Subject:Saltpeter
Entries
Entry 3721
He kin bathe in sweet milk fuh nine mawnin's - see, jis' de milk whut yo' milk out of a cow's bag whilst it's warm. An' bathe his privates down fuh nine mawnin's. An' take dat an' saltpetah, see an' alum fuh nine mawnin's, an' dat'll bring 'is nature back to him. (Do you take this milk bath separately or do you put this saltpeter and alum in it?) No, yo' see, yo' bathe in de raw milk by it- self warm, jis' as it come outa de cow's bag. An' aftah yo' do dat fuh nine mawnin's wit de milk, den yo' see when yo' take a bath, jis' a or'nary bath, yo' bath fuh nine days in dat saltpetah an' alum. An' dat'll restore yore nature back.
Entry 3758
(Well, suppose a man is tied up that way, how could he git rid of that?) Git rid of dat? He would take dat perfume whut de call Hearts Perfume, cinnamon, saltpetah an' chamber lye, his own, wit nine ten-penny nails. Takin' a bath from head to feet an' throwin' it out to- Wards sunrise. Den she cain't do anythin' unless she gits wit 'im [again]. Dat untie him.
Entry 3761
He kin git 'is nature back ag'in through de same way ah said. He kin take some gourds or one gourd an' beat it up wit saltpetah an' sulphur an' jes' bathe himself down dere - pahtic'lah dova. An' take it to a rivah an' throw it gsMr, an den dat'll be.off of 'im an' he'll becoe jes' as he once wus.
Entry 3816
Take a bran'-new knife an' po' - make urinate [urinate] down dat knife- blade evah mawnin' fo' nine mawnin's an' wash 'isself wit whut chew call dis stuff dey use in prison. (Saltpeter?) Saltpetah. Take dat an' wash it [his tool] an' throw it to de sundown. Take dat an' wash it an' throw it to de sundown. If he done wash 'isself off an' throw it de way de sun goes down, he kin git ovah [cure] it dataway - git along to where he kin handle anybody he want to.
(That will take off this spell that took his nature away.)
Dat'll take off dat.
(He did that before sunrise did you say?)
[He did not give the time, that is what I wanted to learn.]
Aftah sun risin' an' jes' as de sun liable to set, see yo' put it in dere den, den it [ailment] will go away den. Yo' have to do dat fo' nine evenin's an' po' dat watah down dat knife fo' nine mawnin's.
(You urinate down the knife in the morning, and you throw it away at night?)
Yeah, yo' washes wit dat saltpetah in de aftahnoon. [For the general reader may I add:. The peter part of saltpeter, being one of the many names for the penis, has magic value in this impotence cure; so also has the magic salt portion of saltpeter.]
Entry 4010
[One cylinder later, preceding informant gives another version of the bluestone rite.] Take some chamber lye an' put some bluestone in it an' some saltpetah an' mix it up, an' jes' throw it undah yore step. an' all in front of yore [front] do', where yo' have to walk, an' roun' yore back do', an' dey say while dat down dey can't do nuthin to yo'.
Entry 5133
De shoes, if yuh wan' tuh. yuh kin take 'em an' bury de shoes. But if she wan's yuh tuh come back, see she take 'em an' bury 'em at de front of de house comin' in, wit de toes comin' in. See. Den she let dose stay dere nine days. (Then what do you do?) Den aftah de shoes are dere nine days, she'll wrote a lettah. Den when he comes back yuh git dis heah [here] - write it [the name] nine times. An' git chew nine bran'-new needles an' pin it in dere. Stick 'em - see, yuh pin 'em like dis heah [demonstrates]. Yuh put 'em where he comes in. Put it [needle] undah dere, right ovah it [weaving the needles] in an' out [of paper with name]. An' he'll continue goin' [in] an' out. An' wit dose shoes buried, he comin' back.
Entry 5217
Well, if yo' think dey goin' put somepin down fo' yo' tuh walk ovah, yo' git some sulphur an' table salt an' - an' saltpetah. Put jis' a li'le bit'a each, about de same quantity of each, an' put it in each shoe, an' yo' walk ovah dat much as yo' wanta.
Entry 5233
Take dey lef'-foot shoe an' burn it wit sugah, black peppah, saltpetah an' bluestone. Dat'll call 'em back.
Entry 5283
I've heard of people takin' saltpetah and molasses and putting it in a shoe and turn it upside down, turn around seven times and make a wish, and whatever that is it will come against the one that owns the shoe.
Entry 5696
If yo' wan' 'em tuh go, yo' don' wan' 'im tuh stay, git choo a table- spoonful of salt, a tablespoon whut dey call cayenne peppah. Git choo a red flannin rag now, an' git saltpeter - woman salt- peter. Yo' know it's two kinds, a she saltpeter an' dere a he saltpeter. Yo' git de she. Take yo' a teaspoonful an' put it dere an' put it - make a li'le. red-flannin sack an' put it down in dere. Well, now if yo' know dis party, yo' watch 'er walk. Yo' count de tracks as dey walk. Yo' count de tracks lak dey 3 right-foot tracks. Yo' jis' take it from de toe. An' take it up, po' it in dat sack. Sew it up. Yo' meet de sun three mawnin's as it rise, an' wet on it. Take it tuh de rivah befo' de rise de fo'th day, an' throw it in dere. Ah don' care where yo' wan' 'em tuh go, dey'll leave dere. Dey can't stay.
(WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "SHE" AND "HE" SALTPETER?)
DE "SHE" IS A LARGE LUMP AN' DE "HE" IS IN LI'LE BITA CRUMBS.
Entry 5981
She disliked me.
(Who disliked you?)
This woman.
(I see. All right.)
She disliked me an' ah tole 'er [told her] ah had de headache, an' she couldn't give it to me herself, see. By me bein' young, she wus gon'a fool me. She tole me, she said, "Yo' git yo' some salt- petah an' sprinkle it in yore hair, an' evah mawnin' fer nine mawnin's aftah de new moon, " she say, "yo' git up an' meet de risin' sun an' comb yore hair fo'wards."
(Comb your hair what?)
Comb yore hair fo'wards.
(Comb your hair forwards, I see.)
An' ah say, "Ah nevah did comb mah hair dat way." She say, "It's not goin' hurtcha [hurt you]." An' ah went to anothah woman an' de othah woman tole me dat she wuz tryin' to run me crazy; said it wuz goin' make me go crazy if ah put dat saltpetah in mah hair an' combed it to de moon - [I mean] to de sun lak she done tell me.
(That would make you go crazy, you say? I see.)
Yes.
Entry 6081
Well, dey said yo' kin take yore hair an' some of yore hair down below an' put it togethah, parch it an' put it in - an' a piece of saltpetah. An'dat's to make love. An' sew it up [in a bag] an' wear it nex' to yo', nex' to yo', nex' to yore flesh. An' tie it aroun' yo' - wear it aroun', pin it to yo' some way. An' dat makes de man or wumman love dat person, whoevah dey want.
Entry 6695
Yo' kin take saltpetah an' yo' kin take whut chew calls, de medicine dey calls aloes, an' yo' put dat tuhgethah in some salts [salt] an' some warm watah. An' yo' kin take a good bath all ovah with dat stuff, make enough of it tuh give yo' a good bath. Bath [not bathe] yo'self all ovah. Den yo' kin take anothah, dis same medi- cine an' boil it, an' drink it. Drink it jes' as hot as yo' kin at night an' dat kills whutsomevah germ is in yo'. An' den aftah doin' dat, den yo' git chew a bottle of sweet milk an' a cup of lard an' lemme see - an' a teaspoon of salt- petah an' stir it all. Jes' stir it all up tuhgethah an' yo' drink dat. An' den five minutes aftah dat, if yo' hurt [hoodooed] yo'll throw it up. De white stuff, 'xactly [exactly] whut yo' done eat, yo' know, de milk will come back firs' lak dat. Den aftah dat it comes green, whole lotta green stuff vill come out of yo' system 'cuz yo' done vomit it up.
(What is that green stuff?)
Dat's dat poison dat is put down in yore stomic, dat's tyin' yo' up.
Entry 6697
Yo' go tuh a druggist or grocery sto', eithah one, an' yo' git chew some saltpetahs, some ammonia, household ammonia, bluein' [three ingredients]. An' yo' take all dat an' yo' fix dat ingredients tuhgethah, an yo' use it in de watah whut chew bathe in. But in de meantime yo' supposed tuh bathe three times a week: Mondays, Wednesdays an' Fridays. [For this three evenly spaced days a week, see p.830.]
(At any particular time of the day?)
Well, say, six in de mawnin', twelve at noon an' six at night. [For this evenly spaced time-of-day formula, see p.830.]
(Any one of those times or three times?)
Well, yo' kin bathe once but eithah one of dem hours yo' kin, yo' see. An' den yo' take dis saltpetah an' yo' puts it in yore shoe an' yo' weah it. Dat'll perteck [protect] yo' from any kinda home or anybody tryin' tuh do yo' harm. (Well, there's also some of that saltpeter in the bath water, too. Those three things are all in the bath water?) Yessuh.
(Then you save some of that saltpeter and put it in your shoe?)
Put it in yore shoe an' weah it in yore shoe fo' pertekshon [protection].
Entry 6762
You mean poison, hoodoo-like?
(Yes.)
Yo' git a teacup fulla sweet milk, halfa teacup of grease, piece of salt- petah about big as a red bean. [Magic of diminishing size.] (A red bean.) Piece of saltpetah about as big as a red bean. Yo' take all dat an' mix dat tuhgethah an' give it tuh yo' an' let yo' drink it. An' yo' vomit it up or eithah it'll kill it [the poison], kill it on de inside of yo'.
Entry 6781
Makes up a salve wit it, wit some dirt daubah nest, saltpetah, chewin' tobacca an' yo' make a salve. Now yo' kin put it in a li'le - ah dunnō [don't know] how much yo' goin' make up, but put chew a li'le vine- gah in it an' it's jis' lak a mustard, yo' know, jis' lak prepared mustard. Make a li'le of dat an' put it on de place an' see whut it will do fo' yo' [recording machine stopped, see later].
(What will that cure for example?)
Well, jis' lak a lotta people - yo' know yo' got a misery in yore ankle, cain't stand up on yore ankle. Dey [person working spell against you] got chew down in yore knees. (You said before [while machine turned off] that it kills off a lot of hoodoo ousiness.) Hoodoo business.
Entry 6830
Red peppah, hot red peppah an' chamber lye an' bathe yo' laig wit it an' that would give yo' ease. Ah have tried that mahself. (If somebody has put something down for you to walk over.) Yes sir, a fortuneteller tole me someone had put sompin down fo' me to walk ovah. [Here, either while'recording ma- chine is stopped or cylinder is changed, I ask for the whole story.] Well, mah laig kep' hurtin' me an' someone come along an' tole me, say, "Miss Carter," say, "ah knows a good man 'cross town. If yo' would go, he would tell yo' sompin tuh relieve yo' of dat pain in yore knee." It nevah would swell but it jis' hurt all de time. So ah went ovah dere an' he tole me someone had hurt me in mah knee. An' he got me some green moss an' tole me tuh boil dat an' bathe in de watah hot. Put some table salt in it. An' aftah dat, den rub it wit some of dis red peppah an' dis saltpetah mixed tuhgethah. Make a salve. Put some lard wit it or some oil or sompin an' make a salve an' rub wit dat, an' hit would relieve me. An' ah did dat an' it relieved me. An' a li'le latah it commence tuh hurtin' ag'in. Well, ah went tuh anothah lady an' she tole me - least she didn't tell me but she fixed de poultice huh- self; Brown Mule chewin' 'bacca an' earth worms whut chew dig up out de ground. An' she stewed it up tuhgethah an' give me dat tuh put some meal wit it, an' make a hot poultice an' put on mah knee. An' dat relieved me.
(That was the end of that?)
Yes sir, an' mah knee got bettah.
Entry 6889
An' yo' kin take saltpetah an' 'er chamber lye an' let 'er drink dat an' she won' 'ave no baby. Jis' as 'er monthly comes around, jis' as she git off befo' she have a intahco'se wit anybody, drink up some of dat an' she won' 'evah [= won't never] git impregnant.
Entry 6964
Put a li'le saltpetah in yore shoe. Weah it in yore shoe an' sulphur in yore shoe. Dat'll keep de poison from gwine [going (into your body)], tetch- in' [touching yo'. See.
Entry 7246
I knowed a fellow and he lost all control of himself [because someone did this to him]. They cut up horsehair as fine as he [they] could cut it and put that up in his food, and after that was internal it formed snakes. They [the snakes] commenced to destroy him. This doctor took them out. He gave him saltpeter, olive oil, poke root, and other things [surely including a laxative], and mixed them all together and gave him, and perished those snakes and they crawled out of him. [For horsehair producing live snakes in person, see also Nos.6571-6572, p.3084.]
Entry 7408
Jis' lak ef a puson wus tuh kill anothah one an' dey can't nevah ketch 'im. Well, dey go on an' dey gits - dat coffin have tuh be dressed whut dat in- divid'l is in tuh cuz dese othah parties tuh come back. An' tuh dress dat coffin dey'll git some dragon's blood an' whut chew call - well it's a oil whut chew call de come back oil, an' dat dragon's blood an' dat Sang-Sang Powdah. [This is probably the same thing as Sen-Sen or Sen-Sen Powder mentioned elsewhere.l An' take it an' put it in a half a pint-a watah, an' put two tablespoonsful of saltpetah in it, an' shake it up good an' sprinkle dat individ'l good in dat coffin. Sprinkle de corpse real good an' dat individ'l, whosomevah it is. An' in about three day's time dem parties will be back.
Entry 9596
If de law's bothahin' yo', yo' kin take de onion an' de garlic an' cut it in fo' equal parts. Yo' jis' take de garlic, yo' don't cut it all; yo' jis' take diff'ren' pods, pieces [cloves] yo' know. An' yo' use eithah de white or de red onion, an' yo' kin jis' cut it yo' know, in fo' parts: An' go an' yo' po' a whole box of table salt ovah it, an' den yo' po'a whole box of red peppah ovah it, an' sprinkle a li'l saltpetah an' a li'l bluestone on it. Dat'll keep de law out chure house.
(What do you do with that garlic?)
Well, yo' take dat garlic an' burn it. It's fo' luck. Yo' take dat garlic an' put it in a li'l bag an' fold it up an' wit all kinds - all kinda diff'ren' li'le pieces of stuff dat chew use wit it. Weah it. Yo' know weah dat garlic. (How do you keep the law away with that onion after you prepare it? What do you do with that onion?) Yo' take dat onion an' continue tuh burn it till de third mawnin', an' dat'll keep de law away.
(Where do you do that - burn that?)
Well, yo' take it de firs' night an' let it burn up dere, yo' see. Sprinkle it all round yore house. [In preceding subsection see 3 pepper pods halved, No.9587.]
Entry 9662
Ah tole yo', when yo' want 'em tuh go [pauses].
(Yes.)
When dey makes de track, why yo' take a new broom an' sprinkle salt. Salt an' saltpetah, mix dat togethah an' sprinkle dat an' devil's snuff.
(Devil's snuff?)
Devil's snuff, yes sir.
(Where do you sprinkle that?)
Yo' sprinkle it right on behind. Jes' lak dey goin' out de do', yo' sprinkle it right on behin' dem. An' den yo' takes dis broom an' sweep it an' tell 'em - yo' make, make de wishes dat yo' want 'em tuh go an' stay [away]. Jes sweep 'im, jes' sweep 'im away. [The salt] outa box of salt dat's nevah been used out of.
(I see. Do you use salt? And what else did you say you used?)
Salt an' saltpetah an' devil's snuff.
(Devil's snuff. I see.)
Entry 9669
Yessuh, dere's somethin' dey kin git tuh git 'em away. Git 'em high Life an' saltpetah an' salt an' sandalwood incense, an' mix it up an' throw aroun' yore house evah mawnin' befo' de sun rise. (What is high life?) Ah dunno. It's somethin' yo' git outa de drug sto'. It looks jes' kinda greenish lookin'.
(Is it a powder or a liquid?)
It's a powdah. It's kinda lak sulphuh but chew cain't sprinkle it down where it rains, 'cuz it swells 'way up. Yo' use it when it's dry weathah.
Entry 9670
Well, ah been tricked one time by some of mah things. A girl lived in our home an' she fell out wit me concernin' a man. She'd taken a dress of mine, one of mah monthly period cloths, an' some of mah hair an' got underneath de ahm [arm] where ah sweat at, an' taken it an' cared [carried] it across [town] tuh a man [cunjureman]. (Wait a minute! What did she get from under your arm, the hair or just the sweat?) De sweat from de dress. An' she'd taken it tuh a man an' she had it mixed wit graveyard dirt, peedles an' pins an', well one or two mo' thing but de man [healer I went to] didn't name 'em, see. He put it in a jah [jar] an' brought it back tuh our house unbeknown tuh all of us, late hour of de night, an' buried it. Now, it wus buried out 'bout along by de lavatory, see. Well, one Sunday mawnin' ah was sittin' on de po'ch an' ah got up an' ah went out tuh de lavatory. An' ah had a spell. From den ah commenced tuh feel as though....
(What kind of a spell did you have? How did you feel?)
Ah felt as though ah was dyin' fo' a few minutes. Well, ah started back tuh de house an' when ah got back home, ah tole mothah tuh call de doctah. Our lavatory was out from de house. An' she said, "Well, whut's de mattah? Yo' don't look sick?" Ah said, "Well, ah am." She said, "Well, yo' don't look sick." An' so ah went on de porch. She said, "Go back an' lay down, if yo' want me tuh call de doctah. Don't stan' on de front porch." Ah said, "Well, ah cain't lay down." While she was callin' de doctah ah went runnin' down tuh de drug store. Seemed as though mah mind wus leavin' me, see. An' all ah could have on mah mind right den was dyin' or eithah seein' mahsel' confined in a 'sylum. See? An', well ah got back home an' de doctah came out. He examined me thoroughly. He said nuthin was wrong. Well, ah knowed it was somepin wrong. Still, he said it wasn't anything wrong. Well, mah mothah tried two mo' doctahs. Both of 'em said dere wasn't anything wrong. She'd taken me crosstown tuh a man by de name of Mr. Lee [a root doctor].
(What town was this?)
Waycross, Georgia. Yes. An' ah went ovah dere on Lee Avenue tuh Mr. Lee. An' he tole me of dese things dat had been taken from me. An' tole me dat de onliest way dat he could get dis spell offa me was tuh dig dese things up. An' tole me de charges of diggin' it up. An' he say he knowed dat ah didn't have much money, an' ah could pay dis on installments. See, dat he would charge me $25 fo' takin' dese things up. See. So he charged de $25 an' mah mothah paid 'im ten of it down. He came ovah tuh our house an' he digged dese things up. Dug 'em up an' it was in a jar an' it was stopped up tight. An' it looked as though it had begin tuh kinda rot. See. He'd taken it out. He got a pan of warm watah an' put some lodestone in it an' a little salt. Taken dese things an' po'd 'em in dere. An' - well, ah don't know whut he done wit it. Ah know he'd taken it wit 'im whatevah it was, see. An' he didn't nevah give me anythin' tuh take, but grad'ly by degrees dis spell commence tuh weah off, until now ah'm fine.
(How long ago did that happen, did you say?)
That's been - ah imagine now - dat's been around seven or eight months. No longah, no soonah. [These are the experiences difficult to find.]
Entry 9684
Jis' like if your husband was goin' with someone else, [I know] of a remedy that would break that up, and that is one heaping tablespoonful of salt. You dip up this here, a tablespoonful of salt, pick it up, an' you take yuh hand an' brush it off [level the salt]. An' you pour that over there on the Papah. Then do the same with de sulphur. An' you brush that off [take a table- Spoon level-full of sulphur] an' pour it into this [salt]. Then take one pinch of saltpeter an' you put this into this [salt and sulphur]. Then you make [mix] it up real good an' start from the front door, go upstairs, you go backwards, sprinkle this. An' they say when he walks over this, it'll break 'em up.
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 10179
Yo' couldn't zakly [exactly] make de candle go out, but chew could fix it so it wouldn't do yo' no harm. (How would you do that?) Git chew some red peppah, saltpeter, tie it up in a rag an' a li'l piece of root dey call John de Conkah root, an' yo' weah dat in yuh pocket. An' dey couldn't hurt yo' no way.
Entry 10188
For success in business either at home or outside the house, bathe with 3 ingredients: bluestone, saltpeter and sugar. Or else bathe with blueing and sugar. Either bath is for personal protection. At place of business mop up with Red Seal Lye and burn brimstone as a purification. But before leaving home for work or opening the house for business, make wishes and light a yellow candle. [Did the maker of this rite realize that in some place during the late Middle Ages prostitutes legally had to wear yellow?]
Entry 10189
Bottle oil of bergamine [bergamot], box cooking soda, teaspoon salt- peter, take bath in that. Break a candle, make a wish, light [same] candle, let candle burn out. Then get brimstone, burn brimstone Monday, Wednes- day and Friday and make wish. Put sugar in it [brimstone], throw into fire. Can make money. [This is a rite for business.]
Entry 10769
An' den yore boss, seems lak he doesn't lak yo' - he doesn't lak yore work. Well, yo' go home an' yo' say, "Well, ah believe ah'll fix somepin fo' mah boss tuh make him lak me." Well, yo' go ahead an' yo' git chew some saltpeter, yo' git chew some table- salt an' some sulphur, [salt and sulphur to kill cunjure put down against you] an' yo' [put the salt] in dat sul- phur an' yo' bathes in dat saltpeter. But chew use dat sulphur, yo' takes a pinch of it, an' den yo' sprinkle some sulphur in yore shoes an' rub yore hands with it. Yo' know, yo' can't go round people with it. An' sprinkle Hearts Col- Ogne round dere [where you walk]. An' when yo' go out yo'll git affection. Dere ah'll come up, right chere, "Good mawnin', everybody, good mawnin', howdee dis mawnin'?" [They answer], "Jes' dandy." "Well, why'd yo' have sech-an'-sech a thing fo' breakfast?" "Oh, i enjoyed such-an'-such a thing last night."
Entry 10817
[Well, yo' take bluestone an' saltpeter an' yo' sprinkle it into de floor an' den yo' leave it dere. Yo' put dat together an' yo' burn it. See, yo' burn dat together. An' de next morning yo' git up an' sweep nine times, fo' nine mornings, see. An' dem people be gone 'way from dat place. Dey can't stay dere. (In other words, if I am living in a house, and somebody comes in there and burns this bluestone and saltpeter, it would make me move out of the house.) Make you move out. (Well, then I would have to sweep this [these] ashes nine times for nine mornings, sweep it out of the house.) Jest sweep to de steps fo' nine mornings an' yo' can't stay dere.
Entry 11134
Take it [manure] from a bull and yo' mix cayenne pepper and salt and saltpeter together, and carry it tuh someone's home dat you dislike. Yo' mix it all together and you put it out and let it dry. After it dries you crumble it up and powder it. Jest like someone would live here. You wouldn't want all tuh come out; jest want one person tuh leave dis place. Well, you would take it den and go and sprinkle in de yard and around de do' and call dis person's name. Dey can't stay dere. Dey'll have to move out, go some- where. Dey can't stay dere.
Entry 11165
Dere's a root out dere, ah don't know whether it's round here or not. Dat comes out de woods. [Take that] an' saltpeter. It's de devil's-shoestring! Dat's whut dey call it, de devil's-shoestring. An' beat it up - jest beat it up an' put it in yore pock- et - yo' understand, an' walk on in. An' as yo' walk in de office - dis is de office heah [demonstrates] jest put it in yore pocket an' rub yore hand lak dat over it. An' bit off a little piece an' jest lak yo' chewin' a piece of chewin' gum or somepin lak dat, an' talk to him. He'll give yo' a job. Yes sir, he'll give yo' a job.
(Do you come from South Carolina?)
North Carolina.
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 12284
Yo' kin git saltpetah, sage, alum, sugah an' salt - yo' know - stuff, yo' know, whut he nuse [use]. Yo' know, salt an' sugah an' stuff lak dat whut chew wanta know in dose strings. Yo' say, "In de Name of de Fathah, an' de Son, ah'm bringin' yo' back tuh me." Call his name, see, an' say, "Long as yo' eat sage, as long as yo' eat sugah, drink sugah in yore coffee" - sompin lak dat. An' call dose names, an' tie dose strings, an' tell him yo' want him tuh come back tuh yo'. Well, he'll come den. An' aftah yo' tie dose strings, put dose strings in a pile an' sprinkle dis saltpetah an' stuff ovah it, an' red peppah, an' yo' take kerosene. An' den yo' say, "In de Name of de Fathah an' de Son, ' an' burn it. An' put it out in de yard an' let it smoke.
Entry 12621
If yo' wants tuh draw de customers to de place, yo' git some sulphur an' burn dat sulphur in de fo' corners of de house or de sto' an' den take some sulphur an' salt an' black pepper an' put right in de do' underneat'de steps an' dat will draw de customers.
Entry 12866
I know an old woman that said if a man kept on living on the place and got disagreeable, she said she used to go out in the morning before day and walk backwards and throw that saltpeter in his path in [the form of] a cross and wish him bad luck and he would leave that farm. They say saltpeter is a great hand to destory any- thing you don't like. [Fredericksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 12867
Now, yo' kin take for instance in yore clothes or in yore shoes, if dey's tryin' tuh git chew tricked. Yo' wear saltpeter in yore shoes - either shoe you put in - dat saltpeter in your shoes. An' whenever yo' go out yo' got dat in. Then you kin put a pod of garlic - garlic. They don't nevah beat the garlic. They cain't nevah do you nothin' atall.
(Where do you keep that?)
Anywhere about. Anywhere you go be sure yo' got dat garlic. Morning and night you keep it on yore person - de pod of garlic. An' dat saltpeter in de bottom of your shoe - any shoe. Jes' go an' sprinkle de bottom of yore shoe with saltpeter.
Entry 12868
An' dey say yo' kin take bluestone an' saltpeter, beat it up an' make yo' a kine [kind] of a little sack yo' know lak [sack-lak yo' know] an' wear it in yore shoe an' dat'll keep yo' from ketching dis stuff.
(Anything that anybody puts down for you.)
Yes sir.
Entry 13002
They have live things in them, you kin take a cupful of lard, and a cupful of sulphur, and you take a cupful of salt. And you puts all of that to about a quart of water and let it boil. And you take a silver [bow or beau or bull] dollar. (A silver what?) A silver dollah, a bow dollah. (A bow dollar?) They call 'em bow dollah, them silvah dollahs, one of them big round dollahs. They don't use 'em very much now [1938]. Well, you let that boil. Yo' get a [cove] oyster can [these were not the recent canned oysters kept on ice] and you let that dollah boil real good. You boil it for about a hour in that water. And you take that water, put it with this other ingredients, this cupful of lard and everything. And I mean that will certainly pass from you. You let 'em drink that fuh 9 mornings, see. Give 'em a cupful and them live things will pass. That'll kill it. An' then you take - behind that give 'em a bath, behind that a bath of saltpeter and bluestone and sulphur.