Subject:Milk
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Entry 445
Now, yo' take whut dey used to call de witches - yo' take a grease an dey'll grease deyselves all ovah, jes' like dey goin' out tuh do somepin an' git clean out dere skin. Well, when dey git clean out dere skin dey'd be in de house; dey has a word dey say, "Round an' about - out de keyhole go." Right out de keyhole dey'll go. Well, dey go on out an' do whut dey's gon'a do an' come back. And when dey come back, dey'd say de same thing, "Round an' about de key- hole - out de do' we go." Well, dey'd come back in. When dey'd come back in dey'd git back into dey skin, git in - walk up to de skin, say, "skinny, don't chew know me?" An' dey'd jump an' if - now, if a person be lucky 'nuff, dey'd git dere befo' dey git in dere skin an' take dat skin, den dey couldn't git back in it.
(What did the witches do - what did the witches used to do?)
Well, dey say now, witches, dey used to ride hosses. Dey go to a cowpen an' milk cows an' go in a smokehouse an' take meat an' things. Well, dey all jes' carry dat back to dey homes - dey nevah did do nuthin' but jes' practice dat.
(Were these men or women?)
Mens an' wimmin.
(Did the witches do any conjuration at all - or not?)
Well, dey done a whole lot'a dis cunjuration. Dey claim dat dat's where de cunjuration come from - de witch crowd.
(Were you born here in Georgia?)
Yes suh, born in Georgia.
Entry 709
The shed from a snake, a woman taken that an' - a woman right across from the neighborhood and she didn't like her, jealousy - an' she taken that snake shed an' takes it the month of May, an' powders it, ground it. An' this woman, that she wanted to give it to, was crazy about clabber, but she didn't have no clabber. An' that woman put this here snake shed in that clabber and that woman drinked it. She didn't think there wus nuthin': to it because she'd been drinkin' it all the time. An' in about two months that woman was full of snakes. An' the woman said the way was to git them out of her, after they got this man. They sent an' git this man after the medical doctors couldn't do her any good. They sent an' get this two-head man that know all about it. An' he said she so far gone that he don't know if he could do her any good or not, but he d git the snakes out of her. So they taken that woman an' tied her like a yoke sort-a-like, a block an' tackle like, at the head of the bed - put her feet up, put her haid down, with a cup of milk under her haid. An' those snakes fallen down. I think he said it was twenty-five of 'em about six inches long jis' drop out of her in that cup of milk. But they couldn't save the woman. She died from it.
Entry 1117
(You get this one drop of blood from that same bug [Betsy bug] from an old hollow tree.) Yes, from a ole rotten tree. You drop this blood - one drop into a cup of - into a halfa teacup of grease. Then you get a piece of saltpeter about as big as a red bean. Get a teacup of sweet milk. You see you mix that all up together. You give that to that person that has been tricked and poisoned. They wull throw it up.
Entry 1196
If lightnin' would hit a house an' whenevah dey would swallah some of dat flame or smoke dataway an' dey take de black cow's milk an' give 'em a drink of it, dat de only thing will revive him, yo' see, cause aftah yo' git hit by lightnin' or ketch smoke or anything dataway, it ketch yo' wit a sharp disease. If yo' kin git pure black cow's milk an' drink about a quart, dat will ease yo'. Dat de only thing would do yo' any good. It bettah den any medicine dat de physician give yo'.
Entry 1197
Use it fo' shingles. Yo' evah hear 'em tell of people usin' it fo' havin' shingles?
(No, tell me all about it.)
Yo' take that black cow's milk an' yo' wash dat whole place wit it. Yo' know de shingles starts in a patch an' yo' jes' keep it, yo' know, saturated wit dat black cow's milk.
Entry 1198
Well, ah've heard of 'em gittin' de blood of a snake, a poison snake, an' put it into whiskey an' give a person an' that will grow snakes in them, so ah've heard. When the snakes grow in a person, they kin take sweet milk an' mix it with the grease, which would be lard or somethin' - make a salve an' grease the intestines wit dat chew know, with this grease an' it will draw the snakes because milk will draw a snake, an' it will draw dem from 'em.
(What do you mean grease the intestines?)
Ah don't mean de intestines, ah mean de rectum.
(And the snake would come out that way?)
He come tuh git dat milk - vo' see, he git de scent of dat milk an' he'll gradually git so far he has tuh come on out.
Entry 1232
Even if yo' bald, git de milk from de dog an' bathe de part dat's bald of the cranium an' yore hair will event'lly grow back.
Entry 1333
Take de milk of a hog, de hog milk, an' maybe yo' got boy dat stutter, anybody dat stutter an' cain't deliver dere words. An' while he's tryin' tuh git his word out, yo' hit 'em in de mouth wit dat milk, he'll always talk plain.
Entry 1547
If yo' got anything in yo', yo' git chew some parsley an' some sweet milk an' a silver dime, an' yo' grates dis silver money an' yo' supposed tuh give 'em a pint of dat sweet milk wit dat boiled parsley in it an' dat grated silver dime, three times a day at six in de mawnin' an' twelve at noon an' six at night, an' yo' give it to 'em fo' nine days. An' den at the end of de nine days then yo' give 'em some kind of purgative medicine an' work it on 'em. Dat'll make 'em pass it. Whensomevah dey have any kind of insects or anything dey got in 'em, yo' see, dis heah sweet milk will kill it. An' den when de sweet milk an' de silver dime positively kills it in yo', den yo' gives 'em a purgative an' dat makes yo' pass it right out.:
Entry 3094
My grandmother - well, I'm speaking of my aunt - just as well say grandmother, she was born a slave. She [aunt] said that one night she dreamt that this friend of hers was mixing up something that was green, yet it was sup- posed to be milk. And she said to her husband next day, "Purnell, don't you take dinner with Bettie on Sunday." But sure enough he would go and take dinner with this woman on Sunday - they were friends - and sure enough this woman did poison her [aunt's] husband in milk. So he called on a man by the name of George Jackson who lived out here near Girdletree [Maryland] at that time - he's dead now. [George Jackson never lived at Girdletree.] And he went to call on this old man George Jackson. And he went to get some roots out of the woods and boiled it up. And while he was boiling these up he was singing a song. And the more he'd sing, the more this stuff would boil. I suppose that was just [uncle's] imagination. But when he got it boiled as much as he wanted it, he gave my uncle this to drink. And there had been things crawling up and down - running up and down - inside of him. You could hear them. She [aunt] said this had happened about two weeks after he took this dinner. You could hear these things squealing as if though they were mice and rats. And finally, when he drank this up, an hour or so afterwards, why these things came from him - he discharged these things. And they were wood- bitches - ground puppies.
[For another example of singing while something boils, see 918, p.337.]
This happened down here at St. James [a Negro community in which I was to work a few days later]. St. James is five miles on the other side of Pocomoke [City, Maryland] right on the border of Virginia. [The speaker is Jerry Williams, George Jackson's grandnephew and my contact man. I had interviewed him that summer at Ocean City, Md. We are about to start my second collecting trip in Maryland - Friday, Dec. 14, 1936 - as well as to use the Telediphone for the first time. This unusual story of George Jackson singing to his brew, the first recording for the Telediphone, signifies bubbling luck - also work - for the 3000 cylinders to follow.]
Entry 3857
An' dis girl, if it's a girl an' she say whether she's goin' knock fer yo' [knock a nail into your picture against a tree] an' tell yore business, an' [if] yo' could ketch 'er whenevah she, yo' know, stayed dere [at your house], if yo' git hold of one of dose cloths an' put it in a milk bottle, an' let dis but- tahmilk dreen, an' be sure it's buttahmilk an' not sweet milk, an' half put de stoppah on dere, like a papah stoppah, an' let it [have] enough room fer it to dreen out, an' she'll die, too.
Entry 4843
(Anything else now?)
Oh yes, she kin take her watah, or she kin take her monthlies. Dat's de big- gest way de mos' of 'em do, an' mix wit 'is food. She stirs it wit a little chamber lye an' put in 'is coffee. She kin put milk in it an' keep 'im doped on dat. Dat's if he don' care nuthin about 'er. She want's tuh take 'im in, see, wal she jis' takes dat. An' if she don't wan'a do dat, she don' have tuh do it. [When] she washes, she takes 'is undahclothes, his drawahs, an' right in de seat she clips, yuh know. Jes' lak pants sewed up, yuh know, dere's a little seam. Well dat run right up dere. She jis' clips jis' dat much of it off [dem- onstrates]. Dat's all she got'a have, an' bind it up in a red flannel, jis' a small piece, an' place it undah 'er arm an' [or] undah 'er feet.
(Which arm does she place it under?)
Undah de lef' one. Always put it undah de lef'.
Entry 270
I heard a fellow say once, you go to the cemetery at twelve o'clock at night, you take the black cat; you're supposed to put him in the pot alive, you boil him in the cemetery. When the meat comes off, you pour the bones down in a pot of milk. When they come up to the top, you grab the bone that comes to the top. When you go to grab it, you see like a lot of hands and everything coming up at you. If you're lucky enough you'll get the bone. But you have to be quick. And don't get scared. You get that black cat bone and anything you want you get it. If you see somebody with eatens and you want it, you say, "Bring that tray to me," and that man will bring that tray right to you.
Entry 710
Well, being hurt now, I been hurt myself - my self experience. Well, I loves beer and so one night I had come out de field from picking berries, I had never picked any befoah, and I said to my husband I wanted some draft beer. Well, he went and got it. A lady lived next door to me, she said, "Since you is so tired, I'll go get de glasses." She sprinkled some snake dust in de glass settin' outdoors on de porch and de moon shinin', not seein' it you know, I drank it. I didn't know it until I was taken sick and got somebody [doctor] to wait on me and he told me about dis beer drinking - how it was fixed. And you see dat created young ones in me. Well he came, he told my husband to go to a dairy an' get some fresh sweet milk - put it in a tub. And I disrobed myself and sit over it and all them things came out of me. And he said, "Don't drink sweet milk while dere in you, 'cause fast as you get de old ones out, creates young ones."
Entry 1558
[I will end this margin-title concerning silver with my only example of an unusual belief about a very common rite:] Hear of 'em usin' a dime fo' sech as poison. Says if dere's any poison an' yo' have a dime roun' yore ankle an' yo' walk in de poison, dat dime will turn black; an' if yo' urine in [on] dat dime it will gradually take all dat poison away, but if yo' don't renew it, it will go on to yore heart.
(But you will get well if you renew the dime?)
Yessuh. [Here the dime has taken over the qualities of a madstone, which have been described as follows: A madstone, according to an old farmer who once saw one used, is grey and resembles a hog kidney. Years ago someone living near him had been bitten by a mad dog, and the owner of a madstone was called in to work the cure. The latter began by putting his madstone against the bite, where it stuck for a long time like a magnet and could not be removed. This signified, said the operator; that the madstone was sucking out the poison: further, as soon as it was thoroughly saturated, it would drop off the wound. Thus the madstone eventually let loose, and he placed it in a crock of milk which turned grey immediately. This process of administering the madstone and then dipping it into the milk was repeated seven times. When it was applied for the eighth time, it no longer adhered, indicating that all the poison had been extracted: but to make certain, the healer asked for another crock of milk and swished the madstone in it as a final test. The milk remained white. ( (FACI, 1st ed., 1935, No. 4540, p.218;2ed.,1965, No.4709, p.204.)] [Any dime, worn as a protection against poisonous substances swallowed or roots walked over, will absorb the poison. This power of absorption by silver appears to be inexhaustible, but in the present belief my informant says a dime has a capacity for holding poison; anything beyond this limit will go to your heart and kill you. To be on the safe side, he continues, you must periodically cleanse the dime by urinating on it. Urine shows your contempt for the poison spirit; it leaves at once. Here the dime, the silver spirit, is treated as a hand which must be fed for renewed strength (see subsection Hands). How urine repells and attracts at the same time is no more mysterious than your intention. The skeptic may ask, "When a dime starts to blacken, why not substitute a new dime?" That question could be answered in various ways but the real answer is simple - if you believe substitution will work for you, it will work for you.]
Entry 13019
"You takes sweet milk an' grate a silver dime and drink off it." [Some of the silver dime is filed into sweet milk, not the whole dime.l [Mobile 969:6.]
Entry 415
I really had experience of that my ownself. Another fellow and I went out one night to try and locate a hidden treasure. And after getting to the place, he drew a circle around it and made a gate to it. And after leaving the gate he sprinkled sulphur, milk and so forth all around, and then he began to sound with his apperrattox [apparatus] and he struck what he thought was money. That was a iron rod about six feet long: And we began to dig. And while we were digging - I had never been upon that occasion [adventure] before in my life - you can't talk - whatever you want you must make signs - and I was digging and I held up my head to ask him for something to work with, and I looked and he was gone and I was all there alone. The ring which he made was surrounded by lots of people, but who they were I know them not. And all I had to do then was to come out of the hole and make my getaway - and I beat it, too. [Old Point, Comfort, Va., (27), Ed.; Norfolk Co., Va.,1896.]
Entry 701
They say some people had frogs. I don't know whether you ever heard tell of frogs that been put in 'em. See. The doctors couldn't do 'em no good. They didn't know what they had their ownself. Well, there was a old lady, she's dead now - reckon you've heard tell of her, Mother Catherine.
(Mother Catherine?)
Yes, sir. They went to her. She was living way down in St. Bernard Parish. [The State of Louisiana is divided into parishes instead of counties. St. Bernard Parish, nearly touching New Orleans, extends eastward to the Gulf of Mexico. It is almost surrounded by water and full of coastal islands. I like the informant's nostalgic words ''living way down in." Mother Catherine must have lived in a naturalist's paradise long since surely taken over by automobiles, pleasure boats and weekenders.] They went to her and she told them what to do. She gived them descriptions of what to get. Now they got - the first thing they got was this root they call sasafax [sassafras]. That was only to make a tea and to purify the blood. She told 'em, say, "Get you some sasafax and boil that sasafax, put it in a bottle and get you some whiskey and put on top of it. You drink that sasafax for nine mornings and after drinking the sasafax for the nine mornings," she told 'em, she says, just like this, "you get you some asafitadee, get that, take a silver dime and scrape it and get the dust from it with a bottle milk, and you use that for nine days." That would be eighteen days. And cured her within the eighteen days time. Got the frogs out of her stomach, you understand.
(I see. Mother Catherine is dead now, isn't she?)
She's be dead quite a spell now.
Entry 1530
Cut yo' a silver dime into fo' parts wit a file, if anybody have given you any poison or anything dataway. Yo' take an' cut de silver dime into fo' parts, an' yo' take yo' some fresh beef lard an' take de cow milk an' drink that, an' yo'll vomit everything that chew took - fight it right now, in about fifteen minutes everything will come up. (You just take the dust of the dime. You don't cut the dime all the way throughthen?) Yo cut dat dime all de way through see, because yo' goin' tuh swallow that silver.
(But you must cut the silver into four parts.)
Yo' cut into fo' parts an' den roundin' it so it won't irritate de entrails, makin' it very round so yo' won't have no sharp point on it atall. See. Take an' mix it with that milk, that cow milk, an' that fresh lard an' drink it down. Anything that chew take that won't kill yo' in de co'se of twenty minutes, it comes right back up.
(You don't use the dust?)
No, not de dust - dat's very dangerous, de dust. If de dust git into de intestines dataway, yo' understan', an' settle - why, yo' understan', yo' got'a file it aroun' an' make it small enough tuh swallow de same as a pill yo' know. Not de dust. [Sometimes the whole dime is swallowed - see Dime in Index.]
Entry 3096
Wal, de story ah wanta tell - wheah ah live up in Mobile fer 17 years, an' ah [17 years old] left and went tuh Birmingham, an' ah lived in Birmingham 'bout six months in de no'th part of Birmingham, and after living in no'th Birmingham, went over in Westfield. It's about 7 miles from Birmingham and ah was working fer [some] company in Birmingham and ah lost a finger, see. Piece of a finger, see. An' ah drew about, I think it was 700 and some dollars fer dat finger - where ah was working from. An' ah went over tuh Birmingham and got aroun', having money you know - having a big time and met several girl friends. And where ah was living ah was goin' wit de girl stayed next door tuh me; an' ah was goin' wit de girl stayed at de third door from me. An' de girl that stay- ed at de third door from me, she was a.married woman, and de girl stayed at de first door from me, she was not married but she had a chile for dis married woman's husbands, yo' see, and so dey disliked one another. But how-de-ever, one day, she was goin' down to de commissary - dis store, yo' know, fer a camp, TCI camp. Dis TCI - ah guess you've heard about it. Down in dis camp dere a big store. All de trade is for de company - live by de company an' yo' deal wit de company. An' she ast me tuh go and ah tole her ah didn't wanta go. An' she tole me, "Yo' must go." Ah say, "Well, ah'm not goin'." Well she snatched mah hat and ah run, chased her to take mah hat from her and she out- run me and wore de hat on down dere. Well, when she came back - ah guess it was about six 'clock when she came back an' ah went over and ast her fer mah hat. So she gave it to me and so I wore that fer two or three days - worked with it, it was a work hat. So about several days after dat ah became - mah eyesight became sort of dim-like. What it was all about ah didn't know. Well, de TCI, you have to carry insurance dere. Dey takes out fer de rent and fer de doctor bill. Well, ah went over to de hospital - to de little hospital and me being in de hospital, de doctor test mah eyes and everything and tole me ah had sore eyes. He tole me to bath mah eye with some saltwater and it would come all right. Well, ah did and it didn't git any better and ah went back to him and so he sent me over to de Hillman Hospital - dat's in Birmingham - to a Specialist. Well, de specialist test mah eyes and ask me what happen. What hit me in de eye - did any steel or anything hit mah eye. Ah tole him no, it Wasn't any steel or anything ah got in mah eye. So ah tole him the only thing ah know of [I had been hoodooed]." 'Well, '' he say, "ah tell yo, son, you have to go to a two-headed doctor." [For telling a Doctor of Medicine that your ailment comes from hoodoo, see p.12, line 9f.]
(Was it a colored doctor who was waiting on you?)
It was a colored doctor.
(At this hospital?)
At de hospital. Oh! I beg yore pardon, it was a white doctor.
(And he advised you to go to a two-headed doctor?)
To a two-headed doctor. An' so ah goes on back to mah cousin and tole him he tole me to go to a two-headed doctor, and ast him did he mean that.
(Where did you say you went?)
From Birmingham - from de hospital? Well, ah went back home, yo' see.
(No. Didn't you go to see the two-headed doctor?)
He tole me go to a two-headed doctor an' ah went. Ah goes back home fer [first] an' ah tell mah cousin, who ah was livin' with, what de doctor tole me. So he advised me to go to a place dey call Tennysville, see. Yes, dat's a suburb of Birmingham, ah guess, 'bout seven miles. So ah goes ovah to the lady - it's a colored lady. Her name was Madam Jane. Ah goes tuh her and so she comes in to de room - de waitin' room and tole me everything. In de beginnin' she tole me, say, "Well, yo' lost yore eyesight - jist about." An' she tole me what it's all about and how come dis woman's mad with me and everything, but she wouldn't tell me who the girl was - she wouldn't call her name but she would describe her to me and give de girl initials [see 2748, p.757], yo' understand. An' so she tole me what charge - it cost me $25.00 to git mah eyes cured. Well, whut she said, ah don't know; but whut she tole me to do, ah know. So she advised me to bathe mah eyes in some fresh milk - whut ah mean by fresh milk, not dairy milk but from a cow, see. Dat whut she tole me to do - bathe mah eyes in fresh milk. An' she tole me dat mah eyes were blind from de girl takin' de bow off - de bow ah mean in de back of de hat, she had dressed de hat. An' say whut fer me tuh do was to take some salt - Epsom salts - take some Epsom salts and any kind of finest perfume and jest bathe dis - where dis bow was in mah hat. See. Co'se she gave me some treatments remember whut she gave me was to rub cross mah eyes but whut it was, ah don't know. An' so ah guess she worked on me 'bout two weeks and ah gained mah eyesight. In facts, in the third week ah was stone blind. But whut she did - ah know whut she tole me to do. Dat was to cure mah eyes. Dat's experience.
(What happened to the girl?)
Tuh de girl? Anything didn't happen to her. Quite natural me an' her was still friends but ah was sort of shy of her because she had did that trick, yo' see. In other Words, she was tryin' tuh gain love, yo' see. An' dis girl, she disliked her and she didn't want me to have dis girl. Of course, she's a married woman and ah couldn't be anything tuh her, but she liked me.
Entry 7194
[Caffrey's interview will be found on Pp.1459-1470. There in an intro- ductory comment I give the reader a favorable opinion about him. The following rite was removed from his material years ago be- cause it concerned a man's vitality, dirty words back in those days, smelling of evil thoughts or deeds. Usually cases of so-called social diseases were left for a sex special- ist, but more reputable doctors like Caffrey Would accept vitality deficiency or impotence trouble. An early advertisement of "Father" Caffrey, when only 29 years old, appears among the ILLUSTRATIONS at end of Hoodoo, vol.2.] All right. I'll look that condition over. I'll look that condition over an I'll say, "What instances did you see that you tied up? You say, "Well, I' tied up." say, "I believe that I'm tied up in some way or other." Say, "I can't make connection with no other woman but my old lady." You see? Well, all right. I'll look that condition over an' then I would go to work an' I would fix up, I would get me a bottle of - let me, now. I get me a bottle of well water. See, vell water.
(Well water?)
Well water. Mix that with ammonia. You understand me? Then I will go to pork an' I put some antiseptic in that an' I will have you to take some baths. You get the idea about that? An' have you to take baths three times a week. An' I'll get you Boston Compeller an' make an ingredient of that.
(What did you get?)
Boston Compeller.
(Boston what?)
Boston Compeller.
(What's that?)
That's to give you vitality. That's Boston Compeller, you see.
(What does it look like?)
Well, that's somepin like a oil that you get from the drug store.
(I see. All right, go ahead.)
Boston Compeller. Then you get about a - a small bottle of turpentine an' yo' get a small bottle of antiseptic. You get the idea about that? An' I fix that up and then I go to work an' I go out into the country somewhere an' I'll try to get in contact with some milkman or another at a milk dairy that got a cow that give rich milk. You see? Then I put about two tablespoonful of sugar in that. Get the idea about that? And in putting two tablespoons of sugar in that, I'll try to get [something]. [He is acting out everything.] [He claps his hands, uhispering "All right several times.] And then [get] an ingredient of some kind of creosote and shake that well, you see. And you'll take that three time a day. And in taking that three times a day I'll come to you and then you'll get you a bar of soap; you see, that Octagon soap, you see, and you wash yourself three times a day with that: at six in mawn- in', nine in the mawnin, and six in the evening, an' that will reduce that con- dition in you and you can go anywhere you want to go.
(I see. What was the name of that soap?)
Octagon soap.
(I see.)
Now, what ingredient I left out, but I'll bring it right back. You put about, sasewhere round about three tablespoons of whiskey or gin into that. See, that bring that vitality back.
(That restores a man to his vitality?)
His vitality.
(The woman can't keep him tied up. I see.)
Entry 13023
Boil silver dime and drink in water or milk for body-ailment by cunjure. [Wilmington 189:10+85.]
Entry 241
Once upon a time a lady brought a friend of her a pot of rice and tomatoes, and the neighbor, not wanting to eat it, she gave it to her little girl. And the little girl ate some of it and it made her sick. After that the little girl would always go out into the woods to drink her milk. Her parents didn't know what the child was doing with this milk. Later her brother followed her to find out what was happening with this milk and he found the little girl Was giving this milk to a snake. Her brother told her father. Her father and the neighbors set out to find the snake. After they found the snake and killed it, the little girl passed away. [For snake eating or drinking child's food, see FACI,2ed., pp.62-63, Nos.1571-1573.] [New York City, (?), 370A:1; near Charleston, S. Car.,1922.1
Entry 897
I come to tell yah a little short story that happened mah a'nt once - she was in Georgia, she in Atlanta. Mah gran'mother moved down there. An' she [the aunt] was goin' with a boy an' the boy had another girl an' this girl had hated her an' she got some of her hair an' diff'rent little other mixture - I don't know whut it was - an' sewed it up in a rag an' slide it up under her doorstep. An' she got it [the spell], an' she become sick. An' one day, it was mah gran'- mother washin', a man come over, a root worker, an' ask her did she have someone sick an' she told him yes sir, it was her daughter wus sick. He ask her let him go in there an' look at her an' he went in there an' he looked at her an' say she was in pretty bad shape - you know, she was hurt by this girl. An' he made some medicine. He put dime in some milk an' pepper an' salt - he jis' stir it aroun' an' she took it. An' he looked under de doorstep an' he got this hair an' stuff tha' wus under de doorstep sewed up in rag, an' he had to put sulphur an' stuff on it before he touched it - if he don't it would of made him sick. An' dat evenin' she was able enough to play ball wid de other children.
Entry 1043
They use snails jes' like they use wood lice to hurt people. Now you take, you get a snail, a wood lice and you take those things and cook 'em till they're jes' all to pieces. You put 'em in somepin and jes' rub 'em up, you know, through a cloth till they're jes' mush. Then you put 'em in some rainwater, jes' a small amount of rainwater and let it set there till - you know rainwater - those things will come when it sets there long enough. Then you take that stuff and strain it out and put it in either milk or whiskey and that'll make that person - they're supposed to after a period of time that scales will come in [on] their haid and they scratch it and those scales become little live things, either wood lice or little min'ature snails. [See Live Things in You, p.227; also Index.] They're so small you can't tell what they look like but you can discern the little shell on their back. They come right out of the skin, just first start like tetter. It'll itch and as you scratch it and people are supposed to have wood lice or snails like that in their haid the way they do that. You can turn the spell right back on them and they'll automatically leave.
(Well, how would you turn the spell back on them?)
Well, just get somebody else to do the same thing to them they did to you. Cook those snails up and give them to him in a drink and when the snails come in his head they disappear out of your head. [See Like Cures Like, p.394.] That's why they say you can't cure a person that's hoodooed if the person that hoodooed them is dead. There never is no cure for them but as long as the person is alive it can be reversed. [For turning back spell, see pp.333-334 and Index.]
Entry 1120
Chills - like if you are subject to chills every day, you get the bitterweed that grows the yellow flowers on top and the cow eats those weeds and it makes her milk bitter. Well, if a person has got a chill, you take this cord string and measure it around their waist, when the chill is on them, and you measure just the size of their wrist and you take this thread.
(Either wrist?)
Either wrist, either one. You take this thread out to that bitterweed and you bunch it all on this branch, you see, and tie that string around it. Three days after you do that, the weed'll die and there'll be no more chills. I learnt that when I was thirteen years old.
Entry 1733
Yo' take gunpowder an' yo' take a black cow's milk an' yo' compound, yo' know, yo' mix all that together - that's really lucky an' yo' scrub with that. (What sort of luck is that supposed to give you? What do you do that for?) Yo' do that fo' jes' fast luck - yo' know, spo'tin' luck an' all lak that. An' it's good fo' gamblin' han' too, an' yo' wash yore han's - jes' wash yore han's in de black cow's milk an' jes' keep it. Jes' do lak that if yo' want to, yo see, jes' ovah yore han's when yo' git ready tuh gamble. Dat's really lucky.
[Here a liquid is a hand.]
Entry 2223
I've heard them say you take a rabbit bone - cut his right hind leg off, put it in a pot and boil it in milk. Take it out and dry it in the sun for six days, take it and put it in the ground and bury it and let it stay in there for two nights. Dig it up and tie a piece of string around it and tie it around your arm. And anything you want you take it out and talk to it - tell it what you want and you are more than apt to get it.
Entry 3003
(St. Espidee is what?)
Is a lawyer. Dat's a case of co't too. Well dey use de candles fo: him an' pray tuh him an' give him a glass of milk if yo' kin give it, or git white rum, an' give him yore case an' he'll plead it fo' yo'. Light a candle an' a glass of milk, or eithah yore rum if yo' kin git it, but yo' cain't git no mo' rum now.
(What kind of color would you light to him?)
A white one to St. Espidee.
(What do you do, put him on the floor, too?)
No, no - yo' leave him right up. He's gotta git up on de stand an' he's gotta talk fo'yo'.
Entry 3639
Well, now here's what I wanted to get information on. Dere is tricks can be turned - it's kind of a woodsy trick, things lak dat. Whether yo' wanted to heah dat.
(Yes. Oh yes, go ahead.)
Well, I have known of people, man to have a connection wit a woman an' to git hung dere lak a dog or anything. Well, de beginnin' of dat, yo' kin take one of dese ole snails. Yo' see dey have a house. When dey stretch out an' crawl dey pull dis house along wit 'em. A shell dey call it. Well, he carries a slime along as he goes. Yo' git a little of dat slime an' yo' go in de woods an' dere's a bug - a black bug an' we used to call 'im a betty bug. It's about so long [demonstrates].
(What kind of a bug do you call him?)
A Betty Bug. Yo' see it's a big black bug dat stays in ole rotten woods an' stuff lak dat. Well he's got where his neck come, his body connects togethah, it's only one drop of blood in it. Break 'im an git dat drop of blood, a little hartshorn [not sal volatite, etc., but a fairly common pronunciation of the per- fumes Hearts Own and Hearts Cologne] an' dis slime from de snail, an' use it be- fore it gits dry or anything, an' yo' kin dress a woman wit dat yo' see. A man goes an' has a connection wit 'er an' he'll git hung dere de same as a dog would to a female dog or anything. If a man want to take dat off dere, he's gotta use dat same snail, a little new milk an' prob'ly somepin lak alcohol or real good whiskey. Dat'll git 'em apart.
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 4192
Breakin' nine needles - take nine needles an' break 'em an' put 'em intuh dat - down intuh it, don't chew undahstan', in yuh chamber lye. It jis lak if yuh'd drink [milk]. Now, yuh kin take milk an' drink it an' put sugah in it, an' take a knife blade an' stir it, yuh'll have de stomikache from dat knife blade. Well, yuh'll always be ahurtin', always be a [in] pain, all de time. Evah time yuh look aroun' yuh will complain of a pain, but it be's in de same place - it nevah moves.
(And then this chamber lye, you put it in something to hold it, don't you?)
Yes, bottle.
[Long pause.]
(Well, go on, put it in the bottle there [informant demonstrating], and then you put these knives [this knife blade] and needles in it.) In the bottle.
(What do you do with that, then?)
Yo' jis' bury it, de bottle, in de ground an' nobody knows. "Git chew a round stick, yuh know, an' dig yuh a hole an' bury it right in dere.
(I see. That will give the person pains in his stomach.)
Yes sir.
Entry 5978
Dey take yore hair an' dey will run yo' crazy. Dey take dat hair an' put it in a bottle an' put it in milk, new milk, an' put sugah in dat, an' put dis heah red cayenne peppah, an' put some of 'is chamber lye in dat, an' close it up air- tight. Dat will do de work.
(What do you do With that bottle then?)
Yo' carry it in yore pocket.
(You put all this stuff in the bottle?)
Yessuh.
Entry 6610
(What do they do with that snake blood now?)
Dey take de snake an' kill de snake while de blood is warm, yo' know, befo' de snake git cold, yo' see. An' take de blood an' put in milk or coffee, but if dey put it in coffee it won' show up as bad, dey say. An' yo' drink it, an' dat'll have snakes in yo'. De little snakes will crawl all dhrough.
Entry 6620
Yo' git a snake bone an' take de shoes - yo' git de snake bone an' yo' take a person's shoe an' take dat li'le leathah piece outa it whut's in dere. An' yo' take dat li'le bone an' dry it up - yo' know, kinda make li'le powdah of it. An' yo' take de othah part, de tip-end of it, dat sharp part, an' put it down intuh de shoe an' place dat li'le cloth back ovah it. Yo' take dat powdahs an' sprinkle dat all roun' in dere. If it's yore shoe, if ah wanta kill yo' or put sompin in yo', put snakes in yo' where dey won' come out. Well, yo' see when yo' put dat shoe on, yo' goin' press yore weight ag'inst it; an' when yo' does, see, it pops up intuh yo', intuh yore heel. Well, yo' see, dat poison jis' goes right straight on up in yo'. An' aftah dat poison git up intuh yo', in about de ninth day it begin tuh make li'le snakes in yo'. It begin tuh make li'le snakes in yo'. Well, if yo' wanta git dose snakes outa yo', yo' git chew some sulphuh an' green peppah, black peppah an' mix it all tuhgethah. An' den yo' git chew dis milk of magnesia an' den yo' put dat in wit it an' mix it tuhgethah, an' jis' nine drops of spirits of turpentine. Yo' mix it all up tuhgethah an' yo' take dat fo' about eight days an' it will kill dose snakes. An' yo' go tuh de woods an' dere's one li'le sprig of stuff dat dey call dat Copras it bears one of de straight leaves an' de li'le j'ints [joints]. Dey got about four li'le white j'ints run up tuhgethah. [Does informant mean copperas, and does he think it is a plant?] Yo' take dat an' weah dat intuh yore clothes, an' dey say dat will really, surely run de snakes outa yo'. Put it all tuhgethah an' it will run dose snakes out of yo'. (You just wear this root though, you don't take either of those things - just wear it?) Yes.
(And that snakebone, can you get that any place about the snake?)
Yes, yo' kin git it from de snake, jis' any part of 'is body, jis' so it has dat li'le sharp end kind lak a pin.
Entry 6630
If dey want tuh kill anybody, so ah learnt - dat's how mah fathah wuz killed. Now, dey kin git a snake of any kin' yo' want. Ketch im, yo' know, 'live. An' say yo' take him an' put 'im in de stove an' bake him brown - yo' know, till he's crisp up. An' dey say yo' kin take a li'le bit of dat dust, an' dust it in watah, milk or coffee - anythin' yo' wanta dust it in. An' dey tell me it will kill a person.
Entry 6759
Cure for blindness caused by spell. Bathe eyes every mawnin' with fresh cow milk and beaten-up egg. Do for seven [consecutive] mawnin's.
Entry 6763
Milk from a black cow could kill disease, rash, or any kinda disease dat children has. [Black cow milk is fairly common in Hoodoo, see Doctor Lind- say, MY FIRST DOCTOR in Hoodoo, v.2, p.938,6 lines from bottom of page.]
Entry 6931
Yo' take a silvah dime, yo' file dis silvah dime in- tuh a pint of milk, yo' bile dat milk, yo' drank it, an' dat milk's gon'a bring whutsomevah poison in yuh. It's gon'a bring it out.
Entry 6935
[If they get it] inside yuh body, lak worms an' diff'ren' things lak dat, yo' take some gunpowdah an' cow's milk, warm cow's milk an' take a silvah dime an' grate it. Yo' undahstand? Grate dat silvah dime intuh dis gunpowdah an' milk, an' drink it fer, say ten or fifteen days, an' yo'll pass it all outa yuh. Yer passin'll be as black as smoke.
Entry 7016
Well, if yo' got a man an' yo' don' want 'im tuh drink whiskey, yo' roun' an' de firs' dog dat chew see wit young puppies, real young puppies, yo' ast de lady who owns it tuh let chew milk, or let 'er milk a li'le of dat milk intuh a glass. An' git about six or eight tea- spoonsfulla dat milk in de glass an' po' about - well, a gill of whiskey tuh it, an' let 'im drink it. No mo' whiskey fo' him.
(That will stop his drinking?)
YasSuh, it'll stOp 'em. AH STOPPED ONE FO' A WHITE LADY OUT DERE ON DE OLE STREET.
(That really will stop them.)
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 10261
If a woman have tricked him where he can't do business, well every morning he take dat. Take some milk an' put it in de pan an' bathe down wit it; an' throw it toward de risin' sun, every morning fo' nine mornings. [I had stopped machine but restarted it to include informant's use of the word courage.]
(What will that do then? That will restore his courage?)
Yes, restore his courage. [Stop machine.]
[Start machine again to pick up another addition.]
(You say bathe down.)
Entry 1545
Git one of dese little three-edged file and git chew a silver dime an' scrape a little dat silver, and den take a teaspoonful of salt - I mean to say and sulphur, and jes' three drops of camphor and a glass of sweet milk. Dat will git de poison out of you, if dey's got dis dope by witchcraft in you.
Entry 1546
Ah know dis mahself - ah seen de man when he come out but ah hadn't seen whut had happened.
(You saw the man what?)
De man dat had went wit a woman, de woman dat anothah woman wus goin' wit 'er husband, an' she wus fren's wit dis woman an' she eated at dis woman's house - gi'ed her somepin tuh eat. An' den after gittin' somepin tuh eat, she wus sick, sick, sick an' in bed - in bed, stayed in bed. So after while, fin'lly, she feel things workin' up in her stomach - she see some things wus workin' up in her stomach. So she seen she wus sick, so dey went tuh graveyard an' git two tablespoon of graveyard dust, an' tuh git a quart of sweet milk, an' den dey put dis two tablespoon of graveyard dirt in de milk an' dey boil it. An' after dey boil it fo' a little while, dey take it out an' dey strain it an' take a new file. Git a new file an' git some silver.money, an' den yo' saw [file] some of dat silver money up in dis milk an' graveyard dust tuhgethah. An' den in two doses de maggots come from her.
Entry 1548
Lak when yo' come tuh mah house an' ah got anything against yo', if ah wanta hurt yo', ah'll fix somepin an' yo' eat dat an' yo' gits sick. So dis man, yo' know, he drunk some whiskey at a woman's house an' on de way tuh curin' him, somebody got a dime, a silver dime, an' took dat silver dime an' scraped it. An' den he got some gunpowder an' he got sweet milk an' mix it together an' give it to 'im. An' he puked dat stuff up.
Entry 1549
They say yo' can take de lodestone and boil it into de sweet milk and a silver dime and file it and git de silver from de dime. Yo' take de saltpeter and de sulphur an' yo' make jes' a medicine of it. Yo' put dat on de inside. Yo' take de poke root, de saltpeter and de sulphur and gunpowder and use it as a bath an' fish brine an' that will kill it.
(What do you put.inside you?)
You put inside you this saltpeter and the sulphur and the lodestone, yo' see, boil this into the sweet milk - inside. Yo' can take de gunpowder inside, tain't goin' hurt chew - gunpowder don't hurt anybody. Yo' use that into de inside. An' then tuh tell whether you've got the stuff in yo' or not, dey tell me yo' kin take a silver dime - a real silver dime and put it in yore mouth and it will turn black immediately, and then yo' kin tell if these things into yo'.
(How do you do that?)
Hold it into yore mouth until a certain - jest about an hour, and dey say if anything like dat in yuh, it certainly will turn black.
Entry 1569
Yo' go to de store an' yo' git chew a nickel box of sulphur - dat's a common way, an' after yo' git dat sulphur, yo' take dat sulphur an' yo' mix it up with a - take about three good heaping teaspoonsful or two tablespoonsful - yo' mix it up in some cream or milk an' yo' drink dat about twice a week. An' dat will keep anybody from harmin' yo' - nobody can't harm yo'.
Entry 4126
[Preceding rite is now simplified to 3 drops:] If he's mean or she's mean, yo' kin give dem three drops of chamber lye to make dem come ca'm [calm]. Put three drops of chamber lye in dey coffee or in dey milk tuh drink, or anythin' yo' want. Any time yo' fixin' dey coffee yo' kin do dat.
Entry 4173
Well, yuh git chew jis' a medium-size bottle dat hold about a gill or somepin lak dat, a little ovah, an' fill it not quite fulla milk. An' den yuh take two or three, three teaspoonful of chamber lye, an' yuh put it in dat, an' take dat bottle an' turn it upside down. An' dat'll keep yore husban' at home.
Entry 4174
An' jis' lak if yuh want tuh git chure man back, jis' lak if yuh want tuh make 'em come home, if yuh kin git a chance tuh, git 'is chamber lye an' put it intuh a bottle, an' don' have no watah in dere, no spit or nuthin. Take dis chamber lye an' put it intuh a bottle an put chew a teaspoonful of sugah in dere, an' take an' stop dat up in dat bottle. Put it somewheres where it cain't be in- tahfered wit, an' turn dat bottle down lak dat [demonstrates] an' let it stay dere. An' he will come back. If yuh wanta keep 'im wit yuh, yuh git some of 'is chamber lye ag'in - dere two or three diff'ren' ways dat chew kin do it. Go tuh a cow, if she's a cow dat has a young calf, a black cow an' she's got a calf. Git chew aroun' two teaspoonful of dat milk an' po' it intuh dat bottle. An' yuh kin keep 'im jis' as fast, jis' as yuh do de sugah an' dat chamber lye tuhgethah. Put all of it tuhgethah. Set it aside or put it in de trunk or put it up ovah yuh do'. It's all right. Dat will draw 'im home an' make him stay dere. He cain't go nowhere.
(You don't do that if he's away some place?)
[No.] Jis' [to] keep 'im. All yuh gotta do is tuh keep 'll.
Entry 4175
Yo' kin take a black cow's milk - take two teaspoonful of black cow's milk an' a teaspoonful of yuh chamber lye an' put it in a bottle, an' take an' set hit an' yuh cain't git rid of 'im - him or her. (Where do you set that?) In de cornah of yuh house, in one of de fo' cornahs of yore house. But chew turn it up jis' de same way yuh do dat chamber lye.
(Turn it on its head?)
Yassuh, dat's right.
(Whose chamber lye do you put in there?)
Well, if de woman wants 'im, she put her'n in dere; an' if it's de man, he put his'n in dere, see.
Entry 13309
Use de thresher [thrasher] feet.
(The feet from a thrasher, the bird. What do you do with those?)
Yo' take an' put that in a bottle. Yo' bottle dat wit chure hair, an' put milk in it, an' yo' put love powders in dere, an' put sulphur in it, an' put red peppah in it, an' yo' work it up airtight, an' dat'll do de work den. Dat will run 'em away. (What do you do with that bottle?) Yo' take dat bottle an' put it in de no'th or de east corner of de garden. Yeah, dat'll make him leave, or if yo' wanta run him crazy, that will run him away.
Entry 13115
Yo' kin take a snake shell [shed] an' put it in sweet milk or sompin an' give it to a person an' it'll come a livin' snakeshell in 'em. [Fayette- ville, 2571:9.]
The printed instruction names 'sweet milk or sompin' as a medium. The alternative and snake-shell result remain source claims, without verified preparation or transformation.