Subject:See
Entries
Entry 891
There was once a lady and I used to be good friends. And so her husband wrote me a lettah and sent it through de mail, and he didn't sign the name to it. And so I was asking diff'rent one of my frien's did they know who it came from and they said no. So I ast de lady one day - I thought maybe she jis' playin' a joke on me - and I ast her did she write it. And she said no. But she said she would look at it and tell who handwriting it was. And the minute she looked at it, she said it was her husband's. And so she snatched it and ran out of mah house jis' like she had found some money. And [later] she came on and she tried to raise a fuss with me in de street befo' a crowd of people, but I wouldn't pay any attention to her. So later, two weeks, she came to mah house. And I jis' thought maybe she jis' come in there on a little visit, and I reckon she did. So when she left I said O.K. I went to de door with her and I half-shut de doah [after her departure]. And so I went to work dat mornin' - that was on a Satiday. And dat evenin' I commence feelin' - mah fingah got stiff, I couldn't use that hand that night. I tole my mothah about it. She bathed me in some kerosene, becuz she thought maybe it was - jis' was come from cold and so she bathed me in this kerosene. And de next mornin' I didn't seem to feel any bettah. And I couldn't use this hand, you know, dis whole arm. And it went on down in the feet. Becuz my mothah is a Holiness woman - and she thought maybe if she got some of her Saints [fellow worshippers] to pray wit me, I would get all right. And so she got 'em to pray wit me. But it didn't seem to do any good. So Tuesday - I didn't ache any at all dat Monday night - so that Tuesday night she called Dr. Somebody. Well, he came. He said he thought it was a rheumatism. And it was down in mah feet - it had left mah body and fell in mah foot. And he said - he gave me a pe'scription. But when I taken this medicine it seem like dat jis' made me ache dat much more. And so she called him again and he said he didn't know nuthin but de rheumatism. And I jis' suffered like dat hurtin' an' hurtin' for about two months. And so she had jis' told several people about it an' they said they didn't know anything unless it was the rheumatism." And so they said dey knowed a man named George or somepin ["a well-known root worker of Wilmington" - Note included in my pencil transcription made soon after interview]. But anyway, they said dis man could work roots. And when she went to dis man - and he said he could tell it and give me a treatment for fifteen dollahs down. And she said that she didn't have it all right then, but she paid him some down and he gave her some kind of medicine. And she say it was made out of some kind of St. Joseph's roots [either the doctor's own name or a commercial product like several others bearing a saint's name]. And she gave me it. And I taken about two treatments or two or three from him and I saw where it was doin' me a little good. And it continued to about two months and I got all right a little bit. And then he said that he could secure de thing dat was really de mattah. And so he found some roots buried under de doorstep in a bottle - looked like it was little verms [worms] on dis root. He showed it to mah mothah; he wouldn't let me see nuthin. He say if I didn't look at em, say he could make this spell leave me - make this so it would leave me. And it left. But he say I wouldn't feel all that sore-iness, but it would leave me enough that I could be able to walk. And so I started to walkin' on crutches and gradj'ly it left me.
Entry 932
Now, dere's a girl down on de street where ah live at now, she wus fixed up heah summer 'fore last an' she ain't straightened out yet. An' we carried her to a man. An' de way she got hers, it wus a girl give her some aigs - dey said dey wus lil' snake aigs in some whiskey. An' de snake aigs bust in her body dere an' yo' see dem snakes create. An' at one a'clock, de time dat she got dat stuff - any day at one a'clock - yo' see dem snakes runnin' in her veins.
(You say these eggs busted some place?)
De lil' aigs - when she drunk 'em, yo' see de whiskey cooked dem-in de person in whut dey develop an' it made lil' snakes.
(Oh, they developed into little snakes.)
Yes.
(And she hasn't been cured yet?)
No - she's gittin' it outa her but she ain't got [cured yet].
Entry 6603
People had got hurted. People have, yo' know, whut chew call poisoned peoples. Dere wus a lady stayed [with us]. An' dose peoples comes dere tuh 'er. An' yo' know people kin fix yo', yo' know, kin put snakes in yo'. She came dere to de doctor an' yo could see where dey had fixed - in a couple of places yo' could see de snakes.
Entry 7683
Ah know in one instance 'bout de graveyard dirt. In case yo' wanta see somebody an' yo' wuz away an' dey would die [while you were absent] or somepin lak dat, ah know of an instance. Yo' git dis grave- yard - jis' find out whut grave or cemetery it is, jis' de spot dey is buried, an' yo' git dis dirt from dis place an' take it home wit chew. If it clay, an' it more den apt tuh be clay, yo' take an' powdah it up lak black snuff or sompin lak dat. An' put it in a cloth an' say, dat chew wanta see dis person or de person wants tuh see yo'. Den yo' take dis when yo' git ready tuh go tuh see dis person, or dat person [in the spirit] come tuh see yo' [because his spirit follows his dirt]. Yo' take dis heah, lak if yo' goin' out tuh de graveyard, an' call de person tuh see yo'; [or] take dat wit chew, take dat back tuh de same place where yo' got it at. An' call dat per- son an' talk tuh dem, an' tell 'em whut chew wanta tell 'em, or he kin tell yo'.
(You dig that out of the grave to call them out of the grave?)
Yessuh, ah saw a man do dat once.
Entry 8304
Dey [a woman] said dey could take yo' pitchure. Jis' lak if a woman husband leave huh or eithah a man leaves 'is wife, or somepin, dat dey could take de pitchure an' turn it on de haid, turn de pitchure down on its haid, somewhere where it kin stan' up undah de bed outa sight. An' tell it [she, who told informant the story] said dat, "Yo' lef' me but choo're comin' back; yo'll be on yer haid tuh see me." She [woman who told her experience.to informant] said dey'll come back or be on dere haid tuh come back. An' dey will come back.
Entry 8365
Dey say dat if dey take yore pichure an' put it up on a tree where no one kin see yo', dat it will run yo' crazy.
(How do you put it up in the tree?)
Nail it up wit a tack. (What else did you say they do with the picture?) Or eithah take it an' put it in run- nin' watah. Or eithah take some of yore watah an' po' it in some runnin' watah, an' run yo' crazy.
(They put your photograph in running Water and that will run you crazy.)
Entry 8461
Well, dey say dat if yo' kin git a person pichure, say if it's a woman an' she has not been faithful tuh 'er husban', or if she's, yo' undahstan', goin' wit some othah man, an' he kin take her photograph down tuh some bubblin' spring befo' sun- rise an' stay dere until it's light enough fo' him tuh see de reflection of dat pichure in dat stream, in dat bubblin' stream. Why do dat three diff'ren' mawnin'. An' some says nine diff'ren' mawnin's. Now ah don' know de truth of it. Ah'm jes' tellin' de truth but dat's whut dey say, dat dat woman would event'ly [eventually] turn 'er face back tuh dat man.
(You say you hold that picture over the water?)
Ovah de watah, ovah a bubblin' spring. It gotta be where de spring is, don' chew know. Yo' go befo' sunrise an' stay dere until it's light enough tuh see de reflection of dat pichure in dat stream, yo' see. [This is undoubtedly a divination rite, a part of which informant has forgotten. Any suggestion on my part would have been a suggested answer. What the reflection revealed can be guessed. If the reflection showed a woman, she was faithful to her husband; if a man, unfaithful. The bubblin' spring of course complicated the answer!]
Entry 9275
[For more house-and-egg rites, see margin title DooR in this section.]
Dey say if yo' got somebody in de house an' yo' do wan'a [want to] see dat some- body in de house, well yo' git yore- self a fresh egg - a thoroughly fresh egg: An' yo' take dat egg an' jes' slam it against de house, an' go on about chure business. An' jes' soon as yo' go, dat same somebody, who yo' Wanta see in dat house, is comin' where yo' is.
(The person who is in that house is coming to where you are?)
Yes, sir, if dere's a woman dere an' yo' wanna see dat woman, why all yo' gotta do, take dat fresh egg an' smash it right against de house. An' she gon'a come zactly where yo' is, or if she can't find yo', she will inquire until she do.
Entry 9450
Take some table salt an' yo' wrop it up in a little piece of white rag, an' tie it up an' tote it in yore pocket. An' aftah yo' tote it in yore pocket, yo' take a little bit in yore han' an' jes' rub it right lak dat [demonstrates]. An' rub it all ovah yore haid an' face an' all lak dat.
(Over your hands?)
Yes sir, an' aftah yo' done rub it all in yore han's, jes' go [to the boss] an' he'll look out fo' yo'. Prob'ly yo' don' git de job tuhday, prob'ly not tuhmahrah, but befo' dat week or so out he'll give yo' sompin tuh do.
Entry 9627
If yo' goin' tuh git a job, git up in de mawnin', or even if de sto's now open tuhnight, git chew a package of cookin' salt. Open dat salt. Po' some salt in de cornah of a large han'- kerch'ef. Yo' put red peppah in dere an' sulphuh, an' yo' tie it up. Put it In yore right pocket an' go [to see boss]. An' if de man don' hire yo' dat day, dey'll tell yo' tuh come [back], an' de nex' time yo' go back yo' git a job.
Entry 9673
If yo' wan'a a job, yo' don' wan'a eat no breakfus'. Jis' put a red onion in yuh pocket wit yuh salt, mos'ly in de right pocket. Keep it in a rag. An' go tuh a man fo' a job. Yo always be dere befo' he do.
Entry 12174
It is said that if two people are riding horses and one person sees a ghost and the other person can't see it, if he
[second person] lies down on the horse's back and looks between his [horse's]
ears, he can see the ghost the other person seen. [Fredericksburg, No.35 by Ediphone.]
Entry 12232
Git you White John de Conkah root - piece of white - piece of white root and it's hard. [Only time I ever heard of white!] You take a knife or hatchet or somepin and cut it. And you put it in your mouth and whilst you goin' round to dose person where you wants a job, you talk to 'um, but you kinda spit real fine and let it get on dere clothes.
(Spit?)
Yes.
[I turn off recording machine but soon restart it.]
(To help you with this, to get that job, you get some lodestone.)
Get some lodestone. You get dat lodestone and put it in de red flannel and you ties it up with a ten cent piece [a silver dime] and needle point. When [then] you wear dat in de pocket separate from anything where no tobacco or noth- in' kin git with it, if you have to make you a little pocket [bag] you just wear it with dat, and you - de person you go to 'em and talk to 'em with dat, why you'll finally draw dere attention and you'll get de job.
Entry 12303
Ah'll take an' go tuh Krese [Kresge] an' git me a brand-new knife.
(You told her?)
Yes, an' git me a lemon an' cut de lemon up in fine pieces, jes' as many tuh eat. Start off walkin', git off, an' don't pay no attention an' chunk dem lemon seed in behin' 'em. Take dat brand-new knife an bury it under her front do'step: "De Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost, ah hope ah nevah see yo' any mo'." (She wanted to get rid of him and she came and asked you how to do it?) Yes.
(She hid that under her own step?)
Yes.
Entry 13431
Jes' lak yo' may have people in New York or othah foreign distance place, an' yo' want 'em tuh come home or yo' want tuh see 'em. Yo' take a clean watah glass an' yo' full dat glass wit watah an' yo' take dat, glass right be- hin' de lamp - see. Dat lamp should be shaded very plain - no flowah or nuthin', jes' a plain white shade, yo' know, a plain glass. Jes' have it clean. Yo' know, sterilize it so yo' kin see through it. An' have dat glass full of watah, an' yore lamp shade is clean so yo' kin see through dat. Den yo' take a lookin' glass an' put behin' dat watah, understan'. An' yo' jes' always say, "Come home." Call dem by dere name, 'Come home, come home. Ah vants tuh see yo', ah wants tuh see yo'." An' dey'll appeah right in dat watah behin' dat lookin' glass. Ah'm tellin' yo' dem things, ah've done it mahself.
(The lamp is lighted?)
Yessuh, gotta be light. An' do it midnight in de night.