Subject:Steal
Entries
Entry 784
This was in 1863 - mah huncle [uncle] was a slave an' his mastah name Was Miller, an' he made out he was a fortune-tellah only to keep from goin' tuh de field tuh work. (Where did this happen?) Dis happened in No'th Ca'lina. An' he made out he was a fortune-tellah in order to make good wit his boss, that he wouldn't have to work so hard. He says, "Mastah, I kin tell fortunes." He's bluffin' - couldn't tell nuthin. So one day his mistress was out washin' her hands an' she had a di'mond ring prob'bly not as expensive that day as it is now, in '63. She pulled it off an she laid [it] on de side of de washbo'd while she was washin' her hands. An' Bias [Tobias] come along - dat was mah mothah's brothah. He picks up de ring an' goes in de kitchen an' mix up some wheat dough right quick an' he bobbled it up in dere somepin de size of a marble of a middleman - dey used to have middle- men fo' marbles. An' she said dey had about fifteen or twenty turkeys an' he takes it out to a certain gobbler. Dey had several gobblers but he knew the gobbler - he had a beard hangin' down his breast an' de gobbler swallowed it, gobbled it up. Dat evening - afternoon, mah mother said, dey called Bias, says, "Now, Bias, you sich a" - he spoke a oath. Shall I speak that?
(Yes.)
She say he spoke a oath, he says, "You sich a damn good maker of wisdom, tell me whare mah wife's ring went dis mawnin'." Bias says, "Mastah, yo' have tuh give me a little time tuh study." He says, "She had it heah in de house an' she's lost it somewhare. Now, you make out you kin tell me that." Says, "The war's prob'bly fixed to go on. If sich a thing gon'a be done, you prob 'bly be de loser an' you may not, but if you tell me this definitely, ah'll make it very easy on you - ah'll put chew overseah ovah de othahs." "Mastah," he says, "ah'll tell you." He says, "When you gon'a feed dese turkeys?" He say, "Ah ain't got nuthin do wit turkeys; tell me whare mah wife's ring is." See, he was hot, de mistress was cryin'. She [informant's mother] said he went on den an' he tole 'em tuh call 'em up den. He call 'em up tuh feed 'em an' he fed 'em, an' he says, "Mastah he says, "you kill dat gobblah thare." Dey didn't know nuthin dat he done dat himself. Says, "Look heah, kill him fo' what?" He says, "You kill dat gobblah," says, "ah wanta bring dat ring back." Says, "Whut de gobblah got'a do wit dat?" 'If ah kill dis gobblah ah'm gon'a buckle you across dat barrel an' give you a gen'ral whupping. So, dey caught de gobblah. Soon as dey killed 'im - when dey cleaned 'im an' cut his craw dey found de ring. An' his mastah went all about ovah de country, tole ev'ry man, says, "Ah've got a niggah on mah place dat knows something." An' he jes' jumped up and down an' gave 'im a very easy job, but he was awful to pick. up things hisself - he was a great thief hisself, you know, tuh steal, an' so he didn't be hard on him.
(Your uncle was supposed to have done it in Cleveland County, North Carolina.)
[I occasionally found this practice among white informants in Adams County, Illinois - a person telling a folktale would identify the chief actor as a member of the family. Sometimes this was a story; other times the informant as a child had heard the tale so often he actually believed it belonged to the family.l [At the time of collecting I must have known what the marble of a middleman was or he explained while machine was off.]
Entry 1987
It's lodestone, a white lodestone - yo' fix that with a piece of stolen garlic. Lak if yo' wanted this thing fixed fo' yo', yo' would steal the garlic - not ask anybody fo' it, steal the garlic without dem seein' yo', an' yo' place this white lodestone with a ten-cent piece an' dis piece of stolen garlic into a red flannel an' yo' sew it up real tight an' every nine days yo' dress [feed] this thing with whut dey call van-van oil. That supposed tuh bring yo' special luck.
(What kind of luck?)
Well, such as yo' - yo' supposed to do things an' come out of 'em clear. An' in yore dealings from person tuh person, yo' supposed to git results. Dey are supposed to pay special attention to yo'. It should be jis' de gen'ral run of all yore luck - fo' luck in de gen'ral run.
Entry 2945
Use de straw jis' fo' de haid business. Jis' lak ah wus tellin' yo' when a person's haid is all upsetted, dey jis' didn't know whut tuh do. Ah've heard dey'll go tuh work an' dey'll go to a store or to yore place an' if dey see a new broom, dey'll take a straw outa dat new broom an' dey'll put it in dey haid an' dey'll use three words, "In de Name of de Father, de Son an' de Holy Ghost." Dey'll put dat - dat's tuh ease dey haid. Some of 'em will ease dey haid wit dat straw.
(Just one straw?)
One straw, and dey'll stick it up in de top of dey haid. Yo'll say three saints' words, see. Dat'll give it easement but it'll nevah stop. [This informant's belief is more hopeless than the preceding rite. There the candle would go out if you did not deserve it, here your headache (caused by a candle burning or burnt against you) can never be cured.]
Entry 3345
Now, heah's anothah one. Now if yo' have a girl. It quite jes' nat- chel [natural], lak some of our menfolks dey have wimmin dat dey really love, yo' see de idea. An' we don' want anyone else tuh be wit 'em, yo' see. Well, now, yo' kin go tuh work an' yo' kin take a little simple thin' in yore home, dey calls a dishcloth. Someone calls it dishtowel - some folkses, yo' see. Well, yo' go tuh work an yo' steal dat. Yo' see, when yo' goes tuh work an' steal dat, yo' goes tuh work an' yo' puts it somewhere, put it away an' let it dry. Den say, tonight yo goin' out tuh have a date. Well, yo' see, quite natchel, some use pocket han'- cheffs yo' see, an' so fo'th, but yo' have yorn. She say, "Ah got a han'cheff." Yo' say, "No, ah have a largah han'cheff den yo' got, ' yo' see. Well, yo' take dat an' in de place of she wipin', yo' see, yo' goes tuh work yo' see an' yo' take dat an' yo' wipe yoreself - yo' wipe her yo' see. An' in wipin' her, DON' NEVAH WIPE HER DOWN - WIPE HER UP AN' CROSS 'ER. [The wiping makes the sign of the cross!] Yo' see whut ah'm talkin' about? An' den aftah yo' do's dat, yo' take it an' ball it. Don' chew wipe yoreself wit it. Chew take it an' ball it an' put it away. Next day - mawnin' befo' sun up, yo' make tuh de forsest an yo' fin' a pine tree. Drive yo' a nail into de pine tree lak dat on de sunrise side. Den yo' let it hang dere fo' nine mawnin's. Hang it so de wind can't blow it off yo' know. Let it hang dere fo' nine mawnin's. Den yo' go back, an when yo' go back dere, yo' dig a hole jes' about dat deep, yo' see [demonstrates].
(About as deep as your hand?)
Dat's right, about wrist deep, as yo' said. An' yo' take a stick an' knock it off, yo' see. [IT WOULD BE DANGEROUS TO TOUCH IT.] When yo' knock it off, yo' let it fall in dat nole, yo' see, an' den aftah yo' let it fall in dat hole, yo' cover it up an' walk right straight away. An' if yo' top 'er, yo' gotta pay somebody tuh loosen 'er.
Entry 3361
Ah've heard now - not dat ah know. Say when a man runnin' aftah a woman an' if yo' wanted tuh break 'im up from it, say git chew a snail or adish- rag, ary [either] one, an' rub dis snail on de dish- rag an' when he have connection wit 'er, gib 'im dat rag - steal de dishrag - an have him wipe, straighten hisself down wit it dat way. Wipe himself aftah he git through wit 'er. An' dey say he can't have no connection wit nobody but 'er.
Entry 3375
[The following margin titles could also have been indexed later under subsubdivision KNOTS AND TYING, but they logically belong here.] Yo' say, now, to influence a person - yo' wouldn't want dis person to leave, or dis person would go away an' yo' want dis person to come back. Say, now fo instance, yo' were mah husban' an' have decided prob'bly dat yo' didn't want me. I say, "Well, yo' an' I come back home an' stay - anything. Yo' prob'bly say, "No, I don't want chew." Well, now, ah go to a neighbor's house unaware - when de neighbor steps out. I go in de neighbor's house and steal 'er dishrag. I let dis dishrag dry. Well, den when yo' come back ag'in, if yo' do come back - well, yo' said yo' don't want me or anything. Well, sup- pose I ask yo' to do me a favor. Yo' come in an' I let chew be wit me, yo' see.
(The last time. I understand.)
Well, now, I use dis towel [dishrag as a towel].
(On yourself or on him?)
[I evidently was not too keen about being the guinea pig!]
On mahself aftah yo' do what chew do. But ah don't do anythin'. Well, I take dis an' even wet it an' let it dry, an' den I take dis an' bring it ovah lak dis [demonstrates]. I tie a knot in dis an' ah pull dis tuh me, yo' see [demon- strates].
(YOU TIE THE KNOT TOWARD YOU.)
Yes, an' den ah say, "Now, ah want chew to stay wit me always, an' should ah be no mo' service to yo', no one evah will." Ah twist dis. Ah tear a place in ah pillah an' ah put dis in de pillah, an' ah sew dat up. An' ah put dat on de side dat yo' sleep on when yo' are dere, if yo' are not dere. It is a positive fact dat yo' will nevah be able to be yoreself.
(With any other woman.)
Not wit - whenevah yo' start, yo' might have a desire, but jes' at dat pah- tic'lah time when yo' get to [approach] dat person, yo' will fail. BUT DAT IS NO JOKE. (I've heard about the dishrag, but you are telling me something that is a different version of it.)
Entry 3377
Well, jes' lak yo' has a husban' an' yo' don' wan' 'im tuh make no co'se [intercourse] wit no othah woman, yo' go somewhere an' yo' steal a dish- rag - doesn't use yore own dishrag, yo' steal some othah woman's dishrag. An' why latah in de night when yo' wit 'i, make lak [pretend] yo' also wit 'im an' yore not. See, yo' git yores an' not his'n. Well, yo' take yo' a piece of money an' tie it up in a rag an' yo' wipe 'im off wit dat same dishrag. Well, ah would tote it an' ah wouldn't throw it away. An' he couldn't have no othah woman den but chew [me].
(You say he doesn't wipe with that rag at all?)
No sir. Yo' wipe him, see. Yo' don't wipe yores atall. He won't undahstan' whut chure doin', see. Yo' don't make connection wit 'i - may pertend yo' do's. (And you put a piece of money in that rag and TIE IT UP IN A CORNER. WHY DO YOU PUT THAT MONEY IN THAT RAG?) Yes - well, de rag will keep him down. See, dat's money, an' dat makes yo' git de money.
Entry 3387
Den again, if a woman got chew so dat yo' can't have nobody else an' don't want chew tuh have nobody else, yo' go tuh somebody's house an' steal a dishrag; dat, if it mean ah can't have nobody else, if ah can't have no one but one woman. Ah would go to a person house an' steal a dish- rag, where dey be washin' dishes [the rag must be damp], an' ah'd take dat dishrag, an' wash mahself off good for nine mawnin's. Dat will make mah courage come back to me.
Entry 3388
Jis' like if I come here to dis lady's house an' steal 'er dishcloth, an' take it back home an' wash dat dishcloth out so dey won't be no fat on it [to] make the man suspicious]. Den, yo' see, use it ovahnight on 'im. Yo' got to use it for nine nights, or use it nine times - it's all right. Den take it an' put it into a pan of grease an' fry it. Take de cloth an' ball it up an' put it into a can where it'll stay hot - yo' know, not let it git cold - an' go an' bury dat can. An' he cain't leave dat house to save his life. A man ain't gon'a leave home. An' when he do go, he can't have nopleasure.
Entry 3395
Ah've tried dat mahsel', ah've 'sperience dat. Go tuh anybody's house, ah don' care who 'tis, an' take dere dishrag whut dey wash dere dishes dt, an take it nine times. Jes' take it lak dis an' rub it right up lak dat nine times. Don' rub it down, take an' rub it up nine times an' put it [dishrag] right back in dat same place. [I need not say, except to the dirty-minded, that informant when demonstrating was holding an imaginary dishrag in one hand and using it on his other hand.] (After you do that, you take the dishrag and bring it back to the house where you stole it?) Jes' where yo' pick it up at, take it an' put it right back in dat same place. Ah've did dat.
(That will bring back the fellow's courage.)
Entry 3407
It wuz man an' wife had a fuss, dey said, an' 'is wife, she wuz a woman dat liked to run aroun' a lot yo' undahstan' wit othah men. An' he went to a fortunetellah an' see whut - yo' know, how he could stop her from runnin' aroun' wit so many men. So she tole him, she said, "Yo' steal a dishrag. Steal one from someone else, not 'is own - jes' like yo' steal anythin' else. So he steals a dishrag. An' she tole 'im, she said, "At night when yo' go to bed wit 'er, befo' yo' intahco'se wit 'er yo'self, " she say, "yo' play wit 'er an' take a part of de rag - jis' tear it off - an' rub it aroun' in dere, an' den put it in a bottle an' stop it up wit some of 'er watah, not yore own. She said, "Dat night when yo' go to her, ' she said, "don't use [put] yore watah in dere [chamberpot] - yo see, don't mix it [yours with hers]. An' den take hern [her water] an' put it in a bottle wit diz [this] rag. Yo' stop it up an' put it in de rivah. No othah man could have a chance to have intahco'se wit 'er. Soon as he git to de place, he'll jis' drop right down."
Entry 3433
Well, jes' lak yo' Want - if yore wife is a run-aroun' woman an' yo' Wanta ketch 'er wit someone, an' she all de time tellin' yo' dat she don't do dat.[ Well, all yo' gotta do is git yo' a dog - steal de dog an' carry 'im off an' kill 'im, see, an' git 'is livah. An' den when yo' git de livah, yo' jes' go on an' buy yo' a dime or so of de othah livah, yo' know, an' mix in it an' carry it to her dat night, dat aftahnoon, an' tell 'er to cook it fer supper, "I be home fer SUppah." See. AN' DEN SHE GO ON AN' COOKS IT. WELL, IT'S A KNOWN FACT DAT SHE BE WAITIN', WAITIN', WAITIN', AN' DON'T SEE YO' COMIN', SHE GOIN' GIT MAD AN' EAT HERS, yo' undahstan'. She goin' eat part of 'ers an- MAYBE IF SHE DON'T, WHENEVAH YO' COME IN, YO' JES' MAKE OUT LAK YO' GOT A PAIN IN DE STOMICK or yo' sick OR YO' DON'T FEEL LAK NUTHIN, yo' see. An' den she'll go on an' eat 'ers. See, an' 24 hours aftah she eat 'ers, why de nex' day or so if she go off, any time dat Week, any tIme - CO'SE YO' CAN'T EVEN HAVE NUTHIN TO DO WIT HER, see. [For other examples of this belief see Nos.3425 and 3431.] If she go out why yo'll find it out. See, yo' undahstan', she goin' git stuck. See, dat dog's livah make her, when she have connection wit de othah man, dat will draw de both of 'em togethah. Dey can't git away. See, he'll swell up an' she would too.
Entry 3708
The follow- ing informant gives 4 separate cures:] Dey say yo' kin take in measurin' a man - well now, in yore husban', if yo' don't want 'im tuh fool wit somebody, why yo' could take an' measure him when he's sleep, if yo' git a chance. Or eithah, yo' fix 'im to pay no 'tenshun - have connection wit 'im fo' a chance tuh measure 'im wit a piece of cord string, dis little cord string dat come off a wrappin'. An' take an' measure 'im wit dat - jes' de length of it. An' den yo' kin take an' tie nine knots in it, an' yo' kin wear it in yore shoe, or if yo' kin, put it down undah de innah sole of yore shoe, an' he can't have anythin' tuh do wit anybody else. Den yo' kin take a piece of new homespun. Jes' lak yo' be playin' an' yo' have a piece of new homespun about de bed, or sompin yo' wus sewin', an' dey kin use dat aftah dey git through. Put it undah yore mattress an' double it up in a piece of papah an' put it undah yore mattress an' he ain't goin' bothah 'bout anyone. An' den if a person gits where dey kin't bothah wit anybody an' wants it taken off dem, dey kin go an' steal a dishcloth - steal someone's dishcloth. An' if dey got greasy dishwatah dere, dey jis' skim off dat grease wit dat dishcloth an' squeeze it up in dere. An' den yo' kin take dat dishcloth an' use it an' wash it off yoreself an' dat will kill it out. An' den yo' kin take an' git some cedar - these cedar leaves. Don't chew know, yo've seen dese cedars in de cemetery. An' take sulphur an' sprinkle it ovah dem, an' put a little fiah undah it, an' yo' kin kinda stand ovah dat an' let dat smoke go ovah yo', an' dat'll kill it. (That will kill it, if his nature has been taken away from him - restore his nature. But you don't have to get that cedar from the cemetery, you can get it any place?) Yes, anywhere. Yo' ain't gotta git it from de cemetery. [Yet, informant prefers graveyard.]
Entry 3725
For manhood weakness, well dat female takes advantage.
(How do you mean they take advantage?)
In dey transport demselves an' invite him to have action wit dem an' dey ketch de stuff an' store it away, see. Might take it in a cloth an' let 'im - maybe he lay down on it, sleep on it. Well, I'll advise him to go an' steal from 'is own - from 'is home a ole dishrag, yo' know, such a common thing, wipe hisself nine times or nine nawnin's dataway and dataway [demonstrates]. (Nine times each morning he wipes down and wipes across his... Nine times down this. Each and across, or?) No, nine times. See, fer nine mornings nine times, see; but heah yo' go.
[Demonstrates.]
(I see, make the cross.)
Yes, dat's one time - jes' count it as one, see.
(In other words, you make a cross nine times?)
Yeah, nine mawnin's an' each nine mawnin's. Yo' do dis each mawnin'.
(What else does he do then?)
Dat restores 'is manhood, yeah. Dat wipes it away. An' den, when yo' git on dat, den yo' takes de ole rag an' yo' supposed to do away wit it. Dat mostly come from de female sex, see.
Entry 3735
Whenevah she heah of 'im makin' love [elsewhere], she wipe 'im down wit a dishrag, an' he cain't bother with nobody but her. (If he's been tricked, if he's been tied up with this dishrag. Now what can he do to get rid of it, you say?) Steal a dishrag from anothah house. He wipe himself up dataway. See, she wipes 'im down, an' he wipes 'isself up dataway.
Entry 3737
Well, yo' wit wimmin folks an' can't - can't even, yo' know - yo' ain't even got no nature. Well, it's some othah wumman workin' dat fo' yo'. Yo' take a man dat runnin' roun' all de time, see wit dis wumman an' dat wumman. Well, it's some wumman gonna mess wit im some way or 'nother. Well, jes' lak dis othah wumman is workin' on 'im. well yo' take an' go tuh anybody's house an' steal a dishrag an' wipe off wit it. Wipe yo'self down, see. Well yo' go on out den an' yo' take it in yore left hand an' chunk it ovah yore left shouldah an' don't look back at it, an' dat'll break dat up.
Entry 3738
A man kin take an' kin slip a dishrag outa de kitchen an' wipe hisself down wit dat dishrag, out some place to hisself, an' throw it back lak dat [dem- onstrates] [over his shoulder] an' don' look back at it. Den yore nature will come back.
Entry 3739
An' den anothah way yo' could stop 'er again. It jes' lak if yo' an' 'er combine togethah, an' yo' ca'd [cared] anything about 'er. Well, yo' may all git through. De minute yo' git through wit de intahco'se, yo' undahstan' what I mean, jes' take it an' go to anybody house an' steal a dishrag. See, a dishrag. See, a dishrag dat dey would argue 'bout - wondah who de dishrag an' so on. Yo' undahstan' what I mean. Well yo' take dat an' yo' let it dry if it's wet, de one dat dey wash de dishes wit. An' when dey all have intahco'se, yo' take an' jes' slip dat on here, yo' undah- stan' an' let 'er wipe wit dat, see. An' when she use dat, why den yo' take an' throw it across de left side of 'er, see. Yo' know, make out lak yo' use it an when yo' gits through, throw it ovah on de left side, on de left side of 'er. An' den she nevah will have no use fo' no othah man. No othah man will suit 'er outside of yo'. (You mean you throw it over on the left side of her on the bed or on the floor or what?) Right ovah de bed on de floor, on de left side of 'er. [Charleston, S. Car.,
(525 to 530), 638:2+85.]
Entry 3740
Yo' kin steal a dishrag an' wipe on dat dishrag an' throw dat dishrag away an' dat'll take his nature until yo' git dat dishrag back.
(The woman would wipe the man with that?) Yessuh, on de dishrag. (If he wants his nature back he has to find the dishrag, you say?)
[My question shows that I have stopped recording machine and am merely repeating what informant has said during stoppage.] Yassuh, but chew throw dis dishrag where yo' kin find it if he [you] want 'is nature back. If he [you] jis' don' want 'is nature back, jis' throw it anywhere. If yo' nevah git dat dishrag, his nature will nevah come back.
(Well, if he gets it back, then what?)
Well, he be jis' lak he always been, if he git 'is nature back.
Entry 3741
"Cuz ah have tried it. Dey tells me dat chew kin take de cloth - yo' kin have connections wit a woman or couldn't have it. If yo' couldn't have it, jes' couldn't have - jes' got limp, couldn't do any- thing. Well, yo' take a dishrag, stole it - even from your wife or from someone else, an' wipe wit it. Wash wit it an' throw it in runnin' watah.
(What will that do?)
Dat will raise yore nachure.
(Bring it back?)
Yes.
Entry 3744
She best tuh [has to] fold it three time once and set there - set de iron on it fer thirty minutes an' fold it three times ag'in an' set de iron on it fer thirty minutes an' den she take it off. (What can I do to take that spell off? What can I do to get rid of that?) Yo' know what yo' have to do? It's been on me, see. Ah'm tellin' yo' what ah knows about it. Ah went to a root man an' ah paid 'im plenty an' he tole me what to do. To take it [spell of sexual impotence] off from yuh, yuh go tuh somebody house - jes' lak yore frien's - tell 'em yuh want a drink of watah. If he trust yuh, yuh go on in de kitchen an' yuh look aroun' until yuh see a dishrag. Steal dat dishrag an' yuh go on out somewhere in de night aftah sundown, an' wipe yuh- self up three times lak dat. See, up - three times up. An' take it an' go tuh somebody's house, an' hide it up undah de sill of 'is house. Dat'll break it.
Entry 3745
Yo' takes a dishrag. Go tuh anybody's home an' de dishrag is hangin' lak dey use it dis morning, yo' go tuh dere 'long 'bout now so hit's damp. Yo' steal de dishrag. Don't ask fo' it jes' steal it. An' go out tuh de way de sun rise an' turn yore face, turn yore face dat way [to east], turn yore back sunset, an' yo' takes an' yo' wipes three times straight down wit de dishrag, den across jes' lak dat [dem- onstrates].
(That will cross it out.)
[Informant's words down and then across, and my words cross it out, show in- formant makes sign of cross 3 times.l Across yore stomic.
(Oh, cross your stomach. From left to right or right to left?)
Bring it from de left tuh de right. An' yo' fold it tight, take it in yore lef' han' an' throw it ovah yore head an' go straight, don't look back. Go two blocks or mo' straight. Don't look back, jes' keep straight walkin'. Don' say nuthin to nobody. It's purtty hard tuh do 'cuz yo' might meet somebody, but place yo'self in a place whah yo' won't have tuh even speak tuh nobody. An co'se whatsomevah she got on yo' crossed up, she gotta redo it ag'in. But dat'll uncross yuh.
Entry 3747
(How could he get rid of that condition?)
De onliest thing dat I heered talk of dat, dat dey could do wit dat, is dat he'd have to steal. He'd have to steal de dishrag - git him a greasy dishrag, but he'd have to steal it. Steal de greasy dishrag. An' he'd have to wash 'is belly in greasy dishwatah, de watah dat she used, fo' about nine mornings, see, to wash dat off. Dat's de only way dat he could git dat out of de skin. (What do you mean by saying he'd have to get the greasy dishwater? What do you mean by that?) Dat's de watah dat yo' wash dishes wit.
(Well, does he use that water?)
Yes, sir, de watah dat she used. Git de watah dat she used. Well, dat's de watah dat she would have to use to git dat off of 'er. (Oh, I see. He wouldn't have to do anything - use this dishwater. He doesn't need that. He'd use the dishrag.) Yes, sir. Dat's all he'd have to do, jis' use dat dishrag - jis' keep dat dishrag. Take dat dishrag an' carry it off somewhere an' when he git ready to use it, why he don't have to do nuthin but dampen it in dat dishwater.
(Did he take the dishwater, too?)
Yes, he take dat dishwatah an' put it in a can or somepin othah, an' put it in a place where he kin go, where dere ain't nobody won't know it, yo' lmov, an keep it.
(He must get the dishwater that she has used?)
Yes, sir. An' when he git ready to use it, an' dis dishrag be dry, he would- n't do nuthin but soak it in dere, yo' know, an' take it out an' wash 'imself. Carry it an' put it back up until he git rid of dat.
Entry 3748
Ah know dis heah. If yo' think yo' got a woman an' she's indiff'ren', yo' take her wit dat snail. An' at night when yo' happen tuh be foolin' aroun', handlin' ovah 'er, yo' press dat snail ovah 'er, grease dat snail ovah 'er, an' den de nex' man - if she has othah ones about 'er, when he go tuh 'er, he can't git up no 'rection [erection], yo' see. Hit'll fall evah time. An' de onliest way now - now here's where tuh conkah 'it. When he finds out dat he can't have no intahco'se wit 'er, he'd steal a dishrag. He steal a dishrag from some wumman, somebody's place, an' bathe hisself down nine mornings - bathe hisself down nine mornings wit dat rag, an' den take it an' bury it at de do'step - dis same fellah's do'step now. An' den aftah de nine days - he bury it an' let it stay nine days. - aftah nine days he kin take 'er an' screw 'er jis' as much as he wants.
Entry 3750
Take a dishrag - jes' a dishrag. Lota women, yo' know, wipe de rag off - take dat rag an' dry him off 'erself wit dat dishrag. An' when he go to go wit anothah woman, it will fall on 'im evah time. Well, de same thing work one way an' it will work de othah. He take - if he feel dat she did 'im dataway, why he take a dishrag ag'in - yo' know he must steal one from somebody, or eithah if he got a home of 'is own, he kin take de dishrag outa his house, an' wash 'isself down wit it. An' take pure coal oil an' rub 'isself down, an' sweet milk. aftah dat - fresh sweet milk. It's all gone.
Entry 3752
This boy was goin' with a girl and this girl was very much in love with this boy, and she thought he was in love with someone else. And she didn't want him to be in love with anyone else, and so she decided to fix him so that he couldn't have anything to do with anyone else excepting her. Well one day - one night, that they were hav- ing intercourse with each other, she done away with the cloth that they had used. And this boy was [became] impopetent [impotent]. And so he didn't know what the trouble. He went to a doctor [M.D.]. The doctor told him it was in his back. Finally, one day he met a boy, and the boy told him what was the matter; and told him to use an onion and split it in half, and use it on each side of him. And take and steal a dishcloth. (How would he use the onion on each side of him? Oh, I see. I understand. Yes, I know. All right, go ahead.) [A half of the onion is bound on each side of his penis. "It is not stated on the Telediphone cylinder that the dishcloth served as a bandage, but I tran- scribed the cylinder soon after it was recorded and remember this detail" Ori- ginal pencil note made at the time of transcription and now in original Ms.] And steal a dishcloth from a neighbor, a kitchen, but do not let the neighbor know it. He did as the boy instructed and finally he got all right. But it took three months before he was cured. [After the rite was recorded, informant explained: "It didn't happen here but it didn't happen far from here about one year ago, " 1936.]
Entry 3753
Dere wuz boy, he wuz goin' wit a girl, an' he went wit anothah girl an' she [first girl] caught up wit it. An' so de nex' time she [first girl] had intahco'se wit 'im she took dis - his discharge, stopped it up in a bottle wit de han'ke'chuf [used in wiping]. An' de nex' time he tried to make an' have intah- co'se wit someone else he couldn't. So he went to de doctor [M.D.] an' de doctor tole him he didn't know why it is. So he went to a root doctor, an' de doctor tole him to git one onion an' cut it in half an' rub it - take one half in each hand an' rub it [penis] down, keep on rubbin' it down till he got wet wit de juice off de onion; an' den, steal someone's dishcloth an' wipe it, an' throw it ovah 'is left shouldah, an' he'd be all right.
Entry 5839
Dey tell me dat chew kin take a chicken egg an' yo' know break it. Put it in a glass. Be keerful [careful] an' don't let de yoke git broken. An' if anybody should take a plat of hair out of yore head, you'd put it [egg in glass] undahneat' yore haid an' in a couple of days dey'll draw dat hair in dat glass. (If someone has taken some of your hair and you want to get it back, that is what you do. This hair will rise in the glass.) Yes, dat's what dey tole me.
Entry 7955
Like if someone stole sompin from yo', why yo' kin go tuh dat fig tree. Yo' have tuh git nails outa a casket an' drive three nails in de fig tree. An' while yo' drivin' 'em in dere, co'se yo' gotta be trimmin' de fig tree limb an' callin' de person's name; see, de one dat done dat. An' in dem nine days dat person who done stole sompin from yo', dey'll done try tuh git it back tuh yo' 'fore den.
Entry 8738
Take dat photograph of dis individual. Den yo' want peace, yo' wants love, Wants happiness. Yo' take dat photograph but chew gotta steal it. Don't let no one give it tuh yo', yo' steal it, or else let someone else git it fo' yo', if yo' wants peace or wants dat individual. Yo' write his name three times on it. An' keep it in yore pillah an' turn it down on.its face. An' it will be peace dere tuh yo', if it's yore sweetheart or yore wife; or whoevah it is, whoevah he may be.
Entry 8907
If somebody take anythin' from yo' - they come in yore home an' take somepin - yo' get yo' some dragon's blood. It's a stick [it comes in the form of a stick], a dragon's blood. Yo' get yo' some quicksilvah an' yo' beat dat dragon's blood up into a powdah. An' if yo' know de person, who dat is dat stole it from yo', an' [you take] dat quicksilvah. Wheresomevah dey live, yo' go to dere home an' try to get it undahneath de door - get into dere room. If yo' can't get into dere room, yo' try to put it on de step, but yo' have to get watah or somepin an' scrub it, get dat dragon's blood on dat step. Dat's goin' to drag dem wit what dey brought from yo' back. [The drag in dragon's blood makes thief drag stolen goods back!] But yo' gotta get dere name an' yore name, an' write yore name undah de bottom of deres an' dere name on top cause dey goin' to drag what dey brought from yo' back to yo'. [The magic of their name on top is not too clear!] See.
(Well, where do you put that name?)
Yo' take dat name an' place it undah dere steps - undah dere steps into de mud wide open - into de mud. Jes' put it down dere an' jes' put de mud ovah it. An' put dragon's blood in dere, an' every time dey walk ovah dat [thief will say]: "Ah'm shore is sorry ah took dat from Mr. So-an'-so. Ah'm goin' to bring it back. Ah've got de pass [ticket where he had sold the article]. Ah've got to go where ah done sold it. Ah've gotta go get it an' bring it back." Gotta drag it back dere or dey [thief] goin' to drag like a dog.
(What did you do with that quicksilver?)
QUICKSILVER IS TO MAKE 'EM BRING IT QUICK. [This quick from quicksilver and the preceding drag from dragon's blood are good examples of magic thinking at its worst! Or best?]
(Well, what did you do with that quicksilver?)
It's in a runnin' form but yo' gotta ketch it quick an' put it in dat dragon's blood. (Oh, you put it in the dragon's blood - that's what I wanted to know. That's all right.)
Entry 8918
Well, if yo' didn't know just exactly who it was who stole it. If yo' knowed, had a idea, knew that was the one that brought it back - stole it - why yo' could, but if yo' didn't know, well, I have [never] heard what yo' could do.
(Well, if you know who stole it, then what should you do?)
Well, if yo' knowed who stole it, yo' could take his name an' he'd bring it back. You could take his name nine times an' wear it - put it in your lamp, put it in a closed place. Put it in the dark. Yo' could PUT IT IN A LAMP AND SET IT IN A DARK PLACE! And when that lamp burnt down, when that oil burnt down to that name, why he'd bring it back. [To burn a small lamp for hours in a dark place, sometimes a closet, could be a fire hazard!]
Entry 8919
If yo' wanted to go some place an' yo' wanted to - yo' just get yo' some mistletoe. Yo' boil dat mistletoe an' shrimps together.
(Shrimps?)
Mistletoe and shrimps. Yo' boil dat together an' yo' put some German Hearts Perfume with dat. (German Heart's Perfume?) German Hearts Perfume. Yo' put dat with de mistletoe an' de shrimps, yo' boil all dat together, an' yo' wash yore house good an' sprinkle dat. An' yo' could go out an' leave your door open, ain't nobody comin' in dere.
(To steal anything?)
No, sir, to steal anything.
Entry 8931
I wouldn't say that would have power to bring 'em back, but I tell yo' what yo' can easily do. Yo' can do this: If a person steals somepin from yo', yo' can take three pins - three safety pins. Yo' can take three safety pins an' write that person name on there. (On what?) On a piece of plain white writing paper like - take like yo' write letter, like yo' see me do now [demonstrates]. Write that person name, three times, with three pins, an' stick 'em through their name, through that name, the three names, an' wrap it up an' wear it in your pocket, an' I'll bet yo' what- ever [money] yo' got. Yo' jis' take three ordinary safety pins of the same size an' wrap 'em through that, stick 'em through that paper an' wrap it, an' put it in your purse or your pocket an' wear it. An' I'll bet yo' them stolen things - it won't be three days before yo' find out who and where it is. If they don't bring 'em back, yo'll give 'em a chase. But yo'll get it.
Entry 8942
No - if yo' know where - if dey went in de front do', yo' jes' cut a piece off dat do' an' yo' take it an' pull off a wheel - jack up de wagon an' yo' stick dat wood in dere [on the axle] an' yo' [restore wheel and] turn it to yo' all de time. Yo' turn dat wheel to yo' an' jes' [say], "Ah demand yo' to return dis stolen goods' or sompin lak dat. Dey'll come tuh yuh, yes sir [and return goods]. But chew cut a piece from de gate or any place which dey'd be in - git chew jes' a small piece - it don't have to be so large an' yo' turn de wheel. Turns it to yuh, if yo' would have dem come to yuh, which dey more den apt.
Entry 8950
You will go to a creek where ther's water running at. You get you some of that sand out of the bottom of that creek. See, some of that white sand, and you get you some of that run- ning water, see. You brings it back home, you puts it in a clean basin. See, put that sand in the bottom of that basin. You puts that water in there. You take and you write your name on a piece of paper nine times. See. And you puts it in that water. Well, it's natural when that paper gets wet, it's going to sink under that water, you understand. That paper sinks under there and you stand up in it and you repeat the Lord's Prayer for seven times and make your wish. And whosomever got anything from you, they ain't going to rest until they bring it back.
(I see, if anybody has stolen anything?)
If anybody stole anything, it keep 'em tormented until he bring it back. (What do you mean by repeating the prayers seven times? You mean all on this one day?) Yes, sir.
(Or seven different days?)
Oh, no sir, just one time, yo' see. An' while yo' repeating that, that paper going to come back to the top of the water, you see. And when it come, it going to begin to float around, see. It float around, you see on that water. An' then you don't take it out; see, yo' leave that paper float in that water. See. And it's goin' keep him tormented until he brings that back. It going to create a fear on him, he can't rest nowhere.
(I see.) [New Orleans, La., (873), 1426:4.]
[Despite the following do-it-yourself rites about court cases, it was always advisable in serious crimes to employ the service of an expert, especially of a legendary person like Doctor Buzzard, who never appeared in court but sent an animal to do his work (pp.891-905). At an earlier date some witchcraft people could break up a trial by thunder and lightning, so it is said. Much of this court material is scattered throughout Hoodoo - see interview COURTROOM SPECIAL- IST, Pp.1423-1449, v.2; SIFTER AND SCISSORS, No.604, p.204, v.1; and especially a rite, No.9024 in this present section, one of the finest statements in Hoodoo; My amazing experience with Doctor Washington of Charleston, S. Car. He, using me as a guinea pig, explains how he could free me from the clutches of the law, if I were a bootlegger and had been arrested! This freedom he describes by asking me questions and then answering them himself - Shakespearian! Indirectly he will bribe the court through a go-between with the money I pay him in advance, keeping a part of it as his commission, and work his real magic with 2 black hens. Washington, after talking to me, had a fight with another doctor out in the court- yard of the house where I was interviewing. I refer to this fracas later while in Brunswick, Ga., after two doctors likewise had a quarrel outside the house where I interviewed (lines 5-6, 15-16, p.337, v.1). Washington, as also most other doctors, paid me the great compliment of my life, without any suggestion or pretense of mine. He and they considered me a hoodoo man from New York City! Big-city life would make me ignorant of animals that crawled or hopped or flew. Consequently he offered to help me by taking over any live-things-in-you cases coming my Way in Charleston - See DOCTOR WASHINGTON ASKS FOR DOCTOR HYATT'S "LIVE-THINGS-IN-YOU" CASES, pp.2253-2258, v.3.]
Entry 9624
Sulphah an' red peppah an' put nine teaspoonsful of salt in it, an' bary it to de back do' an' to yore front do', an' dey couldn't stay dere tuh ave dere life. Dey may stay two or three weeks but dey won' stay. (You mean in the house or around the house?) No, yo' jes' bury it right undah yore back steps. An' den go to yore front step an' bury it 'bout de same place - under de front steps. An' dey couldn't stay dere to save dere life.
Entry 10208
If there's something that you don't want taken regardless of what it is, if you don't want it taken - for an instance if you take, if you lock your house they going to break in, and you don't know how to do for to keep 'em from taking your things. Well, then, first I would go and I would get me some sassafras [roots or pieces of bark]. I'd get some sassafras and I'd get me a knife and I'd trim this sassafras, see. I'd trim it and every little piece that I'd whittle off it [demonstrates].
(Every piece that comes off, what do you do with that?)
Every piece I trim off - I'm going to trim it off until I get to nine pieces, and every time I get the nine pieces, I'd count the nine pieces. I'd get them nine pieces and I'm going to put nine pieces here [demonstrates]. I cut off until I get nine more pieces and I'm going to put that there until I get four times nine. See? Well, all right. Now, I'm going to set it on the outside of my door. That's the corner of my house and that's the corner of my house. I'm going to set nine pieces there and nine pieces there, and at the back end of my house. I'm going to set nine pieces.
(You have nine pieces in each corner of the house.)
In each corner of the house, but on the outside. Under my house, if I can get under there and get to where the fire part is - the fire-hearth part is; under the house, you know.
(You what?)
Get under the house, underneath the house and get to the fire-hearth, see.
(Oh, the chimney - the fire-hearth.)
Yes, the chimney. I take and I put me a Bible there. I put that Bible there. I puts the Bible up under that house and I puts a candle there, and I leave that candle burning, see, and I leave the Bible open. But I put a piece of something in front where nobody can't learn that candle's burning there, you see, and leave it burning there. And then I come out from under that house and I locks my door, and as I'm coming out I'm sprinkling a little sugar, you see. I sprin- kle sugar as I come out, you see, until I get at least fifty feet from my house, you see. Then I won't sprinkle no more sugar and I can go and stay from three or four days and come back. Nobody will go in that house, nobody never go in there.
(What sort of a candle do you burn on that chimney?)
I'm got a ordinary white candle. (A white candle, I see.) [Here we have a quincunx, 4 corners and a double central point - Bible and candle.] [New Orleans, La., (832), 1249:2.] [If the reader is approaching this multi-volumed HOODOO archive for the first time, he or she must be told that the present beliefs and rites about sex are perely a continuation of 167 pages of similar material published in volume 3, Nos.3ll0-3830, Pp.2341-2509; material listed in logical sequence according to the Table of Contents for volumes 5, 4 and 3. The material now following could not be so conveniently arranged, though it does have a certain amount of alpha- betical order and other continuity. I am dividing this section into two parts: (1) COMPLETE RITES and (2) CONDENSED RITES, these latter sometimes a reference oaly.]
Entry 10701
Yo' kin pray an' read Proverbs, first chapter in de second verse an' dey'll bring it back [vhatever mas stolen from you. Proverbs 1:2 is meaningless here]. Hit was a sanctified lady once, wus a girl stole her pockitbook, an' she did dat an' she brought it back to de church.
(Do you belong to the Sanctified Church?)
Yes sir.
Entry 10955
De matches, yo' take - say, fo' ninstan' [for instance] yo's goin' tuh steal some chickens tonight in dis chicken coop out heah, yo' take yo' a box of matches an' yo' wet 'em an' rub 'em in de pam of yore han' an' go on in dere. De chickens cannot holler. No sir, dat sulphur gits right to 'em an' dey can't holler atall. Yo' kin go in dere an' git 'em.
(How many matches did you take, you say?)
Jest a box, a whole box.
Entry 11201
They will spring your doors and things. (Well, how would they do that?) They'll take that - they'll go to three people's house and you can steal you some salt from three people's house, and take that cayenne pep- per and that black pepper and dirt dauber's nest and beat it together and sprinkle your door and you'll move.
(I see. And you'll move. But you only steal the salt?)
Steal the salt.
(The other things you don't take?)
No, you just steal that from somebody's house.
(Just the salt. Those other things you take from your own house?)
Yeah.
(I see. That will make you move out?)
Yes.
Entry 11230
For real good luck - real shure 'nuff good luck - yo' kin steal a dishrag outa dere house. Jes' slip [in] unbeknowst to 'em an' steal a dishrag, an' go ahead an' bury it some place way out [where houses and people are few] an' yo' git all de luck an' dey won't have any. Dey have yorn bad luck an' yo' have dere good luck.
Entry 11231
Yo' steal a person's dishrag an' hide it in de henhouse tuh make 'em move - make de person move. Jes' lak yo' didn't like me an' ah wuz in a place by yo' or sompin an' yo' didn't want me there, why yo' would steal mah dish- rag an' hide it in de henhouse 'mongst de chicken nests.
Entry 11322
Yo' kin take a knife an' go tuh a forked dogwood tree [a dogwood tree having a small branch with a fork]. Go out in de woods an' cuts yo' off a piece of dogwood, kinda lak a bow an' arrow what chew pulls back [what we used to call a rubber shooter = slingshot]. Yo' take an' puts some lye in dat an' yo' goes - dere two things yo' kin do with dat, too. Dat will bring a person tuh yo'. Yo' kin take an' put some lye right in de fo'k of dat an' put it at de right han' cornah of yore steps, stick it in dere, an' put de dirt ovah it, an' let jes' 'bout dat much of it be stickin' out. Dat is if yo' wanta bring a person back, yo' kin do dat. Now, jes' lak if sompin wuz stole from me. Ah had some money stole from me, an' ah don' know who stole it. Jes' lak if yo' lock up dis place heah an' some- body comes 'long an' steals yore money an' yo' don't know who 'tis. Why, yo' Lin take dat lye in de forked piece of dogwood an' put it at de right-han' cornah step an' covah it up, an' in three day's time dis person is goin' come up. He's not goin' tell yo' he got it, but yo' kin see he did it no quickah yo' look at him - he drop his haid. An' den yo' commence tuh askin' him questions an' he won't deny it.
Entry 11332
Don' want chew tuh mess with a dove. Anybody [everybody] crazy 'bout a dove an' ever'thin' else 'cause dey say he discovered dry land, when he went out. If dey take one of his[!] aigs or anythin' lak dat an' bust up one of his aigs, yo'll be ragged all de time.
(He discovered dry land in the Bible.)
Entry 11746
Dey say 'fore dey bury him [man from whom something Was stolen] dey can fix things to make him [thief], dey can get some graveyard dirt, take and fix it, and dey kin sew [sprinkle] it down and de person what stole, why he have to bring it back 'cause he can't hold it. Yes sir. With graveyard dirt and sulphur. Dat's it, graveyard dirt and sulphur.
(Graveyard dirt and sulphur?)
And mix it together and salt.
(And what?)
And salt, table salt. Say dey kin throw it, throw it up [into air] and put it down [do both]. And dey say dey goin' bring it back, say dey can't hold it.
(That's to bring back something that was stolen?)
Dat's it. And dey ain't comin' in de house with it. Dey goin' throw it at de steps, so you kin get up de next morning and get it. Dey can't hold it, make 'em bring it back.
Entry 12507
A man's boy had gone away from home an' been gone fo' more den two years. He wanted him home an' he couldn't get it - he couldn't git in touch with him. He bumps in- to an ole fellah [root man] an' tole him his story. He said, "Well, ah tell yo' whut chew do. Next time yo' go to a groc'ry," says, "steal yo' a red onion - don't buy it, jes' steal it, an' bring it an' give it to me." So he [father] did an' handed it to him, an' he [root man] said, "Thanks, " an' put it in his pocket. He said, "De boy will be home tomorrah." (The hoodoo doctor put the onion in his own pocket.) [This sort of comment SO frequent in HOODOO is usually a comment and not a question.] In his own pocket, an' he said he [boy] would be home tomorrah. An' sure enough de boy did come. [This sort of professional treatment - doctor does nothing - is fairly common in HOODOO.]
Entry 12508
I say onions are lucky. You take a onion and you kin make a man stay home, he won't go nowhere. (How do you do that?) Well, you take that onion, a red onion, and you carry it in your pocket all the time. You go to the store and you don't ask for it, and you don't steal it either or pick up a one - take it, you see.
(You mean, pick up an onion!)
Onion, yeah, just one onion. And you take that onion. You take a nail and you bore it through that onion, and you take his name and you just roll it long like a match and take [push] in there [the nail hole] and put it in your pocket. He can't go and he won't go, lessen [unless] now, if you don't want him to go, you kin do that. If you want him to go, well, you take the onion and you take it [the rolled-up name] out and he'll go. A red onion - not all onions, a red onion. You do that with a red onion.
Entry 13405
Well, now, fo' 'ninstan', if a thief had been to yo' home an' yo' has lost sompin from de house or dey stolen anything, yo' go an' cut chew three splinters off de do' de do' facin' or de win- dow facin' or from de vehicle or wherevah yo' lost it from. Yo' take de wagon wheel an' take de nut off it [axle] an' put dose three splinters in dere [the hub!] an' put de wheel back on, an' put de nut back on it [axle] an' den yo' turn de wheel slower. Yo' say to de thief, "Thief, thief, bring back de stolen goods," whut chew've lost from de house an'. But chew turns [wheel] gradually. Yo' call his name three times, 'Thief, thief, thief, bring back de stolen," whut chew've lost from de house, but chew still turnin' - turn slow. Don' let de wheel stop, jes' gradually turn until yo' git through talkin'. An' den on de last, yo' tell de thief, "Thief, bring back de stolen goods," dat chew have lost from de house. An' as shuah as de Virgin Mary shall not bring forth another son named Jesus, yo' shall bring back de stolen goods."