Subject:Moccasin
Entries
Entry 6656
Whilst doin' dat, somebody gota go tuh de country an' git a he an' a she moccasin snake.
(Moccasin snake?)
Moccasin snake an' lays 'em head tuh tails, puts 'em down undah - buries 'em in de north cornah.
(North corner of what?)
Of de fence - right down undah de fence, undah a sill lak dis an' den...:
(Do they bury this under a sill or under a fence out in the yard?)
Out in de yard. It's nobody dat knows it dere but dem. It lays dere nine mawnin's an' dey'll begin to molt. Yo' go dere de nex' nine mawnin's an' turn 'em ovah, an' let 'em lay dere anothah nine mawnin's. After dat is ovah, dem nine maw- nin's, evah time dey touch 'em dey makes a oath. Dey goes dere den an' gits de snakes an' cuts de head off an' puts dem heads tuhgethah an' put 'em up ovah de do'sill an' let 'em dry - make an oath - lay 'em up there an' let 'em dry. Then they gets dry good, they crumbles them up right fine an' gets a powder - beats 'em up fine. Then they take 'em an' put 'em in a bag. Well, enybody they want, they go an' gets de dust of de snake head an' sprinkle it in whatever they gives 'em - they gives a party of some kind, an' they wants to go tuh, they gives it to 'em in somethin' to drink.
(What will that do to them then?)
Kill'em. [Richmond, Va., (?), 380:2. A similar method for killing with graveyard dirt is given by same informant in 300: l&3.]