctor,"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
she says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
"I'm so sick I don't know w'a' to do."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
The doctor looked at 'er. He question 'er an' all. He says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
"I think you've got broken-down nerves."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 937
I saw Florence's sickness that night - she got up five o'clock an' went out with a friend of hers.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
(What was really wrong with her?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
Well, I'll tell yuh - an' so I 'us at mah home. I gets up the nex' mornin', at duh breakvust table, an' tole mah
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
[female]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
frien' w'a' I seed in mah sleep. I says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"An' tell Florence when she come to don't go out with"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
- I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"tell Florence when she gets up to don't go out with."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
She said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Florence an' Henry are gone out."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
She said dat Florence an' Henry lef' here at five o'clock this mormin' I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Well, jes' as sure as God's still in heaven,"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Florence is gon'a git 'er dose."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
Den, I went on mah job at work in the coalyard. They brought her in home nine o'clock dat mornin' unconscious. I came in
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
[after work]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
to mah supper. She wus rollin' to me. I walks in the room - Dr. Turner'll tell yuh the same thing - I walked in the room an' tol' 'em, I says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Doctor,"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
I says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee as represented in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"there ain't no need of writin' Florence no 'scription. Florence is poison.
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
The doctor turn aroun' to me, jis' like this here, says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Doctor in the recounted Florence exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Doctor in the recounted Florence exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
How do you know?
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Doctor in the recounted Florence exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee as represented in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"I saw it last night.
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
[This is my only example of a doctor and doctor confronting each other. It happens in the presence of the doctor's patientl]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
I.sit right down side de bed
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
[aping the doctor]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
an' tole huh
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
[her]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
, ev'ry- where day'd went - I's mah house 'sleep in bed - tole her whut kin'a woman serve de table, how she set, where an' how the glasses wus. She said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Well, God knows, you shore must'a seen somepin,"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
she said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"cuz God knows,"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
she said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"it's true."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Well, all right,"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"now sen' an' git him, sen' an' git chore frien' down here on Secon' an' Canal - South Secon' Street."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
She sent an' got 'im. When he come in - he wus about an hour comin' - he come in, he said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Florence, whut's the mattah?"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
She says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"I'm sick."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
He said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Uh,"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
he said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"anything that I kin do?"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
She says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"No."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
She says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"I got some medicine, a 'scription here,"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
she say,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"you got any money to fill it?"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
He say,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"I'll git some."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
He gits in the car an' goes to the bank an' gits money, come back, fill the 'scription. He
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
[doctor]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
gives 'er a dose of that medicine an' made it worser.
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
[End of side two.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
[Side three begins.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
I tole 'im, I says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Don't give 'er no more medicine,"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
I says,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
"I'll take 'er case up mah ownself."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
She's right over here on Catherine Street - I mean on Williams Street, in ten- hunderd block. She'll tell you the same words tonight. I kin go an' call 'er up out of 'er bed. Ev'rybody roun' there tell you who cause her to be livin' today. I went an' got mah stuff an' fixed it for 'er an' I got groun' puppies out of 'er. I got things out of 'er looked like fish lice. You ever see fish lice?
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
(Yes.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
Made mah tea from mah runnin'-brier root. Got mah grain
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
[green]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
gourd seed - guts out of a grain gourd. Went up here on Windsors
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
[?]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 938
Farm, paid seventy-five cent fo' one quart of black-cow milk - milk whilest it's hot. Brought it back an' give it to 'er, after I give 'er d'other medicine. An' she jis' as helpless as a newborn baby, couldn't raise her han', an' wus scared to death, scramblin', tryin' to git out de bed. Think ah'm tellin' a lie? Ah'll git me a car and drive ovah dere an' prove it to you. There's another fellah live right chere on Moore Street below me - use to, he
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
don't live there now - call 'im John Ham. John Ham, whut been sick, claimed to have the rheumatism. Him an' his aunt had spent ovah three-hunderd dollahs on 'im. So I tole 'im, I said, one day out dere I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"John Ham, ''
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
there ain't a thing in the worl
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"'
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
- he's showin' me about his leg - I say,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
they ain't a thing in the worl' but some of your womenfolks have put a spell on you.
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
He said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Person called John Ham in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Person called John Ham in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
Look, don' choo know I done been all down South
editorial gloss or commentary; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
[where the good doctors are]
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Person called John Ham in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
.
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Person called John Ham in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
He said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Person called John Ham in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Person called John Ham in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
You believe in that mess?
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Person called John Ham in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
I boun' to believe in that mess when I do's that mess.
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
I kin cure yuh.
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
He call me Lin all the time, yuh see.
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Person called John Ham in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Person called John Ham in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
Kin yuh, Lin?
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Person called John Ham in the account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Interviewee speaking in the recounted exchange; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
Yeah."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
(What did he call you?)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
He call me Lin.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
(Lin.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
Mah name is Lindsay, but he call me Lin jis fo' a short name.
interviewer · Interviewer; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
(I see.)
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
Say,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Kin you Lin?"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
He said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"How much you charge me to cure me?"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"I'll tell you what I do."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
He said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"What?"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"I'll go here in the hills an' git the stuff an' I'll make you up some tea,"
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"an' I'll drinks a cupful of it mahself to show you that it's not poison, of the same tea."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
I said,
reported or enacted speech · Current interviewee · Speaker quoted in the local account; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
"I'll make you up a quart of this tea, then I'll give you a bath three times a week."
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
[End of side three.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
editorial recording or production note; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
[Side four begins.]
informant · Current interviewee; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
context only; context excerpt · Vol. 2, p. 939
An' when his sistah came - I wus livin' the third do' from 'em - when his sistah came, he tole 'er about it. She said, "The doctor sayed you got plume-itary rheumatism." I said, "Well, I don't care whut the doctor says," I said, "the doctah tells a lie." She said, "Whut!" I said, "De doctah tells a lie." She looked at me as hard, "Huh!" Turn aroun', says, "You ain't no damn doctah." Dem's her words - de's of his sistah - said, "You ain't no damn doctah." His mothah is name Lil. An' his aunt stand' on the porch, she says, "Don't talk like that," say, "you don't know who you talkin' tuh." Kin'a 'fraid of me. I tole 'er, "You damn right, choo don't know to who you are talking." I said, "Bein'st you don't - bein'st I'm no damn doctah," I said, "if Lil says for me to cure 'im," I says, "I'll cure 'im," I said, "an' prove to you tha' I - tha' choo don't know whut choo talkin' about." Lil said, "Well, Lindsay," says, "if John Ham wan' choo to try an' cure him," said, "you can't do 'im no more harm than w'at he is," said, "cause he can't eat nuthin, ev'rything he eats comes back on 'im, he jis' goes crazy with his head, he can't sleep at night, an' he's down on his crutches here an' he can't - he's jis' helpless to hisself, an' I got to work." I says, "In eighteen days I'll have John Ham ou' chere playin' ball." I said, "I'm your black Jesus." Told 'im jis' like that an' laffed at 'im, patted 'im in his chest. I said, "I'm your black Jesus." I said, "God above my God an' your God, too." I said, "Well, I'm your earthly Jesus." An' he laff an' he said, "Well."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 936
"an' when I dress this house,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 936
"if it's true,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 936
"you will have no trouble."
Nested source context: continuing window edge · Vol. 2, p. 936
I says, "an' when I dress this house," I says, "if it's true," I says, "you will have no trouble."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 937
"Florence,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 937
"w'a's the mattah?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 937
"I don't know, doctor,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 937
"I'm so sick I don't know w'a' to do."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 937
"I think you've got broken-down nerves."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"An' tell Florence when she come to don't go out with"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"tell Florence when she gets up to don't go out with."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Florence an' Henry are gone out."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Well, jes' as sure as God's still in heaven,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Florence is gon'a git 'er dose."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Doctor,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Well, God knows, you shore must'a seen somepin,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"cuz God knows,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"it's true."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Well, all right,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"now sen' an' git him, sen' an' git chore frien' down here on Secon' an' Canal - South Secon' Street."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Florence, whut's the mattah?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"I'm sick."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Uh,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"anything that I kin do?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"No."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"I got some medicine, a 'scription here,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"you got any money to fill it?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"I'll git some."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"Don't give 'er no more medicine,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"I'll take 'er case up mah ownself."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Kin you Lin?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"How much you charge me to cure me?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"I'll tell you what I do."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"What?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"I'll go here in the hills an' git the stuff an' I'll make you up some tea,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"an' I'll drinks a cupful of it mahself to show you that it's not poison, of the same tea."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"I'll make you up a quart of this tea, then I'll give you a bath three times a week."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"The doctor sayed you got plume-itary rheumatism."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Well, I don't care whut the doctor says,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"the doctah tells a lie."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Whut!"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"De doctah tells a lie."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Huh!"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"You ain't no damn doctah."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"You ain't no damn doctah."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Don't talk like that,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"you don't know who you talkin' tuh."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"You damn right, choo don't know to who you are talking."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Bein'st you don't - bein'st I'm no damn doctah,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"if Lil says for me to cure 'im,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"I'll cure 'im,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"an' prove to you tha' I - tha' choo don't know whut choo talkin' about."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Well, Lindsay,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"if John Ham wan' choo to try an' cure him,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"you can't do 'im no more harm than w'at he is,"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"cause he can't eat nuthin, ev'rything he eats comes back on 'im, he jis' goes crazy with his head, he can't sleep at night, an' he's down on his crutches here an' he can't - he's jis' helpless to hisself, an' I got to work."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"In eighteen days I'll have John Ham ou' chere playin' ball."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"I'm your black Jesus."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"I'm your black Jesus."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"God above my God an' your God, too."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Well, I'm your earthly Jesus."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Well."
Nested source context: continuing window edge · Vol. 2, p. 939
An' when his sistah came - I wus livin' the third do' from 'em - when his sistah came, he tole 'er about it. She said, "The doctor sayed you got plume-itary rheumatism." I said, "Well, I don't care whut the doctor says," I said, "the doctah tells a lie." She said, "Whut!" I said, "De doctah tells a lie." She looked at me as hard, "Huh!" Turn aroun', says, "You ain't no damn doctah." Dem's her words - de's of his sistah - said, "You ain't no damn doctah." His mothah is name Lil. An' his aunt stand' on the porch, she says, "Don't talk like that," say, "you don't know who you talkin' tuh." Kin'a 'fraid of me. I tole 'er, "You damn right, choo don't know to who you are talking." I said, "Bein'st you don't - bein'st I'm no damn doctah," I said, "if Lil says for me to cure 'im," I says, "I'll cure 'im," I said, "an' prove to you tha' I - tha' choo don't know whut choo talkin' about." Lil said, "Well, Lindsay," says, "if John Ham wan' choo to try an' cure him," said, "you can't do 'im no more harm than w'at he is," said, "cause he can't eat nuthin, ev'rything he eats comes back on 'im, he jis' goes crazy with his head, he can't sleep at night, an' he's down on his crutches here an' he can't - he's jis' helpless to hisself, an' I got to work." I says, "In eighteen days I'll have John Ham ou' chere playin' ball." I said, "I'm your black Jesus." Told 'im jis' like that an' laffed at 'im, patted 'im in his chest. I said, "I'm your black Jesus." I said, "God above my God an' your God, too." I said, "Well, I'm your earthly Jesus." An' he laff an' he said, "Well."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 938
"How do you know?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"John Ham, ''
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"there ain't a thing in the worl"'
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"they ain't a thing in the worl' but some of your womenfolks have put a spell on you."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Look, don' choo know I done been all down South
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"You believe in that mess?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"I boun' to believe in that mess when I do's that mess."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"I kin cure yuh."
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Kin yuh, Lin?"
Nested source context: reported quotation · Vol. 2, p. 939
"Yeah."
Nested source context: editorial counterfactual qualification · Vol. 2, p. 937
[This was about the best answer I could have given to his difficult question. If I had answered, "You believe in witchery, therefore it exists for you; but I do not believe in witchery, therefore it does not exist for me, except in that it exists for you" - if I had so answered, would his second question have followed?]
Nested source context: recording representation qualification · Vol. 2, p. 937
[End of side one.] - whut to cure it. [The last four words are on the cylinder but not on the record.]
Nested source context: reported self context · Vol. 2, p. 938
"there ain't no need of writin' Florence no 'scription. Florence is poison.
Nested source context: reported self context · Vol. 2, p. 938
"I saw it last night.
partial continuing interview window with context only edges
This passage covers part of a continuing interview; neither the complete interview nor every topic is included.
The opening treatment promise continues the preceding introduction concerning Fletcher Powers on printed page 935; it is included as context only.
The closing John Ham and family dialogue follows the recording-side marker and continues on printed page 940; it is included as context only.
Narrated diagnosis/recovery remains attributed historical claim; no medical findings or effects.
Patient, doctor, family and Lindsay names are local source mentions, not resolved person identity.
Retain recording/cylinder distinctions and Hyatt counterfactual commentary.
Bounded passage retrieval, not complete corpus coverage or practitioner consensus.
Read the full source context: Vol. 2, p. 935 · Vol. 2, p. 936 · Vol. 2, p. 937 · Vol. 2, p. 938 · Vol. 2, p. 939 · Vol. 2, p. 940