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Entry 3990
At night, lak he [does not] wanta have sompin tuh do wit yuh, pee in yuh pan, yuh see, an' put chew about half-a han'a [hand of] sugah in dat pan. Well, yo' wanta make him have sompin tuh do wit yuh. Befo' yuh have anythin' tuh do, yuh git down ovah it [pan] an' wash yuhself. Don't dry it, jis' git on in de baid an' go ahead on wit 'im. Wipe yuhself off an' he'll start. An' [that will make him] bring 'is money, too. Dat's all yo' gotta do.
Entry 4926
(All right, you are going to tell me another way now.)
Aftah yuh run off - de party done run off. Well, what bring 'er back home. She run off an' yuh wan'a git 'er back home. Yuh take her stockin' an' fold it nine times.
(How do you fold it nine times?)
Fol' de stockin' - yuh see yuh take it an' fold it from de bottom, yuh see, where de foot is.
(Yes?)
Jis' make a fold. Fold it. Yuh see jis' [demonstrates]: dat's one, two, three, fo', five, six, seven, eight, nine. See, evah time yuh make it, yuh make a fold, jis' like yuh fold in dere. See, jis' like yuh take dis here [demon- stratesl, dat's one, see. Den take yuh a pan an' lay dat stockin' in it. (Any kind of pan?) Any kin'a pan. Lay dis stockin' in it an' yuh burn it intuh ashes. Take a match, git - no, yuh take nine matches, Searchlight-head Matches, an' fold it inside dat stockin', see. An' as yuh fol' dem nine matches in dere, an' den yuh take one an' light it, an' let it burn intuh ashes. An' den yuh take dem ashes an' dat pan an' bury it undah yore back steps. Dig yuh a hole an' bury dem ashes undah dat back steps An' if she done lef' home, I'll betcha she'll come back.
(I see.)
She'll come back.
(You fold those nine matches into stocking?)
Nine matches an' nine folds in de stockin'.
(Do you put those nine matches all together, or what?)
Jis' lay 'em tuhgethah inside an' fol' de stockin' nine times.
(Well, what stockings do you use? Both stockings or what?)
One.
(Which one?)
De lef' stockin'.
(Oh, the left stocking. I see.)
Entry 6947
Jes' lak she runnin' out on yo' an' doin' bad things an' yo' know it. She comin' in an' she kinda drinkin' a little. If she don't come in too high [drunk or intoxicated] an' don' let 'er be [something]. Yo' take a basin of watah an' take an' put 'er ban' in it, an' ast 'er a question while she's sleepin'. She'll talk wit chew jes' lak she wide awake an' tell yo' ever'thin', where she been an' whut she done an' all.
Entry 6967
She'll take a cold pan of watah an' put 'is han's in it whilst he sleepin' an' den ask 'im diff'ren' questions. An' when she ask 'im dem ques- tions, den he answah dem. Do dat tuh a woman or a man, it don' make no diff'rence. Jis' put 'is han' in dis watah. Why she kin say, "Bob, yo' went sech a place las' night, didn't chah?" An' ah'll [he'll] answah de qoestion.
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 7373
Fac' [in fact] ah heard of a man got killed, an' shortly aftah he got killed de law come up to fin' out who wuz dis man dat he got killed an' who wuz it dat killed dis man. He [the law] caught some of 'is blood an' aftah ketchin' it he took de washpan wit some watah in it, an' caught some of 'is blood an' set it down in [under] de bed where dis man wuz at. An' de man dat killed 'im, he had tuh come back an' give up.
(Under whose bed did he put that pan?)
Under dis man's bed dat wuz dead dat dis othah man shot.
(The dead man's bed?)
Yes, dat's right. (That is, the dead man was lying on the bed an' he [the law] took some of this blood and put water with it, and put it under the dead man's bed to bring back the man that killed him.) Yes.
Entry 8297
They put them [a tintype] in a pan of water, with the face up, and shoot at them. That disfigures their face and makes them moult away. [Fred- ericksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 8437
Yo' take de photograph when in love an' put it in a basin of watah, an' if it floated on top, yo' an' 'er will be in good love; but if it goes tuh de bottom, she wan' tuh run away from yo' jes' as fer as she kin git. (Now, which is which?) Yo' couldn't git 'er if she goes tuh de bottom, no. See, becuz de watah washin' 'er offa dat pichure, yo' see, washin' 'er photograph 'way from yo'. It nevah will be on dat card atall, it will wash off.
Entry 8746
A person kin take a new tin plate an' write a person's name in it dat's e from aroun' yo'. An' if yo' wanted tuh see 'em an' turn it down in a trunk or keep it some way where nobody Would nevah trouble it, an' dat person'll come. Ah've heard of dat.
Entry 8756
De 88th Psalms an' de 85th Psalms. YO' EVER READ DE BIBLE? [I either did not answer or answered with my head. Perhaps informant did not give me time to answer.] An' yo' go down to de Ten Cent Store an' yo' buy yo' a ten cents pan [tin pan]. An' yo' write three words on there, God, de Father; God, de Son; god, de Holy Ghost. An' write his name there. In nine days he'll be back there, but yo' still gotta read de 88th Psalm and de 85th Psalm.
(What do you do with that pan then?)
Yo' place it in de corner of yore home.
Entry 8757
Write chure name in it, in dat tin pan - brand-new tin plate - an whirl [or spin] it tuh yo'. Every mawnin' write chure name - have to write it fo' nine mawnin's - if yo' 'way an' dey wanta see yuh. Yo' take dat brand-new tin pan an' write chure name an' turn [spin] it to yo'.[ Whirl [or spin] it ovah three times to yo', say[ing], "Ah do dis In de Name of de Father, Son an' Holy Ghost, fo' yo' to come an' nevah return [to where you were]." An' ah don't care if yo's in Europe, yo'll come.
Entry 8759
Well, yo' kin use it. Jes' lak yore husband is got a woman or whut not - anything dat chure husban' is doin' an' yo' don't want 'im tuh do it. Yo' kin go tuh de hardware [store] an' buy a pie pan, a little cheap pie pan an' yo' writes - well, we'll say he's got a woman an' yo' don't want him tuh have 'er.[ Well, den yo' go an' buy dat pan an' yo' name it 'im. An' yo'll come back home an' yo'll take a ink pen an' yo'll write his name nine times cross dat pan. Den yo'll write dis woman's name nine times undah de bottom of de pan. Den yo' turn yore mattress back an' lay it on yore bed slats, yo' might say, or de springs, an' let 'im sleep on it. An' he'll fo'git all about de woman.
Entry 8760
If yo' could go an' buy a new tin pan, pie pan dat nevah been used, an' yo' put dat up ovah de door piece where yo' keep John de Conkah. Yo' [have seen] John de Conkah root? (No, I've heard of it but I ' have never seen it.) Well, yo' get a piece of John de Conkah an' wrap it up in a little cloth an' yo' put de smooth part of de pan, an' yo' turn de smooth part, de in part to yo' an' outer part goes to de dō'
(The back of the pan goes to the wall?)
Yes, an' yo' put dis John de Conkah behin' dis pan an' say, "Ah wan' choo in pahtiklah [particular] to stay away from me." Yo' makes dat wish. But whethah dat works or not, ah haven't had anything to [especially to keep the law away].
Entry 8762
Ah tell whut chew kin do, if yo's outa yore home right now an' ah Wanted yo' tuh come back heah in yore home. Ah don't think yo're treated right, dat somebody has runned yo away. Ah'm goin' write chure name on a tin plate an' mah name, but me an' yo'd be good friends an' bring yo' back in dis home. An' turn dat new tin- plate an' write chure name in it an' den dere's a brass thimble an' three teaspoons. [The name is written on and the thimble and 3 teaspoons are in the right-side-up plate.] An' turn dat plate an' turn it fo' nine mawnin's - turn it roun' nine times fo' nine mawnin's. An' sleep wit it up undah de head of yore bed. He'll come back home. [The right- side-up plate is turned on its bottom and probably turned anti-clockwise, revers- ing time to bring man home.]
Entry 8763
Yo' buy a brand-new tin pan out de stā' an' do' nuse [don't use] it fo' nuthin an' don' set it dwon on nuthin [don't touch the earth theme]. Yo' git it an' come right back home. Yo' gits yo' a pencil an' mark it disaway an' data- way. [I interrupt.] (Just like you were quartering a pie - into four parts.) [If informant did not under- stand guartering, I added four parts.j Yes sir. Yo' put his name heah, put chure name heah, an' den yo' put his name ovah dere an' his name heah... (Wait a minute! In this [I demonstrate on paper] upper left-hand corner as you are looking at it, you put his name. Underneath that you put your name. Then up above in the right hand corner you put your name, and then his name underneath. In other words, his name and your name are opposites.) [See my diagram for quartered pie.] Yes sir.
(All right. Then what do you do with that pan?)
Yo' take it an' turn it bottomside upwards an' walk out de do' backwards, see, an' shove it right underneat' yore do'step. Yo' don't bury it. Jes' put enough sand ovah it, yo' see, to keep anybody from seein' it. It won't be two weeks [2 seven-day periods] befo' he'll be back there. Ah've tried dat mahself.
Entry 8980
Now if yo' go before de iudge, de judge goin' to discharge yo', ac- cording to what kind of case, yo' know, yo'll have. Well, if yo' got people against yo', yo' know, an' yo' don't want to have dem part of de jury. Yo' going before de judge, like if it's a criminal case, yo' know, yo' got to have de jury. Yo' see, dey have [a panel of] 75 jurors [to select jurors from]. Well, yo' don't know what people [will be on the jury]. They don't pick out but twelve. Now, yo' don't know what twelve dey going to pick out. Dat makes yo' gotta use de whole panel. Yo' see, ah [in my work] done use 'em all.[ Well, now, de person - what jurors is against yo'. Yo' go an' get yo' a beef tongue, a fresh beef tongue. Pay odd money fo' it, not even money - 25 or 35 cents or somepin like dat. Let de money be odd money. An' yo' go an' take dat tongue an' yo' get these peoples names what is against yo', what done harm yo', don't yo' see or what yo' done harm. Yo'll take dat tongue, yo'll write de names on a piece of papah, an' yo'll write all dem jurymen's names, de dis- trict attorney.
(The whole 75 of those names?)
Yeah, just put de whole 75. Yo' have to use de 75, because outa dem yo' get twelve.
(I see. All right.)
Now, yo' get de district attorney what is de man to prosecute yo'. Yo'll get his name an' put it on dere, but not de judge in dat part. An' yo'll -git yo' dat tongue. Yo' get yo' nine needles an' nine pins. Yo'll get yo' dese people names an' yo'll put down on dere an' yo'll put dat down in de throat of dat tongue. Yo'll take dat tongue an' yo'll hang it up in de chimney. An' den aftah dat, yo'll take an' git yo' some watah an' yo'll get yo' some peppah. Yo' git yo some coarse snuff an' yo'll burn a - light a candle.
(Coarse snuff?)
Coarse snuff, dat coarse snuff; not dat in a box. An' yo'll light dat candle an' yo'll put it.in dere. Now, yo' want to come clear an' yo' want de judge to be lenient wit yo', so yo' take de judge's name. An' yo'll take de judge ame, den yo'll git yo' a block of ice, 'bout fifty pounds of ice. Yo' put it in a little pail an' yo'll sweeten it. Den yo'll light de candle, but yo'll light it straight up [the candle will be standing upl. An' den yo' see, sweeten de judge. But this othah part what yo' do, yo' take an' yo' put de candle - yo' turn 'em upside down, yo' get dat coarse snuff an' all dat, an' put in dere. Well dat make de district attorney be fightin' against dem. An' de people, what he got fo' witness, goin' to speak against yo'. Anything dey drink, perhaps dey drink whiskey. Some might drink gin or somepin like dat. Well yo'll get dat [liquor] an' yo' put dere name an' set yo' a little glass. An' put dat candle on dat [name and liquor in the glass] an' ah'll guarantee every one of 'em will go to court drunk. An' yo'll come out clear 'cause dey'll be drunk. Dey won't know what they're sayin'. They'll be lying backwards and forwards.
(What'll that ice do?)
Well, yo' see, de ice, dat's to cool, dat's fo' yore part. De ice makes yo' cool. Yo' know ice makes yo' cool. [Usually ice freezes apponent's tongue.] Well, de judge won't be fiery wit yo'. See, he'll be cool an' calm. But on dis othah side, yo' get dat snuff an' yo' put dem names in dere an' yo' get dat beef tongue. Yo' put dem things in dere an' shove dat tongue, all down in de throat, an' just hang dat tongue up an' den yo'll see. Yo'll see an' dey'll be lyin' an' dey'll be drunk. Just what dey drink, yo' set dat candle in dere [in the glass]. An' dey'll be lyin' an' dey won't say a thing against yo'. What color...just what candles you select. Don't try de black candles.
(Anything but black?)
But black candles.
(How many do you burn?)
Yo' burn - see, if dere's five people, yo' put five candles. An' if it's three, yo' put three; just accordin' to how many is against yo', yo' put dem many candles. An' den what they drink, yo' get a little glass, just what fit de candle an' put dat [liquor] in dere, an' ah'll guarantee yo' every one will be drunk.
Entry 8981
[This is a rite for an altar shaped like a triangle, one of the angles being 45°, so that it will fit into the corner of a room. A triangular board as a shelf would also serve the purpose. Sometimes an oblong or a square table is placed catercornered in a corner of the room. Such a device saves space, can be shut off by a curtain, and represents one of the four corners of the earth (Reve- lation of St. John the Divine, 7:1). One of these altars I actually describe under (3) My third psalmist (INTRO- lines 16-21). Though my informant does not say so, the pan of salt holding names and burn- ing candles did not rest on the floor, but upon an altar. We must also suspect the presence of holy objects, such as pictures of saints. My great friend, the Rev. J. Langtry Williams - mentioned in Pictures for Alma at the end of Folklore from Adams County Illinois, 2nd edition - described the reli- gious arrangement of his part-time housekeeper. She being elderly and ill, he went up to Harlem (black section in New York City) on a pastoral call. Her whole room was an altar! Two wires from the four corners of the ceiling sagged and crossed in the center'of the room. Along these wires at intervals were strung holy pictures and objects. In one of the corners was a shelf or small stand hold- ing a colored light with a float. She had seen my friend's sanctuary lamp over in the church, but these private shrines were common long before she met Father Wil- liams. All these religious actions are concerned with what I call the magic of the diagonal, one arm or both of the "x" or St. Andrew's cross. Hoodoo has many similar rites - the old housekeeper's also being a quincunx, which again is well represented in Hoodoo. For similar private shrines see: CUSTODIAN OF A SHRINE, PP.1139-1158; BEER FOR ST. PETER, CIGAR AND WHISKEY FOR ST. ANTHONY, PP.1220-1236; A WOMAN AND HER THREE SAINTS, Pp.1401-1414; etc, all in v.2.] In a sense [instance?] of that kind my godmother always burned nine candles and they have a beef tongue. Well, see different peoples come there and wanted cases dismissed [from court]. They'd get a beef tongue and they'd stick that beef tongue full of pins. And they have a string running from this part of the wall to that part. They'd tie that tongue up there [demonstrates].
(So it's hanging between the walls, you mean?)
Yes sir, yo' see just like de corner there [points].
(Yes.)
Well, they'd tie it hanging - hang it in the corner that way. An' they'd put them [demonstrates].
(Across - well, just one over the other.)
Yes.
(You put the strihg across one corner, one - show me how you do.)
See [demonstrates]. (Like that, I see. One cord over the other cord just so it cuts off a corner.) Yes. (They cut off the space in a triangle [the cut-off space becomes a triangle]. All right.) The left-hand corner of the house.
(Well, which is the left-hand corner of the house?)
Well, that [points to it] would be the left-hand corner of this house. You mean coming in? (Oh, it's the left-hand corner coming in. All right. And [demonstrates again] they hang this tongue in that [2 wires] like a swing? They put it in a swing?) Yes, see.
(All right.)
Just put two string between two corners - see, like that.
(Holes [nails] right in the corner.)
An' they puts [in the tongue] a whole paper of stick pins, pointed pins, yo' know. Stick 'em in this all ovah, all around. An' they write dat name on them candles - they got nine candles there.
(What name do they write on there?)
They write your name [client] on there.
(The person that wants to get free.)
Sure. Now they write your name on there. And then they take any kind of pan an' they'll fill that pan with salt, an' they'll write that judge an' the dis- trict attorney name on there, an' put it in this salt.
(What will they write all that on?)
On paper.
(I see, and put it in the salt. All right.)
An' put it in this salt. An' when they light them candles they go ahead on to the court house. If yo' not discharged that day, the case is throwed off. An' when they come back again, make another dressing [repeat the candle ceremony], maybe it throwed off again. (Now, you put all these nine candles in that pan of salt, burning. Are they all lighted at once? What color are the candles?)
[All candles are lighted at the same time.]
Different colors.
(I see.)
Red, blue, green, yellow, white - different colors. (Different colors, I see. But my name [client's name] is written on those candles, I see.) See, an' they write de judge an' de district attorney name - put that on that paper upside down like that an' light them candles an' go on out. Now, that case liable to be thrown out today. All right, call that case up again, fust de morning before that case is called at 9:15, dey light them candles again. Maybe throwed out that time. Next time....
Entry 10495
Dey say, if dose hags wear yo' out ev'ry night overnight, to put a basin of water right in de line about halfway of de person an' den sleep wit de Bible under dere head. (Where do they put that water?) Dey put de water on de floor right in front of de bed. In de front of de bed on de floor about half- way to de bed but it be's outside, not under de bed. [This is a broken bone rite!] An' den sleep with de Bible, or a good-reading book, under yore head. [This is my only example of a good-reading book!] Dey will also stop bothering yo'.
Entry 11653
Git chew [corn] meal or flour in de barrel an', dey a enemy to yo' sift dat flour good an' make it up. But dey won't cook but half of it an' turn de dirty [baking] pan ovah de other half an' let it stay 24 hours an' throw it [bread] out. An' dat cuts yo' off from gittin' any mo' [corn] meal. Have a hard time gittin' flour or whatever yo' wantin'. Can't hardly git nuthin tuh eat.