Subject:Remove
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Entry 3264
[You] kin take a new han'chuff an' put it in a man's left-foot shoe an' let it stay dere all night long aftah yo' done had somepin tuh do wit 'im. Yo' use dat han'chuff an' put it in 'is left-foot shoe, see, an' he cain't fool wit nobody but chew.
(Well, he would find that handkerchief in the shoe, wouldn't he?)
No sir, yo' supposed tuh take it out.
(You get up before he finds it?)
Why certainly. A new han'chuff dat's nevah been used fo' anythin' but de business.
(What will you do with the handkerchief then?)
Bear [bury] it.
(Where?)
Put it undah de house. Dat make him always wanta be comin' dere. He won't fool wit nobody an' bring de money home.
Entry 5170
Take a man's shoe, right shoe. Take de measure of it an' put some new pins an' needles in it, nine of each. An' yuh take [up] de sill [saddle] of de do'. Yuh know, pull [up] de sill of de do'. An' yuh put it [tape measure] down dere, tack it down dere. An' he have tuh cross ovah it, yuh see, an' [to] git inside. Dat will keep a person stayin' aroun' home.[Informant repeats for good measure:] Yuh git a piece of new tape an' take de measure of [right] shoe. Take it from yuh an' bring it tuh yuh. An' den yuh take dat an' pin de needles an' pins tight all de Way tuh yuh, an' as yuh put 'em in call 'is name. Den yuh take de sill [saddle] of de do' up an' yuh tack it [tape] down an' leave it stay dere. When yuh move out'a dat house, yuh take it up an' carry it wit chew. Evahwhere yuh move yuh carry it wit chew.
Entry 6383
An' dey could trim yer fingahnails, yo' know. Say now, like if yo' set dere an' trim yer fingahs, I'd gathah dem up. See, I'd gathah dem up an' take dem - or toenails, eithah one of 'em. Take 'em an' put 'em in a li'le vial. An' aftah yo' put 'em intuh de li'le vial, yo' would keep 'em in dis vial fo' 'bout nine days, wit a li'le vitrus wit 'em fo'.tuh git 'em soft. Den yo' take 'em out of dat vitrus an' dry 'em off, an' put 'em in anothah vial den an' put othah stuff wit 'em. (What other stuff do they put with that second vial? What do they put in that second vial?) Intuh de secon' one yo'll put some of yer own chamber lye, an' a li'le bit of cologne root.
(Cologne root?)
Cologne root. An' yo'll take dat an' shift it aroun' [in the bottle]. Dat is tuh do 'em harm.
[Cologne root is probably a product of the root-seller or hoodoo drug store.]
(Well, what do you do with that bottle then, that has that stuff in it? This second bottle, what do you do with that, then?) De bottle? Well, yo' could take dat bottle out some place an' bury it. Bury dat bottle an' dat'll make dem useless in dere han's or foot, wherever dese nails come from.
Entry 8196
If a person is away an' yo' wan' 'em back, yo' could take a photograph, no mattah whethah it's tin or pastebo'd. No mattah if it tin or papah, dey kin take dat an' put it on top of de dressah, what choo call de bu- reau. Git ready, yo' take dat. Take a pichure, male or female, an' yo' could take dat an' wrap it up. If a woman wan' tuh bring 'im back, take a piece of 'er clothes an' weah it nex tuh him. [Informant has right idea but may have had a drink.] An' he wrap dat pichure up an' turn it on de haid an' rip dat piece, yo' know whut ah mean, be- hind de glass [of the mirror] an' put it dere lak dat [demonstrates]. Ah don' [care] whäh he is, aftah nine days he'll come, or twelve days, soon as he kin git dere.
Entry 8839
Then again, dey wan'a draw yuh. Say a woman likes yuh very well an' she can't git up tuh yuh. Well now, she will git a love vine [the dodder], she'll git dose little candies [used for decorating a cake], an' holy watah, an' if possible she'll git a wishbone from a turkey, if she kin git it; if not, she will use a chicken [wish] bone. She'll set in de forks of dis road an' she'll place it dere jis' as neah as dat fork an' dat wishbone will match tuhgethah. An' she'll make a wish. An' if she kin Write, well - aftah makin' dis wish in de forks of de road - while she dere, she'll write a lettah. She'll have 'er three grains of rice. She seal dat lettah wit three grains of rice. She have de rice cooked sof' an' done, an' instead of wettin' wit yore tongue, why yo'll jis' mash - yo' ought tuh have it wet enough, yuh see. Yo' jis' lay it on dere an' mash it down an' let it seal [demonstrates]: one grain on one side [of letter flap], an' one in de middle of dat part, dat part here, an' one on de othah [side]. Seal it wit dat, wit a dash of Lovers Sashay. An' believe yuh me, he gon'a come.
Entry 9341
Dey can do a lot of things with chicken eggs.
(Well, for instance?)
Ah saw a woman once with a chicken egg. She had 'im - her man an' her was mad an' she wanted him tuh, yo' know, die, bump him off. She had his pitchure drawed on dat egg, an' she taken dat egg an' she had hulled a lemon out, a large lemon, an' she put it in dere. An' she went back an' buried it in de cornah of de yard, undah de steps at de cornah of de yard.
(What happened?)
Well, he died.
(It killed him?)
Killed him.
(Was that all she had to do?)
Yes, dat was all she had tuh do.
Entry 9744
Use nine nails, nailing six the straight way and three the crossway [making the form of a cross] up overhead or either where the party have to pass at. And that's crossing of the house. Yes, sir. If they [know] exactly it's crossed: again, removing the nails, keeping them in the house overnight, throwing them out before the sunrise, and washing the house out with saltpeter, it's [the cross is] done away with. (That removes this cross I put on the landlord?) Yes sir, absolutely. [The 6 nails, grouped into three sets are driven into the floor as follows: IT Tr Tr. Then 3 nails are driven across the sets like this: H H H. We now have 6X's or Soblecrosses.]
Entry 9935
Git de toadfrog. Yo' take him an' kill 'im an' aftah yo' kill 'im, plug 'is eyes out an' leave it dry an' makin' a powdah wit it. Yo' throw dat in de person's stockin's or in dey undahweah or anywheah [in clothing] an' in a length of time it'll go in de po's [pores] dat-a-way, an' it'll create one de baddest so [sores] an' ah don' care whut de phi-si-ci-an will give yo', he ain't goin' tuh stop it. It'll become tuh be kinda lak a cancah.
(Just a bad sore?)
Yes.
Entry 10477
For people come to your house all the time and come and set too long, and see, you want them to go home. Say, you just take a sifter and put it up under their chair. And [if] they'll just sit, sit, and can't go, they is a witch; but after [if] they get up and go home, there [they] ain't witch. But they got to be real old, old people. You see, you do that with a sifter. [Usually a steel instrument is stuck into the bottom of the chair where it won't be seen by visitor. She can leave only after you remove the steel.]
Entry 10603
Well, now heah de othah day a friend of mine wus tellin' me. He axe me did ah know where he could - firs' he axe me could ah lend him fo' dollahs. Ah tole him, no, ah didn't 'zactly have de money. He says, "Well, ah know a fel- lah," said, "he claims he kin gi' [give] yo' a han' fo' gam- blin'." Ah wus on de steamship workin' den, see, an' ah met dis fellah on de street an' he jes' stop me. An' he jes' stop me - yo' know, stop me an' jes' spoke. So he axed me did ah gamble. Told him shure, sometime ah gamble. "Well, " he says, "yo' evah have any luck?" "Shure ah has luck?" sometimes, sometimes ah don't." He says. "Well. vo' wanta have luck all de time?" Ah tole him, "Yeah, ef ah'd like tuh win all de time." He said, "Well, ah tell yo' whut chew do." Says, "Yo' go tuh work an' ketch yo' one dese little bats. Dese little black bats, " yo' know, "an' cut his wings off." Say, "Den - an' don't lose any of his blood - ketch all de blood yo' kin, an' split him open. An' jes' split him open an' take his entrails out, but try tuh keep all de blood dat chew kin." Say, "An' after yo' split him open, let him dry wit de blood in 'im." Say, "An' den fill dat back up with cheese." Fill dat bat, chew know inside of him up wit cheese. "Sew hit up," say, "an' jes' keep it in yore pocket where yo' keep yore money at all de time." Says, "Yo'll have luck all de time."
(In gambling?)
In gambling. So ah thought ah might as well try dat. Ah wus on de steamship fo' foah yeahs.
Entry 10850
Well, if a person - dey's got good hair an' de othah one got bad hair, an' jes' keep on boastin', "Yes, yo' pick yo' hair. Let me pick yo' hair back, lak dis heah." "Well, now if it's a man, 'Well, ' he says, "ah'll fix yo' so's yores be's jes' lak mah hair, ' Dey'll go an' git dat buz- zard manure. Yes, an' dey cain't git to yo' deyself, but dey'll give it to yore friend. Dey'll pay yore fren' an' yore fren' will git to yo', be combin' yore hair, an' put dat in de hair. Lak, now, someone be combin' yore hair an' yo' spit in yore han' an' rub it on yore haid, an' yore hair'll go. (You mean spitting on your hand will take your hair out? The buzzard manure will do that also? And spitting on your hand will do it?) Jes' comb yore haid an' spit on yore han', be combin', an' take yore han' an' wipe down heah an' comb down. Dat take every bit out.
(Wipe your hand where?)
"Tween yore laigs. An' comb yore hair down. Take every bit out.
(That's two other ways of doing it. What do you do with that buzzard manure?)
Put it on yore haid.
(Then another way of doing it is to spit on your hand?)
Dat's right. (And another way of doing it is to rub your hand between your legs and put it on the person's head?) Dat's right. [See preceding rite for something similar.]
Entry 10970
Take a aig an' boil it, cut it half in two, an' take de yelloo part out an' fill that up with salt, an' take it an' eat it without drintdn'gyatah at all. An' ask to see de man dat chure goin' tuh marry or the w yo goin' tuh marry, an' yo'll see 'em when yo' drink dat watah. [You vill see the that night in a dream. This is ordinary folklore. I have included it bere becamse divination is part of a hoo- doo or root doctor's work. He or she might offer this advice to a client.] [Fay- etteville, N. Car., 2572:16.]
Entry 10971
(What would you use that egg for?) Yo' fast all day on Thursday to turn [improve] yore mem- ory, dat chew will git de right understanding. You fast de entire day. And den you boil dat aig and remove de shell. After you remove de shell, den you write de 4th and 8th verse, I think it is, [of Psalm lO4] on dis aig. Anyhow you write as much as about ten or twelve verses on dis aig, and put de egg in yo' mouth whole, and dat will turn yore mem- ory, will help you to keep your memory and get some [knowledge] of things which you wanta do. Dat's one thing egg will do. Dat's de only thing I know about de egg, but chew must put de whole egg in de mouth, when you have wrote dis on dis egg: Remove de shell and write dis on dere. De egg must not be broken.
(What do you write that with?)
Ink. Dere's nothing else will write on it but ink, on a boiled egg.
(And what verses of what?)
De 104th Psalm.
Entry 11142
They use a kind of a weed - jis' like a ole weed, yo' know, jis' growin' around. Well, they'll take this weed an' they cut this weed down. Well, they take that stick an' make a little cross like that. An' then about time that it git about just dark, they'll take that [cross] an' plant it to your back door; set it right up at chore back door. An' then at night round about twelve o'clock, they'd come back an' git it an' pick that stick [cross] up an' turn it over [turn it upside down], an' leave it there to daybreak. An' then they'll come back an' take it. An' then tomorrow you'll be arguin' all day long wit chore wife.
Entry 11151
Make people move out of a room, if de landlady makin' yo' move. After yo' gits everything outa dere, yo' turns roun' an' walk back in dis house an' walk to all fo' cor- ners an' curse it, dey says, an' walk out. Don' look back at it. Dey says she'll nevah be able toh keep anybody else in dere.
Entry 11309
Hair from top of dog's head and from top of tail [from head to tail] put in forked stick, buried under steps, keeps him home.
Entry 11324
Yo' kin go to a dogwood tree, yo' know, an git dis bark yo' know, an' do somepin to a person - a man eithah a woman. Yo' kin take somepin othah an' bo' a hole in dis tree. See, yo' take dis bark out an' bo' a hole in it [the wood part] an' git some of dat bark an' dat wood yo' understand out an' take an' mix it [bark and borings] up togethah, an' git some [of their] hair, an' den go back to dat place an' chunk [push] it [bark, borings and hair] back [in the hole] yo' undahstand. See, dat [hair] grow up in dere. An' take a - yo' know lak a person go to take a passage, yo' understan', take some of dat stuff [excrement] an' tie it up an' put it in dat hole. [Usually a hole with something in it is plugged up with a peg, perhaps not here.]
Entry 12156
But on de othah hand, yo' take dat hickory tree as yo' calls it - not no fig tree, yo' take dat hickory. Yo' go in de woods an' see yo' kin find a hickory tree of twelve months growth - a young hickory tree. It must be a young one, an' yo' find lotta of dem is down dere wit forked limbs, too. Yo' find one wit de forked limb of twelve months young growth, if yo' kin gits it, an' yo' takes dat dere hickory tree, dat forked one." Yo' kin take it, understan', an' work any kind of a little conjurin' things with it, an' set pegs to people's house.
(What do they do with that hickory tree?)
That hickory tree, yo' jes' cut off that forked limb. Yo' jes' take yore knife an' cut it off up there. Cut it off 'bout lak dat [demonstrates], de forked limb, cuts off 'bout lak dat yo' see. Well, now yo' take dat dere fo'k an' yo' wanta go keep yore ole lady from runnin' round.
(You take this hickory limb and you do what with it? You....?)
Yo' cut it off an' yo' take yore knife an' cut lil' notches 'long dere lak dat, yo' know, an' yo' name dem notches whatevah yo' wanta call it or whatevah yo' want done to it. Whatevah yo' want. Yo' want, 'Well, ah want this much done." Yo' say, "Look heah, ah'm cuttin' yo' an' dat's whut ah want chew tuh git me. Ah want chew tuh he'p me git her loose" [from the man she's running around with]. An' yo' cut de next notch an' say, "Look heah, ah tell yo' whut ah want chew tuh do." talkin' to it right dere. "Ah want [chew] tuh go tuh de bank an' borrah me a hundred dollahs, without no' - don' sign no papahs up fo' it, ah mean tuh pay 'em back by an' by." Well, yo' kin take dat thing, dat dere with de three notches in it, an' yo' go to de [some shopping place]. [I] says, yo' go to a big grocery sto' an' keep dat thing in yore pocket.
Entry 12988
Yo' could take a lizard or a snake or a frog or anything like dat an' Perish it tuh death. Jes' put it in a can or sompin, yo' know, an' let 'im die. Sell, when he die yo' could, yo' know dry it up. Yo' could make a powder out of hin like dat. Well, den if yo' kin git dat in anybody's food, he gonna have dem Live things in 'im - hit'll come back tuh life. Yo' see, dey grow. Well, not de thing dey is tuh git dat out of him - jes' say, if yo' put it in 'im or anybody else put it in 'im, an' dey come tuh yo' [author become a root doctor] fo' tuh git it out of 'im, yo' git chew a silver piece of money. An' yo' wash dis heah, every edge, if yo' use a dime or a quarter or fifty-cent [piece] or anything. Let it be solid silver. An' hit every edge dat dey is round dere. Well yo' give him dat silver [intern- ally] an' dat silver will git dat out of 'im. Hit'll take every bit of dat poison out of 'im.
(You have to hit every edge. With what?)
Yes sir, hit every edge [of the milled coin] with a file. Git chew a brand- new file dat has nevah been used an' yo' hit every edge - jes' a little grated silvah an' [and you give it internally to your patient poisoned by lizard, snake or frog].
Entry 13068
If you wanta kill a person, yo' gits de snail an' gits him out of his hull [shell] yo' see. An' yo' kin take yo' some whiskey an' put dat snail in dere - in dat whiskey, lak yo' would put it in a half pint of whiskey. Let dat snail set in dere twenty-fo' hours in dat whiskey - ah mean, take dat snail outa dere an' strain yore whis- key. An' anybody dat yo' give it to, dat chew want 'em - if yo' wanta kill any- one, say, "Come on have a drink wit me, " an' yo' po' it out an' dey drink it. Dat settles it.
Entry 13278
If somebody's interferin' [with] yo' aroun' yore home, ev'ry mawnin' yo' git up yo' go tuh de do' an' yo' make yore wishes an' bow tuh de sun 3 times, an' ask de Lord tuh re- move de evil spirits - tuh move away evil spir- its. An' do that three times an' do that fo 'bout 9 mawnin's. Walk tuh de do' an' make a bow tuh de sun. Yo' know de sun is a whole lot in success, yo' know. Yo' bow tuh de sun 3 times. An' aftah yo' bow tuh de sun an' [then] yo' axe Him ["De Lord"] tuh move away evil spirits.
(You do that three times for nine mornings.)