Subject:Shot
Entries
Entry 552
I've know a woman to do that.
(What?)
Take a little girl's photograph - a little grow awful fast, you see. And she disliked her and she shoved her finger at her and told her, says, "I'll keep even with your daughter" [see Bad mouth in Index]. And she go into her mother's house and it was a friend of her mother's, you see, see, that had her photo on a tintype, and she'd taken this photo and she buried it with de face down. See. And buried it with de face down but before she buried it, she got her some feathers.
(What kind of feathers?)
Turkey feathers, just turkey feathers, and she got those turkey feathers and she cross-laid those turkey feathers.
(How do you mean cross-laid them?)
Just like my hand is laying 'cross my fingers there now [demonstrates].
(Made a sort of X?)
Yes, sir.
(All right.)
And she laid those things down there, and then she covered them, see.
(Well now, what did she do - lay them in the ground with the picture on that?)
The picture on that and then she put some over de picture, and covered 'em up and she stuck one right straight up in de center of it, after she covered it, in de shape of a grave - she stuck one right straight up in the center of it.
(One of what?) [I knew what, but I want a definite statement from her.]
One of those feathers.
(I see. All right.)
Right straight up and down in de center of it. Well, the girl then, she began in the next ten days lingering. They'd taken this girl to the doctor and they'd taken the girl to the doctor. The more they d taken her to the doctor, the more doctor medicine she take, the worse she get. Finally, it was a fellow come along and told 'um - old colored fellow, he come along and told this girl's mother that she was hurt and she never would get over it. See. And told her one of her friends did it, and told her to give him a dollar and he would cure her. So she done what he told her [gave him a dollar]. So when she done that the old man set something at the door like a black cat. See. Set that thing at the door and he went to saying magic and something, calling de Lord's name, and something just fell all out of that thing just like shots, running all over dat house. [In- formant now confuses logical order by giving conclusion before final details.] And that little girl got up and she walked - she hadn't been up walking - she got up and walked and she got all right. Well, this old man then, see - and he told her, "Now, the one what hurt your daughter will be here, but she'll be here before she [daughter] get out de bed."
[The culprit would soon appear but the victim would not become well until later.]
Shore enough she [culprit] walked in, and when she walked in, her husband [not the culprit's] took a wing of a chicken, with the bone in it, and hit her right in de forehead, and when he hit her in de forehead, it got de blood from her, and he taken some of her blood and give to dis man, and dis man throwed [daughter's] spell on hog he had out in the lot [cf. healing of demoniac in Mk.5:1, Mt.8:28, Lk.8:26; see Transference in Index.]
(On a hog?)
On a hog he had out in the lot - the hog went crazy - Just runned - just hollered and just went plumb crazy.
(Where did that happen?)
That was up here at Kings - right up here at Kings' Crossing.
(I see - right near Vicksburg?)
Yassuh.
(How long ago did it happen?)
Well, that's been about four years ago. (I see. Now, what do you mean something like a black cat? Was it something alive?) No, it wasn't alive, but it was in the shape of a black cat, you see, just cloth - showed up just like a black cat, just like you got on dat black coat dere [informants frequently mentioned my black coat - see Coat, my black, in Index], but he had it in the shape of a black cat and he set it on the floor. You see.
(And something fell out of it?)
Yes sir - something come out of it just like little balls - just like little shots, and run all around over de floor.
(I see. Well, did he find this thing that was buried or not?)
This woman brought it - this woman come and brought it - she come and brought it. See.
(I mean, did he find that stuff that this woman had buried?)
That this woman had buried on the girl? Well, she come,: see. Well, she come to visit dis woman dat morning before the child get up. She had it in her hand. She had went.and took it up. See, this man had been there, you see, he made her take it up, you see. And she took it and when her husband hit her, she dropped it out of her hand.
(What did that man hit her on the forehead for? Who told him to do that?)
This man what had cured the child.
(Told him to do that?)
Yassuh.
(Use the chicken wing?)
To use the chicken wing and hit her with the bone of it, so he could get her blood so he could throw the spell on a hog. (I see. Do you know how he put the spell on the hog?) [Fortunately she does not know, the story would have been too complete.] Well, I see the hog hollering and hootin' - never see do nothin' like that.
(I see.)
Entry 4194
Dey kin put it in a vasoline bottle.
(This chamber lye.)
Yes. Dey gits nine shots - yuh know, lead shots, an' nine bran'-new needles. Yuh put one of dose shots in wit de needle down dere, de head down, wit anothah shot den, until yuh git all of dem nine in dere. An' stops it up in dere in dat vasoline bottle, an' den dey keep it straight up. Put it in a da'k [dark] closet. Dat supposed tuh hold yuh husban'.
Entry 11836
If a man git drownded or sompin like dat, why yo' kin take an' go to de rivah an' if dey draggin' fo' him an' can't find him, why yo' shoot de gun an' he'll rise tuh de top, which in dat's true. Ah see dat mahself. [This is ordinary folklore.]