Subject:Protect
Entries
Entry 3448
Well, dey say yo' kin take a dog an' kill de dog an' take 'is livah. An' dey say, when a man go to have intahco'se wit a woman, an' yo' kin git de chance to git it [the liver] on 'im some Way or 'nothah [they will be- come tied]. An' dey [cannot] git unloosed unless de doctor [M.D.] come to 'em. If dey's 'fraid of anything lak dat whenevah dey goin' out fo' dat, why dey kin jes' take a red onion, yo' know, an' jes' kinda lightly rub it on dereself, an' dey say nuthin lak dat would happen.
Entry 3987
Den if a person wan'a hurt yuh, do anythin' tuh yuh, dey take some salt an' wah [wear] in de bottom of yuh shoe, an' take yuh night-watah an' sprinkle 'um tuh yuh do' [door] an' [tuh] yuh face.
Entry 4166
If anybody put down anythin' fo' yuh, anythin' lak dat, yuh jis' take de chamber lye an' po' it all aroun' yuh house or in diff'ren' spots, or some- where yuh think it at. Say dat wuz good fo' thin's lak dat.
Entry 6824
Dey could take de dirt from de grave an' put it, weah in yuh shoes. It could be dust. Dust, dey say, is bettah dan de compoun' dirt. Yo' git de dry pulverized dirt an' put dat in yuh shoes, an' yo' kin weah dat if a person is seek- In' tuh put somepin down where yo' might walk ovah tuh [harm you] or cripple yuh in some way, or deform yuh from gittin' aroun' an' makin' a livin'. Why yo' weah dat, dat prevents dat, dat graveyard dirt.
Entry 7710
Dat's if yo' daid, if yo' daid. Ah wants tuh git nex' tuh dis man outa heah 'cross de street. Ah'll go dere [to the graveyard]. Ah'll know yuh name. Ah'll go dere an' ah'll pick up dat haidpiece [slip of tongue] from 'is feet an' ah'll git a little bit of dat [dirt] outa his chest down heah. Ah wants tuh run 'im an' wit dat chest-board [headboard]. Ah'll take dat an' covah it up an' bring it in mah house an' throw it undahneat' mah house. An' ah'll take de rest of dat chest [dirt] an' cast it in he [his] yard, an' he can't do me no harm. He's daid.
(You don't do anything with those boards, though?)
Take dat board an' put it undahneat' yuh [your own] house.
Entry 7762
I've heard of them getting graveyard dust. That is to lay you so you won't bother me. If you have an enemy you get graveyard dust and you wrap it up ip a paper and bury that and you won't by me. You put that some place where they can walk over it.
Entry 7793
Jis' git graveyard dirt an' sprinkle it aroun' de step an' kep' [kept] back evil, dey call it.
(What do you mean by that?)
Ha'nts [spirits of dead people]. [The magic principle here is: like cures like, fight fire with fire, hair of the dog that bit you, etc. Spirits of the dead, as those of the living, fight among themselves. Somewhere in Hoodoo an elderly woman remembers seeing as a child a graveyard fight among spir- its.]
Entry 8622
(Suppose I want to keep the law away from that bootlegging joint, what would I do? How would I keep the law away? Any particular way?) Well, they have several dif- (4) ferent kind of way to keep de law away, if yo' want de law dat is on dis beat. Now, well, let's fix up - we want de law away. Of course, if we go to work an' work direct on de police on de force, dat Wouldn't stop 'em from raidin'. Now, listen! Let's see what we going to do about stoppin 'em raidin' in general. All right. Yo' going to get de chief of detectives, yo' goin' to get de chief of police, yo' goin' to get de captain's name, yo goin' to get everybody dat's in authority over dat group, which, if they goin' to raid, dey'd have to go up to dese particular men before dey can make a raid. Do yo' get de idea?
(I see.)
It got to come from dem. Well, we'll start wit dem. We are not concerned wit de ordinary man, dat is, de common ordinary police officer. We get de head of 'em. Well, we take dat head in dere an' we are goin' to draw a round ring six inches from de centah - a round ring. We goin' to place all dose names in dat ring on parchment papah.
[No ordinary paper for the important police!]
(Six inches from the center - that is, the diameter will be twelve inches then?) Yeah, just de same [demonstrates] if yo' say six inches from here [center of circle] an' yo' just hold it [a string] dere an' yo' go aroun' [draw the circle].
(The circle is twelve inches in diameter?)
Yeah, twelve inches in diameter.
(All right.)
Now, yo' going to take each one of dose officers - see, de twelve of 'em dat's in authority. [Informant is surely thinking of the 12 signs of the Zodiac rather than the 12 Apostles; the signs to protect place of business from police all year.] Yo' goin' to place 'em direct in dat center an' yo' goin' to sweeten 'em up. An' aftah yo' sweeten dem up.
(How do you sweeten them up?)
Well, yo' can takd dis Lureen Oil [surely Zuring oil, an oil to lure the police], dat Oil of Lureen, when it come for anything beneficial, all good things, this is to use for dat most particular purpose [beneficial to oneself]. Like yo' can use seven drops of dat Oil of Lureen, an' aftah yo' use it round in dere, why yo' goin' to take what yo' call a tappan[?] beans come from Central America.
(What kind of a bean?)
Dat's a bean come from.... Central America, from Las.... G....de capital of Las....
(What do you call those beans, what is the name of them?)
Santoine[?] beans.
(Santoine[?] beans and where do they come from?)
Central America.
(From where? You said some place in Central America?)
Well, sir, G....is the capital of Las....but dey bring 'em from G....to Las.... an' dat's de seaport.
(I see. All right.)
Now, why each one of dose names I done going to take pure white thread. It made kind of like wit four corners an' it grows in a bean [pod] an' dere may be twelve in one bean [pod], eight or ten, like dat. Yo' take it an' yo' sew it right in de center of dat name. Like my name would be Paul B. Dickson. Where the "D" at, yo' could write it twixt de "D" right in de center. An' whosomevah [whatever policeman] go back there [in your place of business, you complain to him] an' say, "Well, this is a quiet zone an' they raisin' Sam an' singing over there. Ah can't sleep at night. How yo' want me to work an' I'se lonesome an' all of that stuff." "Well, all right, " [says the officer] "we'll take care of dat." An' before he [officer] gets out of there [your place of business], dat stuff [you prepared] got him. (How do you do that? You sew one of these beans on each one of those names? Then what do you do with that parchment, then?) On [a bean on] each one of dose name. Den yo' take dat parchment an' yo' just fold it in like that an' just take it ovah dere an' put it in [your] show- case. Just keep it anywhere. Then it has a tendency to - wheresomevah your funds at, yo' can keep it right in yore funds an' it has a tendency to draw funds.
(You mean, the money?)
Yeah.
(In your money box where you keep your money?)
Yeah.
(I see.)
Entry 9122
Git chew sage, yo've heard tell of sage, an' yo' git chew de seed of dat sage. Dere's so many seeds on it. Yo' see, dis is got out de Bible, de twelve [not 12 but 10] virgins [Matt.25:1] yo' know. [Rite has no con- nection with Bible.l Well, yo' git six of each one of dose seeds of dat sage, an' yo' put six in one shoe, an' six in de othah one. An' dey say whensomevah yo' go intuh de jailhouse fo' trial or somepin lak dat, why dey couldn't convict chew on dem sage. Yo'd come cleah regardless tuh whut kinda crime it wus or whut yo' wus 'cused of, or whethah yo' did it. Yo'd come cleah.
Entry 9123
[The statement in the following text about the tribes of Israel comes from hoodoo, not from a critical study of the historical sources.] De shoe business is lak dis: Dere's twelve tribes in de Bible an' dere's 56 tribes of de whole thing. In de third chaptah of St. Luke yo' find all de tribes, but dere's twelve special tribes of Israel in dose chapters. Well, yo' take dem. Now, dis is de way tuh handle things in co't an' handle things anywhere yo' goes tuh have peoples tuh go wit chew, yore way. Yo' read de 56 tribes, an' put down a green leaf of sage evah time yo' read a tribe. Yo' take green sage. Yo' undahstan' me. Ah don't mean nuthin but de pure sage. Yo' know, peoples take some othah things fo' sage. Well, ah means sage. Evah time yo' read a tribe, take a green leaf of sage an' lay it on dere. Now, dere's lak fo' leaves. Yo' understan' me. Until yo' read 'em all an' yo' [have] 56 leaves down dere. Well, de superior tribes is twelve. Yo' takes de tribes of Benjamin, take de tribes of Noah[!], an' de tribes of Moses[!] - dere's twelve of 'em. Jes' keep on till yo' - yo' know de special [12] tribe. De tribes of Israel is de main tribes, but dere's twelve of 'em - de twelve tribes. Well, yo' take dose tribes an' aftah yo' read de 56, yo' go back an' yo' skip fo' an' take one. Evah time yo' skip one, yo' see, yo' leave three an' pull out one an' place it ovah heah. Yo' skips fo' ag'in an' pull out one an' lay it ovah heah, an' when yo' git three yo' got twelve tribes. Well, take dem twelve leaves an' put 'em in de bottom of yore shoe an' go in jail, in de co'thouse, an' anywhere, yo'll come out. Yo' save de rest of 'em tuh buy up de crowd wit. Put dat in yore left shoe. Whut's left of de twelve yo' put in yore left shoe. An' ah guarantee yo' won't miss. (You put 56 leaves in this pile of all the tribes, and then you pull out four? Or, you leave four and pull out one.) Dat's right. (Leave four and pull out one until you get twelve leaves. Those twelve you wear in your shoe, and that other bunch you put in...) Twelve in yore right an' 44 in yore left shoe.
Entry 9329
( Git nine black hen aigs an' write de 'nitial of de big low name on de two big: Sheriff, de chief of police, if yo' in a town, write dere name. Bury one [of the 9 eggs] undah yore back do'step, bury one in front, den lay one up ovah yore do', an' den chunk de rest east. Won't no law come round, yo' kin sell likkah. Ah've toted it up an' down dese streets heah by de gallons, dey ain't no law 'rest [me] yet fo' likkah. Ah've sold likkah right in mah house, ain't no law 'rest [arrest] yet fo' no likkah. [Informant is the same as in the preceding rite.]
Entry 9346
Take a aig an' put some quicksilvah in it. (A chicken egg?) Yes, sir. Make a little hole in it, chew know, an' put quicksilvah in it chew know. An' stop de hole up an' plant it right down at de place wheah yo' workin' at, an' dere can't nobody take dat job away from yuh.
Entry 9365
Well, yo' take a chicken aig an' yo' kin broke dat shell, an' put dat in a cup or a [saucer], de yellah, not de white, jis' de yellah part of it, an yo' beat dat up. Yo' git chew den de thing yo' calls Seven Yeahs Adventure. Didja [did you] evah heah about dat? (Seven years what?) Seven Yeahs 'Venture, yeah. (Adventure or [something] or what?) Deventure. Deventure, yes. Yo' know, yo' drops jis' about 12 drops of dat in dat an' stir dat up. Beat dat up jis' lak yo' gon'a make - yo' see, yo' po' dat in fo' bottles [demonstrates]. Put one heah, one dere, one dere, an' one heah.
(Sort of shape of a cross.)
Yas, an' aftah dat ain't no man kin harm yuh. house
(Where do you put those four bottles?)
Yo' kin put dose fo' bottles aroun' in yuh yard [like this]:
[The house in center of cross forms a quincunx.]
Entry 9398
Ah hear'd dat chew could take a ole black, coal-black hen an' take three of her aigs. Co'se, ah've hear'd it diff'ren' ways, but dis is de way ah hear'd it. An' take [the] three [eggs] an' run through de [your] house an' [reach- ing the outside] chunk de whole three aigs back 'cross de house. An' go back [go to other side of house where eggs fell] an' de one of dose aigs dat doesn't bust, yo' take it. An' take it right [back into the house] in de middle of de house an' drop it, an' let it bust right in de flo' where dat stain will be dere. [Breaking the egg in center of house establishes the fifth point, making this a quincunx rite.] An' if someone Wanted tuh git yuh some way, yore nex'-do' neighbahs [for example] or somepin; Wanted yuh tuh git out or wanted tuh move yuh, couldn't anything harm yo'. (You run through your own house and you throw these eggs. How do you throw. them now?) Yo' jis' run through de house an' when yo' hit de ground [reach outside] yo' throw all three of 'em 'cross de.house. An' dere's one ole lady used tuh...
[I interrupt.]
(Oh, you run through your house and throw those eggs over your house. Then you go to the other side and the egg that doesn't burst...
[Informant interrupts me.]
Dat doesn't bust, why yo' take it in de house an' drop it right in [on] de flo' an' let it bust, where de stain will be in de flo'.
Entry 9413
Why yo' kin take dose fresh aigs, jes' any fresh aigs outa a fresh nest. (How many?) Two, yessuh, an' write on 'em [what you want done] an' take an' bust 'em up in de front of yore house, an' it will stop de policeman, anyone comin' roun' dere tuh harm yo'. It will do so.
Entry 9490
Yo' kin put red peppah an' salt - yo' weah dat in yore shoes, see. An' den yo' take salt an' put it in each cornah of de wall in yore rooms where yo' sleep at. An' if anybody [come] tuh yore house dat yo' don' want tuh come tuh yore house - dey come tuh yore house an' yo' don' wan' 'em dere - de time dey'd leave yo' sprinkle salt an' red peppah in dere tracks right out dere behin' 'em, an' sweep it out. See, an' dey won' evah come back a'gin. Well, we tried dat one time 'bout a police, about a law. Dey haven't nevah been dere tuh bothah us no mo'. (That first about that salt and pepper [in 4 corners of bedroom], that is to keep you from being harmed?) Yeah.
Entry 9520
People say dat yo' could take salt, fresh salt in de shoes - weah it in de shoes. Anybody put down anythin' ag'in yo', dey say it wouldn't take no 'fect. (If you walk over anything?) Yessuh, if yo' walk ovah anythin' why it won't take 'fect 'count [on account] de salt.
Entry 9700
If dey wanta be protected aroun' de home sometime, it's a very simple thing dat dey kin do tuh bring protection. Dey do dat befo' de sunrise. Dat is tuh take some table salt an' sulphuh an' fo' seven mawnin's befo' de sun rise, yo' git up an' turn yore back tuhwards de sunrise. An' jes' take dat salt an' sulphuh all composed tuhgethah an' jes' throw it up in de air. An' dat supposed tuh protect de home.
Entry 9784
To keep the law away? Well, I want to tell you. Well, you keep the lag off - of course, you can't keep 'em away, but you can get so that he'll never catch you or nothin'. You understand. You bootleggin' he'll never catch you or nothing. You understand. Well, you take you two - that's a separate thing - and yoa take two pins.
(Too what?)
Too stick pins.
(Two stick pins.)
[The ordinary pin is frequently called "stick" to distinguish it from safety pin.] And wear it in a cross, like a cross, and wear it right up in the center of your hat, you see. Right in the center of your hat, like this here [demonstrates by pointing to inside of his hat].
(Inside.)
Yeah, inside [demonstrates again].
(Like that, inside.)
Yeah, inside your hat.
(You get these two straight pins.)
Two straight pins. You put a cross on you, see. And a course, the law'll be looking for you but he'll never get you. Only way he'll get you, he got to walk up on you. But you always kin git away from him.
Entry 9804
If yo's a keen farmah an' lookin' fo' 'em tuh break yo' up, yo' go git chew six needles, bran' new, an' take yore - now, heah's yore barn-facin', yore barn door facing.
(Facing of barn door?)
Yes. Yo' make a way [split with knife] in dere an' place dem needles in dere. Make a crack in dere wit chure knife so yo' kin place dem needles in dere. But de eyes [of the needles], three of 'em, an' place 'em jes' about de height of a man's body. Go up tuh dat do' an' put three [needles] on each side [of the door]. An' yo'll find no breakin' up of yore farm.
Entry 9929
Ef yo' got any idea dat anybody's doin' anythin' tuh yuh, yo' kin take dat frog an' keep 'im in de house fuh nine days.
(Keep him right inside of the house?)
In de house - fuh nine days. Well, aftah keepin' dat toadfrog fuh nine days intuh de house, dem people whut tryin' tuh do yuh hahm [harm] dey'll come tuh yuh home evah - each an' evah day an' try tuh bahrah somepin from yuh. Don't nevah len' dem nuthin, see. If yuh len' dem anythin', dey kin do yuh anythin' dey wantuh. Long as yuh don lend nuthin it's all right.
Entry 10663
Write names of 12 Apost- les, pin them on you, and also write Psalm 70. Write them every time the moon changes. Take off the old one and put on the new ones for protection. [Since the moon is new, the charm must be renewed.]
Entry 11326
Those [are] doll babies. But inside of those doll babies, there's somepin they have in there belonging to the person that they Want to do harm to. And of course, they make them a doll baby and sit it on the dresser, anywhere, nobody will never take any- thing of yours. That's how come they make those doll babies to hide what they are doing. [Here a doll baby is an ornament that also protects against thieves, but it is also an ideal place for an evil person to hide his cunjure.]
Entry 11327
(Your mother was sick?)
Uh-huh an' de doctor said dat somebody had put somepin down for 'er. So I kin remembah dat he dug up - you know, dey had dese fireplaces, an' he had taken up threw whole bricks. [I] remembah when he'd taken up dese bricks. Dey had a bot- tle buried an' had a form as a baby wit feathahs. Dat Was sewed up in a piece of yellah cotton [or unbleached homespun] an' in dat - see, he opened it - an' in dat dey had a red piece of flannen an' red cayenne peppah intuh dis bag. An' dis baby had its legs an' feet an' arms made outa feathahs.
Chicken feathahs. An' some of 'er hair was in dis bag. An' so he tole my mothah tuh leave it tuh him, dat he would 'tend tuh dat bag. So, well, I don' think he did anythin' good enough. But still he put somepin else down dere, but my mothah always said dat whoevah put dat stuff down; dat dis man instead of workin' fuh 'er, he was workin' fuh de people what put it down. An' she didn't give him dat. [Patient keeping doll baby is most unusual. Poor doctor!] (Well, how was your mother sick? I mean - how did she happen to call him in? How did it start?) She had, she was kept wit dese wretched headaches, you know, an' she had de [medical] doctor, couldn't do nuthin. She kept sick all de time an' was jes' pinin' away tuh nuthin. An' so somebody told 'er tuh see one of dese root doc- tors. An' so she got one. An' de time he come dere, he says, "Yes, dere's somepin right here." An' she [said], "Dere's somepin dere? Go get it." He went an' got it. Looked like he know right where 'twas.
(Was it inside of the house or outside?)
Inside de house, in dat hearth, 'neath de three bricks, an' dere it was all laid out fer 'er. (Was this thing in a - what did you say the name of the thing, this feather thing was in?) In a, you know, a bag, in a yellah cotton bag. Was made on purpose fer it, so it would be shaped all of de baby.
(The bag was in that shape, too.)
[The bag was a baby doll form stuffed with feathers.]
Uh-huh. Dey done fixed it an' had made it out of feathahs, an' put it down fer 'er. Now, my mother's ['s = was] sick all de time.
Entry 11647
Dey tell me yo' kin take de grass dey call de five-finger grass in yore pocket, wear it in yore pocket in yore pocketbook, an' de judge, de jury or de magistrate cannot convict yo'.
Entry 11731
Lak dis house - yo' got a house. An' dat grapevine, yo' takes off so much of it [indicate length] an' burn it. An' dem ashes yo' put around dat do', in front of de do', an' sweep [ashes out door] an' use dat grapevine fo' dat. An' yo' kin take a bath with grapevine.
(What does that do?)
Dat's fo' luck. Keep people 'way; bring folks in an' he'p yo' undertake [overcome], yo' know, de devil.
(Overtake the devil.)
Keep de devil away.
Entry 11741
Well, jes' lak now probably dat ah wuz sellin' likker. Well, ever' time ah turn roun' an' somebody knock at de do', ah think it's a customer come in dere. Ah open de do', "Ooh! It's de law." Well, ah goes tuh mah neighbor, yo' know, sell a lotta people roun', "Ah ain't got no luck. Ever'- time ah open mah do's, it's de law comin' in. Ah don' unnerstan'.: Seem lak de law gotta pick at me. Ah want dat law quit comin' tuh mah house." "Well, "' ah declare. "May[be] it's hard luck put on yo', '' [he] says, "dey's things lak dat." Well, jes' lak dat, talk along an' talk along. Ah wuz sellin' right along, gittin' on all right, thinkin' ever'thing wuz okay. Oh, makin' mo' money, yo' know, an' jes' gittin' 'long. Fus' thing ah knows, "Knock, knock." "Who's thah?" Twarn't nuthin but de [wind?] but still it wuz a lil' strange. Goes opens de do'. Who but it is de law ag'in. Well, ah sigh to mahself, "Well, ah taken dese chances but ah don't wanta take nO mo' chances." Ah goes tuh talkin' fo' fair den. So ah got one mah best fren'. Ah call her mah best fren'. So mah best fren' says, "Well, ah tell yo' whut chew do," say, "yo' go git luck, 'cause dere's bad wishes put on yo'. Yo' gotta have luck. Dere's a bar ovah dere" [someone over there could recommend a hoodoo]. Okay. An' so ah goes an' git luck. So fo' de luck he tole me, says, "Go tuh de cemetery an' git chew a lil' graveyard dirt, an' yo' git it on de off side - cf side of de right. Yo' dig down an' yo' pay. Yo' pay him an' yo' git dis dirt. Dig a hole jes' lak dat an' let chure han' go down in it, jes' lak dat [demonstrates] an' dig yo' up jes' a lil' dirt jes' lak dat. Den yo' put three pennies down in dere where yo' got dis dirt at. An' yo' take it home an' don't look back. When yo' git dis dirt jes' take it an' come right on home an' don' look back. When yo' git home, yo' put a spoonful of sulphur in dat graveyard dirt an' yo' sprinkle jes' a lil' bit of black peppah in dere. An' den yo' jes' put dat - yo' put some right under de front steps, an' den yo' go round an' put some undah yore back steps. An' den yo' gotta speak three times tuh hit, 'Name of de Father, name of de Son an' de Holy Ghost, stay an' nevah come no mo'." Dat'll do it.
(That keeps the law away.)
Keep de law away.
Entry 12047
You take a piece of red flannen [flannel] and you dampen that with kerosene and turpentine. Then you take a piece of John de Conkah and Jockey Club [perfume] and a piece of saltpeter. (Jockey Club perfume?) Yes, Jockey Club, and then you take all that and you put it into a little new piece of paper, but I mean brown paper. Put it onto the brown paper first and then put it in - put the devil's - annimum [an- vil] dust. Put annimum dust in there with it. And then wrap it up in that brown paper [brown paper for black person, white paper for white person is the rule]. Wrap it to you. Wrap it right to you. And then put it in a brand-new piece of 'lastic [elastic]. And then you get a new spool of No.8 thread, and then you wrap that good. You wrap it to you. See, you wrap it to you. See, that's bringing you luck. Just wrap it to you. And then you get you a new needle that you've never used - out of a new case [package]. And then you use that brand-new thread and you sew it to you, you know, and make your wishes. You sew it to you. And then you takes that
[package] and tacks it onto your [elastic] belt. You know, that piece of [red]
flannen, you know, and you put that kerosene and turpentine on there, and then you put it round your waist, just wear right round your waist right next to your meat. That's to keep anybody from harming you.
(I see.)
Annimum - an-n- (Wait a minute - annirmum dust.) [I am making a final effort to record this vord correctly. Anim and various things until later in New Orleans I knew it was anvil dust.]
Entry 12217
Well, sometimes yo' kin take incense. Yo' know what dat is. Yo' burn it Thursdays an' Wednesdays. An' yo' take an' wash yore front steps wit dis salt dat chew makes ice cream out of. Den yo' throw de water inside an' let it run outside. Let it run back outside. Den yo' Wash dose things. Ah know dose are lucky.
(Then you wash what?)
Yo' wash yore front out [sidewalk off]. Stand in front an' po' yo' water up [to the building] an' let it run back down [to gutter and] out. An' wash de place all out good an' burn it [incense] Thursdays, Wednesdays an' Mondays.
(Any particular time those days that you burn that incense?)
Well, it's best tuh burn it 'bout five [usually 6] an' twelve.
(Five when?)
In de evening, twelve in de day.
Entry 12310
Go to a tree dat de lightning struck an' git a couple of splinters from de tree, an' drive one inside de yard, an' one jes' on de outside of de yard, in both ways dat dey enter into de house, an' dat will prevent de evil of de house.
(What kind? Any kind of evil, if anybody wants to do you harm?)
Dat's de idea. You just drive it dere. (You'll drive a stick in the yard and then one outside the yard on each trail that leads into the house.) [My explanation at the time indicates 4 splinters, but probably 2 only were used: one on path leading to front door, other on path leading to back door.] One dat lightning tear from a tree, git one dose kinda sticks.
Entry 12779
Ah heard you could take - get some kind of oil and stuff and use like that, and then, if anybody [in the game] had any wager in dere against you, or you was playing against wager or somepin like dat, why you could take dat. Take a frog - use a toadfrog and carry 'em in dere, and take that salt and pepper and sprinkle it.... [Here I turned off machine but decided to continue.]
(How do you...)
[You are having bad luck because someone:]
Done went to somewhere and got somepin stronger than what you got dere - Luck.
(What do you do with that frog?)
You put him in your pocket.
(I see. And what about the salt and pepper?)
You take that salt and pepper and sprinkle it around in your house where you playing at.
(I see. That's to break up that wager.)
Wager that luck against you.
(That weight [luck] against you.)