Subject:Potash
Entries
Entry 4228
An' den if yuh wuz sellin' whiskey or somepin lak dat an' yuh don't Want de law tuh come in, why yuh could git a box of or a can of potash [or lye] an' put it at chure front do'steps. Bury it dere an' evah night yuh could throw chamber lye out, chew know. Scattah it in front of dose steps an' dat would keep de law away.
Entry 4229
Take a - jis' lak some chamber lye an' put a box of potash in it an' scrub de stoop wit it, an' let it be in front of de steps, an' as long as it be dere, dat will keep de jinx away an' de policeman can't come to de do'.
Entry 7856
Say fer instance, if ah wanted tuh keep de law away, ah would take potash - take dis ole potash an' ah would take an' place it undah yuh steps, an' ah'd [I would] place dis ole potash up undah yuh step an' ah'd put graveyard dust intuh dis potash, an' yo' wouldn't have no trouble wit no police. Not comin' tuh yuh house, if yo' wanted dem tuh stay away.
Entry 9679
Well, den ah goes tuh work den an' ah worked a few plans. A fellah followed me an' ah tried it tuh see would it work. De fellah - ah wen' tuh work an' ah took dis heah sul- phuh an' ah took dis heah potash an' dis cookin' salt, an' put it in dis box an' where dis man place of business was. Ah went down dere an' turnt roun' nine times an' made a oath - cuss, cussed dis fellah. In three day's time dis fellah was out of dat place an' done moved. Had tuh move, he couldn't stay down dere. He had tuh move.
(What did you do with that box when you turned around nine times?)
Dat box? Ah took de box an' throwed it away. Ah had it in mah han' when ah wus turnin' roun' do [though]. But ah took de box an' throwed it away an' nobody knows whut it was all about.
Entry 9680
[Take] potash whut chew wash clothes with, an' take table salt, an' take dis here sulphuh, an' take one of dese here John de Conkah roots, an' put all dis tuhgethah, an' yo' take it an' bury it undah de steps. Don't let no one see yo'. If anybody move in dat house an' yo' don't want 'em tuh move in dere, dey ain't goin' stay in dere. Dey can't.
Entry 12362
Dere.danger to yo' head all de time. Yo' take a man's hat, yo' under- stand, an' yo' go to de drug store an' git what chew call sulphur of potash, something like a powder and it's called love powder. That's the name fer it Love Powder. Sprinkle dat in de hat, in de lining. Or if he goes with yo' and yo' kin get near to him, sprinkle it in any piece of his clothes. Dat means dat yo' can't stay away, yo' will come back.
Entry 12378
Git chew - if it's two do's heah [in this house] yo' go tuh de grocery sto' an' git chew a can of whut chew call dis Red Devil Iye, which Southerners use down heah as potash, an' open it. Lye and pot- ash are the same in these rites, because that Red Devil Lye can has a real red devil on it!] Take yo' a tablespoon an' dig a hole jes' wit dat tablespoon, an' put de dirt outa dere track, an' yo' bury it down dere, one [can] tuh yore front an' one tuh yore back, when yo' go tuh work, an' it wouldn't hurt chew.
Entry 12379
Well, if dey's put down any- thing fo' yo' tuh walk ovah, why de' tell me tuh git a can of Red Devil Lye potash an' bury it in de groun' an' leave de top 'bout half open an' hit'll kill whut dey got put down.
Entry 12381
Dey tell me de way to do, if yo' wanta put a confusion, yo' know, in a person's home. Yo' see dat way to keep 'im confused, dat chew take a box of potash yo' see, an' Red Devil lye - potash, yo' see [Red Devil tye and potash the same]. An' dig a hole at chure back steps or either yore front steps an' cover dat [can] up, an' dat person won't see no mo' peace in dat home. Dey will nevah be satis- fied while in dere. De home yo' know would be a nuisance to him, cause dat stuff yo' see is hot dataway an' it will keep him hot.
Entry 12383
Box of potash - [Red] Devil Iye - stick holes in it an' set it, slip at night when yo' asleep, an' set it about your place [property]. Cut off yore trade and prosperity. Yo' can't have nuthin much. Evahthing yo put chure hands to go bad.
Entry 12695
[Keeps all harm away. Originally home- made potash was used but in my time Red Devil Lye had become one of the substi- tutes.]
Entry 12380
Jes' take a can of dis potash. Yo' know, Red Devil potash, an' bury it yo' know, jes' lak underneat' chure do'steps or somepin othah lak dat. An' dat'll keep ever'thing away.
(Keep harm away.)
Bury one underneat' each one yore do'steps.
Entry 1535
Three dimes made in the same year - three pieces of silver, but'they must be silver dimes and they must be a dime dat de woman settin' upon. Let me show you. [He shows me a dime.] It mustn't be that, just de neck and the head it must be the whole woman. Well, you must git three pieces of dese and they must be made in the same year, and put 'em into a little vinegar and you take three swallows for nine mornings off of that. And then dose things will begin to worry. And after dey work, den you kin tell whether they're [live things] in you. Den you kin go and git you some mulleins, git you some broom sedge root, git you some siZkroot [silkweed]. You mix all that together, make you a tea. Then you git you some potash, mix that with it. You git a little wormwood and mix with it too.
Entry 2123
A person dat is runnin' a gamblin' house - well, yo' take a person dat is runnin' a house, dey is de boss of dat house, see. Well, lak dey Want money to stay in dey home, see - jes' lak if yo' comin' in tuh gamble, see, an' de person want dat money tuh stay in de home. Well, nachur'lly, dey'll git a can of potash an' yo' dig a hole right tuh yore front steps. Well, yo'll put one can of potash down an' yo'll take nine pennies an' sew it up into a little bag an' into sulphur, an' yo'll leave dat on top of dat can of potash an' yo' cover it. Well, dat brings luck into yore home. No policeman kin do yo' no harm. De money'll still be in yore home, see. An' then yo' take some of dat potash an' yo' po' it into a basin of watah an' yo' go round to eve'y one of yore room windah an' throw it up an' let dat watah dreen down, see. Well, jes' lak dat watah dreen down de people'll be comin' in. Well, jes' lak dey come in, well, dat money's leave into yore home. (Just a moment. You throw this water on the windows. On the outside or the inside?) On the outside an' let it dreen down.
Entry 895
She kin bring dis man back. She kin take some sulphur, she kin take three ounce of potash, an' den she kin take some salt - about a teaspoonful of table salt - an' put all dat together. Why, ah seen dat done. Ah seen de lady when she was mixing it up - see, cause she was calling herself learning me. She takes dis stuff an' she goes out an' she make a oath - cuss, see. Ah say, "Why yo' do dat?" She say, she's dumping all de hard-luck spirits away from her, see, an' gittin' things out de way. An' sure 'nuff shortly after den - about a week or somepin like dat - de man appeared. See.
(What did she do with this stuff then?)
She took this stuff an' buried it under her do'step. See.
(Bring this man back.)
Yassuh tuh bring him back.
Entry 1632
All yo' have tuh do is take some chamber lye an' red peppah an' nine drops of turpentine an' some salt an' take yo' a halfa can of potash - probably a can of potash an' git up soon dat mawnin' an' sprinkle it all de way around yore house an' under yore step. Den dere's no way fo' no roots tuh take effect of yo' at all.
Entry 2558
[Lye, a protection against evil (p.459f.), is used by itself and in many combinations.] If yo' got a enemy anywhere roun', yo' gits a box of potash - jis' lak if ah wus fixin' it up fo' someone, ah have them tuh bring me a box of potash. If they thought they had a enemy round wus goin' do 'em any harm, anything, ah would have yo' bring me a box of potash an' ah would take this potash an' fix it up in a liquid an' den put so much of it in a bottle an' give it to yo'. Yo' would take dis home an' git up in de mawnin' befo' de sunrise an' yo' would sweep yore steps wit it - sweep yore steps an' repeat de Psalms about de Lord makin' me lie on green pastures. De mawnin' yo' git up an' sweep yore steps wit dis lye- Water, yo' put a little bit in a basin or somepin an' jes' dip yore broom in it an' sweep it an' say de Psalms. An' dat will keep anybody from doin' any harm to yo' - keep yo' havin'" good luck.
Entry 2671
Well, now, if yo' wanta rent that house, yo' kin dress that house or yo' kin use de Psalms - dere two ways yo' kin use that. (Tell me how to dress the house first.) Well, now, tuh dress that house yo' go tuh work an' yo' git chew a little salt an' a little sulphur an' yo' git chew some alum [three ingredients] an' pound it up together - mix it together. An' then yo' git chew some seeds. Git those gourd seeds or either any kinda seeds that grows on a vine - kin git pumpkin seed or gourd seed or watermelon seed. An' yo' git chew three of those seeds an' yo' take those three seeds an' yo' put them in a little box or a little can. Bury 'em jest like yo' would a little flower, an' when yo bury those seeds yo' say, "Hope, success an' friends." Yo' bury those seeds. An' that ingredient that chew mix, yo' take an' yo' sprinkle that around that house - a little bit at the back an' a little bit at the front. Yo' sprinkle that. Then on the inside of the house - yo' take that house an' yo' git chew some potash. Take yo' a little potash an' yo' jes' take that potash - ah jest drop a little bit around in that house. That's good fo' good luck.
(That's to rent the house?)
Yes sir.
[Now he tells how to unrent the house.]
They kin do that.
(Dress the house so they move out? Do you know what they do?)
They kin do that tuh where yo' can't rent that house. Yo' kin take a one-cent piece an' go to a wicked grave - it gotta be a wicked grave though - an' git some dirt from de head of that wicked person an' pay them with one-cent. Then yo' kin take that dirt an' mix that dirt with sulphur an' mix it with a little - see, it's three pods not - three pods of peppah. See, ah tole yo' nine pods - nine seeds wit de other but dis is three pods. Yo' git chew three pods of red peppah an' mix that together an' sprinkle that anywhere around that place. Nobody kin stay in there to save their life.
(That will make them move out of the house?)
Yes sir, but it's gotta be a wicked grave.
Entry 9677
Well, some people take a penny an' dey nail it right down in front of de do' - a one-cent piece. Dey go tuh de back do' an' dey nail down anothah one. D go tuh de sto' an' git chew a box of Red Devil Lye potash. Yo' git chew a bran'-new box of salt. An' yo' go out in yore gate, right in de mid- dle of yore gate where de people transfah in an' out. Yo' dig a hole down dere at zakly [exactly] six inches, an' yo' take dis salt, dat whole box of salt, an' empty it right close tuh de box of lye. An' aftah yo' emptyin' it close tuh dat box of lye, yo' say lak dis: Three daid men looked outa de winda': One had no lung, de othah had no tongue; De third was deaf, druonb an' blind. Behold de spirit looked on me, As ah speak to yo' three times a day. Only goodness an' mercy shall follow me from dis day on. Yo' say dat all de while yo' po'ing dat salt on topa dat. An' aftah yo' git done why yo' cover this lye up - an' dat's also fo' bringin' customers - an' de potash will drive away de law, keep de law away.