Subject:Stopper
Entries
Entry 4058
[The general reader may not know that dripping is an important magic rite in folklore, the magic of various types of occurrence: continual, occa- sional, interrupted, regu- lated, etc. The best-known examples are probably the burial of an article where water from the eaves drip on it - see FACI, 1st ed. 362, p.14, rain-making rite; 847, p.34, divination of crop year; 4124, p.195, 4239, p.203, wart cures.]
(How would they do that?)
Dey jis' git aholt of some of yuh chamber lye an' put it in a bottle an' put yuh a little trench in dat bottle stoppah.
(Put a little trench in the stopper?)
Yes, sir, where it yuh know, it won' run but it'll drip. An' yuh put dat bottle in a tilted position where dat kin drip an' drip an' drip. An' yuh'll become - git tuh de place where yuh cain't har'ly do anythin', lak a man do uhen he gits fixed [hoodooed or witchcrafted] you know. An' fin'ly dat all drips out. Well, if it molts [molds] in dere an' de molt [mold] gits ovah dat hole, an' it quits drippin' an' it stops de hole up, it stops yuh urine. He don' urinate no mo', unless he gits somepin done. An' yo' know a man don' have tuh miss doin' dat long befo' he dies.
Entry 4061
Dey git holt some-a yuh chamber lye, yuh see, an' dey bur' [bury] it. Dey git holt-a yuh chamber lye an' dey put it in a bottle. Dey put somepin else Wit it. Dey put some kin'a Ceylon peppah [says my transcriber, and that is what it sounded like; but here we have a hoodoo drug store or mail-order house product - Sea Lion Pepper]. Kin'a white-liken peppah. [This pepper is white-like and the label probably shows the figure of a sea lion.] But dey have it fine. [The pepper comes ground.] Put dat [pepper] wit it. An' dey make a hole in de top of yuh chamber lye [bottle cork] an' dey turn it [bottle] upside down an' dey bury dat chamber lye. An' if yuh don' find 'at bottle of chamber lye in time an' unburies it, yuh'll die. Dis thing leaks, it will leak out. See, be leaking, but dey do make a hole in it fo' hit tuh leak. Dey bur' 'it. Dey try tuh git it tuh yuh home if dey kin. Dey'd ruthah [they had rather] fo' it tuh be tuh yuh home den be tuh dere house. An it leak out. An' WHEN DAT BE GONE, all dat chamber lye, YUH BE GONE.
[I start fishing for details.]
(What did you say they get for that, the stuff in the can - pepper?)
Be in a pasteboard box. It's white cayenne. Think tuh buy about 15c or 25c but it's kin'a high [expensive].
[Again I fish, for time, anything.]
(And when do they put this in - altogether?)
Put dat in de chamber lye.
[My third fishing trip catches a rare detail!]
(And where do you put that, then? That chamber lye, what do you put that in?)
Oh, any kin'a [bottle] - HOLY WATAH BOTTLE - if yuh leave a little bit of hole. [Use any bottle, but a holy water bottle is more convenient.] Yuh [see] DESE HOLY WATAH BOTTLE GOT DEM KIND, YUH KNOW CAPS, WHERE A LITTLE BIT OF HOLE COME OUT AN' LET IT LEAK.
Entry 4164
Yuh kin take a person chamber lye an' put it in a bottle, an' put a stoppah in it an' put it intuh a dry place, in a dark place where no air cain't hit it. An' yuh kin go to dat bottle evah day fo' nine days an' knock on dat stoppah, an' de las' day yuh hit on dat stop- pah an' drive dat stoPpah up. DAT PERSON WILL BUST OPEN.
Entry 4191
Dey say take a needle, a goldeye needle, an' stick it in de stoppah of a bottle. But yuh gotta axe dis certain somebody fo' a penny, if yuh want 'em tuh give yuh some money, see. An' take dis penny an' his hair out de top of 'is head, an' put dis hair in dat bottle an' a penny, an' use some of 'is urinate an' keep dat. Stick nine goldeye needles in dat stoppah, an' dat'll make 'e [= he = him] give yuh money. But yuh gotta git dat penny from 'im.
(But you put your own [his] urine in the bottle?)
Yes.
(But you get that penny from the man?)
Yeah, from who yuh want de money.
(You just keep this bottle?)
Yes.
Entry 4492
Yuh could take de bath watah.
(The water you take a bath in?)
Yeah. Put it in a quart bottle, or a pint bottle - any [either] one. Yuh gets yuh 9 needles - yuh buy 'em what ain't been used out of - 9 needles, 9 pins. Put 'em in dat [bottle], a bran'- new stoppah. Yuh stop dat [bot- tle] up tight, tight. Turn it like dis, upside down. Bury it undah de hydrant where de watah runnin'. When yuh put dat dere, dat will run 'em crazy.
(I see.)
Entry 5807
Yo' kin do dat, yo' kin take de hair outa woman's haid. Co'se [of course] ah don't know if a man do anythin' to anothah man. But if yo' have a goman yo' wanta make love wit, yo' jes' take de hair outa de mole of 'er haid if yo' POSS'bly kin. YO'D HAVE TO STEAL IT OUTA DERE CUZ WOMEN WON'T LET CHEW GIT DAT OUTA DERE IF DEY KNOW IT. An' if yo' kin, some hair out de mole of de woman's haid, yo' kin put dat into a little bottle, see, an' put some alcohol over it, see, an' put a flannen [flannel] stoppah in it - a red flannen stoppah. DAT COME DIRECT DOWN FROM DE HOODOO BUSINESS cuz ah've had dat. An' tote it in yore pocket an' dat woman'll come back to yo'. Don't care where she is, she'll come back to yo'. If she don't come back she'll go crazy. [For alcohol, see also margin title WHISKEY.]
Entry 5986
Well, if she kin git 'im back she go to de Ten Cent Sto' an' buy her a bottle of Hearts Cologne, if she kin git in touch wit 'im to git dat much of hair oata his haid - a strand of hair. Put it to de Hearts Cologne. Turn de bottle apside down an' call 'is name. When he answah, screw de top - shut de voice up in dere an' he can't stay away. HE'LL COME BACK IN SMILES.
(She does this when he is gone. She gets some of his hair?)
His hair. She hide some place while he gone, an' whensoevah he come in, she has his hair in de bottle, an' jes' call 'im quickly. He'll glance up quickly. Screw de top. She's got 'im. [To hold a bottle of perfume upside down with the cork stopper unloosened, while calling a name and waiting for an answer, could be a delicate operation. But we must realize that the cork is barely untwisted and that the spirit in the answering voice can fly - or what- ever a spirit does - through the smallest crack.] [For catching spirit in a bot- tle, see p.24.]
Entry 6005
An' yo' wanted to keep dat fellah. All right, chew take jis' one of de whole plait out de top of dis fellah's haid. Yo' grabs one of dose plaits an' cut it off, an' yo' cut dat plait off dere clean. Yo' take dat plait an' yo' put it in a bottle of Hearts Cologne an' fo' needles, steel needles - fo' needles stick right down 'side of it an' stop it up tight. An' den yo' carry dat bot- tle wit yo' roun' about 'leven or twelve 'clock at night an' yo' go to de graveyard an' yo' set it to
[the grave of] someone dat chew know an' - co'se he [the spirit in the grave]
arrive befo' yo' have de house [he reaches your house before you]. He unnahstan' dough [though]. He'll arrive befo' yo'. All yo' gota do is tell 'em [spirit] what chew want [done or] what chew wanna know. An' yo' bring dat bottle back [home] an' evah time yo' use it - see [demonstrates] de stoppah will be 'bout dat long. De more yo' shove dat [stopper into the bottle], de worse it will git; de more yo' pull on it [pull it out of the bottle], de lessah it will be.
(In [and out of] this bottle? You have a long stopper about a foot long?)
Dat's right, an' yo' see, de more yo' shove [the stopper] in dat [bottle] de more yo' shove dem [the man] down' but de more yo' pull it [the stopper out of the bottle], why dat de more he [man] be up. Now, if he's down an' yo' jis' take dat same stoppah an' yo' got it dis way [demonstrates]. Well, yo' got it down. Well, de othah way [up], yo' gona ease 'bout a half inch or quarter of inch, increase. But when yo' want 'im to go back down, why yo' jis' shove it on back down dere - lak dat [demonstration ends]. Reep 'em, can't leave home - ain't anyway in de worl' fer 'em to leave home. An' keep dat wid joo - dat is contin'en [continuing] 'is min' d'reck [direct] on yo', his min' couldn't leave.
Entry 6174
(What do they say about that?)
Well, yo' take Hearts Cologne lak ah tole yo', lak dey git it an' dress it fo' to keep yo'. Well, yo' git 9 pins, bran'-new pins what have nevah been used, an' yo' git Hearts Cologne. An' when yo' buy dat bottle of cologne, yo' take de stoppah out - yo' see, cuz dat stoppah been used. An' yo' buy a new stoppah, cork stoppah, an' yo' stick 9 pins in dat cork stoppah. Undahstan? An' put it right down in dat Hearts Cologne. Now, lak dere's some man ah want. I will try to git a piece off 'is clothes, anythin' an' put it in dere, yo' undahstan', fo' 9 days. Well, aftah I gits it in dere, whatsomevah ah want - den ah try to git a piece of 'is hair, an' some of 'is fingahnails an' toenails. If ah can't cut 'em, ah'll jes' take a little file here an' make out ah'm jes' playin' wit 'is han', an' file it off at de same time an' gittin' it in mah han'. Undahstan'? An' if ah kin git a piece of hair from undah his arm, yo' undahstan', an' git a piece of hair from de lowah Part, an' put it all in dere, an' 'tis nuthin atall he kin do unless ah command 'in to do it.
(I see.)
Entry 6218
Bo' a hole in a tree wit a new auger an' dey'll git a new stopper an' dl dat hair in de tree [with a new nail]. Dey say dat'll run yo' crazy.
Entry 8787
If yo' want to make 'em drift, yo' jes' take it an' get dat. Yo' always got to get dat name an' get dere right name, an' fix it up. Yo' put it into a bottle an' yo' get yo' some vinegar, strong, good vinegar, an' stick dat name down into dat vinegar, wit nine pods of red peppah - red peppah, not a strained peppah.
(Nine pods of red pepper?)
Yeah, an' stick it down into dat bottle wit his name in it an' dat old Epsom salts an' dat peppah. An' yo' can take it an' go to de rivah. Yo' seal dat bottle up an' yo' go to de rivah an' pitch it right in de channel. It'll float. An' as long as de bottle will float, dey'll always be goin' - dey goin' to keep goin'. Dey won't stay in no one place. Dey'll go to one place an' den dey'll come back to anothah place. Dey'll keep a-goin' an' dey'll nevah stop goin' until somepin gets dat bottle an' knocks dat stoppah out of dere. It goin' to get loose some way, if dose [things inside] won't keep it [afloat]. (I see. Now, you only write the name once on that piece of paper? You only write it once?) No, write it nine times, an' den make yore wish when yo' are writin' it.
(Oh, I see.)
Entry 9816
Git nine goldeye nee- dles an' put 'em on a string an' put a cork stopper in de end of 'em [stick needles into stopper] an' put 'em in anybody's mattress, an' dey won't rest dere. Dey can't rest on dere.
Entry 3129
Ah heard a li'le sompin about dat. Dey say a man kin fix a woman lak dat. He git one of 'er monthly pads, yo' undahstan', an' take dat an' put dat in a bottle, see. Wash it an' wrench [rinse] some of dat out an' put it in a bottle an' stop it up, yo' undahstan', an' carry it aroun' wit 'i. An' evah time a [another] man [tries] to make a connection wit 'er, his thing will fal] evah time.
Entry 4449
Well, dey kin lock yuh bowels one way. Dey kin take - go tuh de lav'- tory where yuh use an' git some of yuh, yuh know, an' stop it up in a hollah tree, an' as long as dey let it stay stopped up, yuh bowels won't move.
(I see.)
Entry 4456
Dey go tuh a dogwood tree. Aftah yo' go to de toilet, dey take de white part of yore nurinate [see later] carry it dere, an' bo' a hole into de tree an' go dere an' tap it. Put a stoppah into de tree, aftah yuh bo' de hole in dere, an' put de nurinate in dere, an' go an' tap dat stoppah-an' let dat stuff go back up in dat tree lak dat, an' tap it fo' nine mawnin's. Dat will kill yuh.
(YOU MEAN BY A PERSON'S NURINATE, THEIR BOWELS?)
Yessuh.
Entry 5435
Take dat track an' yo' put it in a gourd. Yo' know, jis' cut de end of it, yo' know, off, an' yo' put dat track in de gourd, an' den yo' put a stop- pah in dere real tight an' throw it in de branch. Jis' lak dat gourd go, dat's dey way he'll go.
(That's the way this person will go?)
Dat's right.
Entry 2751
In the year of 1928 I was going with a married man. Quite natural I knowed that was wrong and she found it out and she sent a bottle there to my house - and my brother was sitting on the porch. And so when I come home from work that evenin' the bottle was there. And so the bottle had water in it, I imagine. My mother told me not to open it. It had a lot of needles and a stopper and a cord- string tied up as if, you know, to hold the stopper out of the water - just a plain long beer bottle [probably a dark bottle]. So my mother had taken it up to a woman what, you know, knew.
(Where was this bottle?)
It was at my house - it was down by the washstand. They had give it to - the woman had give it to my brother, see. And my brother went and give it to my mother and my mother set it down in my room by the washstand and so she told me when I come home to go there and get the bottle. So, finally, I had a fear run over me and besides, about it, I never believed in this kind of stuff until this come about. And so after she told me to go and get the bottle, I went and opened [I wanted to open] it - I said, "Mama, this bottle is suspicious." She says, "Well, don't open it." I say, "Yes, Ma, I is, I'm not afraid." She said, "Don't you open it." And she taken the bottle and went on up to a woman's house with the bottle and she told the woman. The woman told my mother to take the bottle and empty it in a bayou of water or stream of water. See. So I went to Tallulah to work. I left from away from there after I thought I was going to get hurt, you know. I left home anyway and I went to Tallulah.
(Where is that?)
Tallulah, Louisiana. [About 25 miles west of Vicksburg, Mississippi.]
(All right.)
I worked over there. And after I went over, she sent me a little envelope with sand or something inside of another little envelope about dis long, and she said on there, "Six months from today your grave number will be 65 - six months from today." Well, I got scared and I was a person that never did like to tell my friends nothing about that. In fact I didn't believe in it. So I commenced to pining away and then I was losing my mind. People here in Vicksburg can shore tell you here in Vicksburg that I really lost my mind. So a friend of mine had mentioned it to a friend of mine, and she told me about a fellow. I don't know whether he's black or white. He stays in New Orleans, his name is B. B. McConnick. He stays over in Algiers. And I wrote him concerning about it. And after he wrote in a letter and told me about a dream I had. I believed in what he was telling me to do.
(Did you have a dream?)
I had a dream that I - there was some money in a old empty house for me. [For dreams of buried treasure, see 387, p.116; 426, p.127; etc.] And after I wrote this man like she [the girl] told me to write him, why he was telling that, and I was - and that's what made my belief come that he'd know what he was talking about - why I believed in what he told me to do.
(Now, wait. You had this dream and you told this man in Tallulah?)
No, I ain't told no one about it - this dream - nobody know nothing about this dream but my family folks - about this dream and the money in the house.
(I see.)
And after I told this friend of mines over there [in Vicksburg] about this woman had done sent me this stuff, and I was sick and stayed sick, well she told me about this man.
(I see - the man in Algiers?)
In Algiers - his name was Mr. B. B. McConnick. I don't know whether he is black or white. And so I wrote him and he wrote me a letter back and told me to send him $5.75 and he explained in the letter about the dream I had. Well, I believed in him, see. So I sent the money to him. I sent the money to him and he sent me a self-addressed stamp [envelope for the money]. And he sent me and told me what to do, and he sent me black candles and he told me this here black candle would burn against the parties what was harming me. Well, he told what to do - he told me to take a glass about like that, just an ordinary jelly glass, and fill it half full of sugar and stick it down in the sugar.
(This black candle?)
This black candle.
(Just one?)
He sent me more than one, cause [I sent him] $5.06, but after they give out, he told me I could get 'em from my local drug store. And he told me to use these candles six, twelve and six evening every evening. [This is the well-known 6-12- 6 time formula.] And finally I did that.
(Put this candle down in the sugar?)
Down in the sugar. He told me to not to never blow the candle out - I never seen this man before, and he told me, "Don't blow it out" - to take mv middle finger and my thumb and wet it, and say, "I wish you would leave me alone," put- ting the candle out at the same time, but not blow it. And really I did that and that woman. (Now wait a minute. How long did you let those candles burn at six, twelve and six?) Fifteen minutes - fifteen minutes.
(And when you had burned one whole candle?)
No, sir, you burn that every day. (Well, when that first candle burned out, what did you do? Burn another one then?) Could use another.
(How many did you use altogether?)
Oh, I just guess. I done even forgot how many I used, but I used just some of 'em 'cause I wanted that off of me. And really, that man helped me 'cause I know I was wrong: You see. And it turned right to that home - that woman was getting back just like I was getting, see. And I thought - two or three time I certainly felt sorry for her and I stopped using that stuff. Now, the other experience, 'cause I used to didn't believe in it until this woman was doing me like that, you see. Cause I was wrong, you see, going with her husband. But that other, I don't know nothing about that, but I'm explaining you something I really experienced my own dear self. [The preceding trick could have been performed in several ways. Friend of mine who recommended McConnick was surely his foreign correspondent for the Vicksburg district; she being his only source of information about the dream. What informant wanted could be taken care of for $5.75. Her dream about the buried treasure showed that all problems would soon be solved; she would also find the hidden wealth. The reader will notice immediately that $5.75 contains uneven numbers, which read inside outward 75 and outside inward 57. This is for- ward and backward magic, though not the pendulum magic frequently met in Jacks (p.190f.). Pulsating or heart-beat magic might be a better term. After the money was received, the candles were delivered. The package contained a printed notice something like: "These candles you ordered have been burned in the fol- lowing manner by troubled persons who claim for them the benefits of health and peace. We sell them as curios. The so-and-so drug store in your town sells these candles." There was no second letter as informant implies. All communi- cation was. brief and vague (see He'd Never Write You Much, p.319f.). McConnick is primarily a distributor of candles - a business man and surely a white man.]
Entry 8517
Whut yo' can do wit the bees [see later] like yo' gotta man an' he's away from yo', yo' git yo' a she coconut.
(A she coconut?)
What I mean by a she coconut, a she coconut has got three eyes. A she coconut have three eyes, a he one only have two. Now, yo' take that coconut an' yo' get those bees, honey bees. Yo' go to any- where where yo' can get that black oil off a train an' yo' mix - put that bees, the black oil, and write that person's name nine times, and put it [all] in that coconut. And get a stopper and stop it up and put it - and put it just anywhere in your house. And if that person is away, he'll come to you. But you gotta roll that coconut after, you know, you stop it up. You can keep it in the house, but every mawnin' yo' gotta git up an' roll it from the front door back to the back. Every mawnin'. An' when yo' roll it, if yo' want him to come to yo', yo' call him by his name an' he'll come to yo'. If yo' Want him to go from yo', just call him an' curse him: Yo' son-of-a-bitch, go an' don't never come back. But like that [to send him away] yo' must roll it from the back to the front to keep him going. Yo' catch those live bees an' put them in there. Yo' see, that's because they fight an' they gits mad an' they is furious, yo' know. Yo' put the bees in there with his name and when they gets in a place where they can't get out, they starts fighting. [I must have asked about coconut water.] No, yo' pour that water out of the coconut.
Entry 6253
Well, anyone git holt of yuh hair, why dey kin take yuh hair an' dey kin go in de swamp tuh some tree anothah [or other]. An' take a augah an' bo' a hole in de tree, an' put yuh hair in dere an' put a plug back in dat tree. Yuh'll go crazy.
Entry 6274
(Who would do this?)
A man or woman, eithah one. Dey take some of yore hair out de top heah an' put it in a bottle, an' put about fo' or five drops yore watah [urine] in dere, an' put it in some runnin' watah. Stop dat bottle up tight an' chunk it in dat rivah yo' see. Yo' couldn't come back no mo' an' yo' wouldn't know whut de cause.
Entry 13
It's jes' lak [like] if ah'm runnin' a place of business an' ah has some enemies - yo' know yo' has enemies ever'where yo' go. If yo' large 'nuff to bother 'bout yo'll have enemies. Ah kin have some enemies an' ah kin be runnin' a place of business - jes' sellin' fish san'wishes an' all dat kinda junk. Well, a lot'a people would hate me on dis - yo' see, ah'm makin' mo' money den dey can an' dey'll hate me. Well, all right. Dey'll go, prob'bly uptown an' tell a false' on me an' have me put in jail. Yo' see, ah done lock up an' ah'm got'a pay out a bunch of money den an' come out if ah got it or prob'bly make time on it. Well, whensomevah ah git out - well, ah may go back to mah business agin. Well, now heah dey come agin after me. Understan' - heah dey come agin after me. Well, now, I kin go tuh de graveyard zactly twelve a'clock at night. Now, ah'm goin' to mah peoples - where dey's buried. An' after ah git dere ah walks five feet into de graveyard. Then - if' yo'll 'low [allow] ma ah'll show yo' axely [actually] whut ah mean [his voice turned from me while he demonstrates]. Ah walks dis way [he walks]. Now, heah's de gate chere. Well, ah walks [he walks] five feet from de gate an' when ah git inside [that near] de gate ah turns round [he turns] an' backs up five feet [he backs up] till ah git inside de ceme- tery. Ah wheel round right quick an' de first grave ah'll put mah eyes on, ah'll go to dat grave an' ah makes me a big round ring at de head of dat grave. [He acts out everything.] An' after ah make me a big round ring at de head of dat grave [as a protection against spirits], ah take me a solid fifty-cent piece an' put it jes' as fur down in dat grave as ah kin git it. An' after ah put it down dere mah hand would come up wit all de dirt-cover ovah dere [the dirt sticking to the half dollar]. Den ah takes a eatin' fo'k [table fork] an' ah sticks it in dat grave. Well, ah went to mah mother [her grave] to control her mind of might to dash dese peoples' mind from me an' keep dem from botherin' me, but dose [his people] are daid. Now, dose folks are daid - like dey say hants an' spirit an' all like dat. Well, dey come to form - to skel'ton, see. Well, now heah about three yeahs ago ah had a sister - she came down heah an' dere peoples in dis town will tell yo' dis very day, white and colored. Well, dey 'rest her two-three time of drunk'. She could take jis' dat much of whiskey [demonstrates] an' jes' go to her haid, an' she start to call anything come ovah her. Well, now, she was fixed, dey tell me in Jacksonville ~ now, dat's whut she tole me some other [person] did to her. [Alcoholism is usually caused by someone putting a spell on you - see Drinking-spell in Index.] An' ah could go an' git her sometime two an' three a'clock in de morning - bring her back. An' ah have went round to diff'rent people I knowed dat give 'er dat stuff an' tell 'em don't let her have none. Well, she got to find dis stuff but hit don't be until de change of de moon. When dat moon come to be a quarterfull, den dat's de time she commence goin' on, commence goin' on. Well, now, when dat moon done vanish 'way an' gone, she jes' as good, jes' as pleasant an' happy as she kin be. Well, she wus told to go to de graveyard - she lives in Jacksonville - an' when she git to de graveyard - now, our mother's daid - our mother died of witch- craft - whut chew call roots. She died of dat an' ah kin splain it tuh yo' how, whut caused her to die [he explains this later]. An' dey tole her to go to de graveyard an' after she got to de graveyard, tuh Walk five feet inside the graveyard an' wheel round right quick, an' de first grave she saw, she take a solid fifty-cent piece an' push it jis' as fur down in de grave as she kin git it an' take her han's out, an' in takin' her han's out befo' her han' git to de top, git jis' a lettle bit dat dirt - see, root [dig] fo' it [with the coin]. Well, now, dere's nuthin' dey put wit dat dirt. An jis' stick dat eatin' fo'k in dere an' leave it, chew see. Dat eatin' fo'k yo' wanta leave. Well, now, she got de dirt - dat's whut chew call buying dirt from de daid. [We shall meet many examples of the spirit of the dead being paid off with coins, but here the fork - silver-plated or steel, is both payment and protective device.]
(What did she do with that dirt then?)
She jis' take it an' put it on her an' tote it, jes' tote it - she didn't put anything in de worl' wit it. [Usually, this graveyard dirt would be wrapped in a piece of paper and worn sewed up in a very small cloth bag and called a hand or toby or mojo - these of great variety and purpose - many examples of them being given later.]
(How was your mother hurt did you say?)
Now, mah mother - dat wus in 1919 in Tallahasse, Florida. We lived in 362 Caldwell [?] Avenue. Well, during dat den de street wus name No'th McCommins [?] Avenue. Mah mother she wus poisoned with whut ah may call dung - it's a bottle of your dung. Jes' lak if ah go to de bathroom right dere an' use de - well, her stuff was taken an' it was placed into a bottle. An' after it was placed into dis bottle, jes' nuthin' but hit - an' it wus a cork stopper wus placed in de top of dis bottle, whut chew call to stop it up airtight dat no air in de worl' couldn't git in it, an' it wus buried to de no'th corner of our house. Mah mother lived an' suffered - lived an' suffered fo' [four] yeahs. But we tried doctors from Thomasville, Florida - Dr. McClintook supposed to be as good a doctor as evah walked out - a medical doctor de horsepital - we tried him. We tried all other doctors an' none couldn't do her no good. Mah grandmother went to a place you call Quincy, Florida - out in de country to a fellah by de name of Mr. McClain. She went dere to him.
(White or colored?)
White - he wus white - went out dere tuh him. An' he tole mah grandmother, he said, "Ah been layin' heah lookin' at de condition of yore daughter." [He was a forseer or foreknower.] Dat's whut he tole mah grandmother. He said, "Ah been laying heah lookin' at de condition of yore daughter," he say, "fo' [for] munts an' munts an' she been sufferin' fo' othah people." He said, "De people dat's doin' her dis dirt is comin' in her house eve' other mawnin', bahrin' [borrowing] a match or bahrin' some salt or bahrin' some peppah an' stuff." He said, "Dat is to he'p [help] build dis stuff whut dey got in de ground." Now, he tole her, said, "Yo' go back home." She said - but now dis man wouldn't take no money out chure han' - he didn't take a dime - but chew owed him whut he charged to do. Yo' didn't pay him what- somevah he git fo' doin' yore 'mount of work. When he git done wit his - whut yo' want to have him tuh do - yo' goes back home. He given yo' a piece of some- thin' look like a five-dollar gold piece in a black cloth an' he got dis money by de air. Dat's de way he worked it, by de air - he re'lly did it hisself. [See in Index, Doctor, payment of.] Well, he tole mah grandmother - she go back to de house an' look up on de south corner of yore house, an' he say, "Yo'll find a quart bottle wit some dung in it." An' he say, "Yo' take dat quart bottle an' unstop it," an' he say, "po dat stuff out of it." He say, "When yo' po' it out of it," he say, "then yo' come back to me." Well, mah grandmother po'd it out an' mah mother then commence tuh - her bowels den commence movin'; her bowels wus locked den [before that], yo' see. Well, she went back to him an' he give her some kind of medicine - ah don't know whut it wus. But she give him somepin - she had a twenty-dollah bill dressed, mah grandmother did fo' mah mother. Now, dis man tole her, said, "Now, let her tote dis on her as long as she live, an' nobody won't hurt her no mo'." Well, leastways, she died from it - she lived 'bout a couple of months afterwards, after dis stuff was po' out de bottle, but she died. [How the twenty-dollar bill was dressed (prepared magically) by the doctor I do not know, but my skeptical nature refuses to believe he returned it to grandmother. One of many ways of dressing money for oneself will be found in margin-title Cast It Into Oblivion. The medicine given to grandmother could have been black draft or Epsom salts both commonly used by doctors in such situations. The woman had been dying - constipation was not the cause. For a similar hopeless case, a poignant one, see margin-title Doctor Assists Death.] (Well, how did the man get his money when you paid him - how did he get that money?) He tole mah aunt an' mah grandmother to - he give dem somepin look like a five-dollah gold piece an' [also] it was a black rag; seemed to me [when I saw it later] that it was a han'chief. He tole her, said, "Yo' take dis an' go back home an' leave dis on de table - dis five-dollah piece yo' see - on de table." Well, it looked like to me it was five dollahs, but he didn't tell her no five dollahs, but ah called it five-dollah gold piece. [The coin was a fake. I comment here while checking transcription with cylinder - "speaks very rapidly."] But he tole her, when she give it [his fee] to him, say, "Lay dis [piece] on de table an' spread dis black rag ovah it - jes' spread it [rag] ovah it [piece] an put chure money [fee] on top of dat an' tie it up, an' walk out chure room." He say, "Ah'll git it, don't chew worry," he say, "because mah working is de air, star an' de moon." He say, "Ah don't work jes' natch'al comin' to a person." He say, "Ah kin do mah work an' not even go to you. Yo' kin jes' only write me an' yo' got to tell me whut chew want done - jes'write me an'ah'll come to yuh [in the spirit]." Dat's whut he tole mah grandmother and aunt. But anyway de money didn't leave out de house an' he didn't come an' git it - but didn't nobody carry it to him. But when we went back in de room de next morning, de money wus gone, an' most all de three of us wus in de house - mah aunt, mah grandmother an' me, 'scusin' mah mother whut wus sick. He re'lly got dat money.
Entry 38
[To catch a spirit or to protect your spirit against the catching or to release your caught spirit - this is the complete theory and practice of hoodoo.] Ah kin ketch yore spirit easy. A person kin - jes' lak yo' settin' dere an' ah kin be talkin' to yo'. Yo' talkin' tuh me an' I be walkin' back an' ah got a bottle. Ev'ry word chew says, I ease dat stopper down - ev'ry word yo' say until yo' git to de end, den yo' stop it down. Well, then yo' won't be sick but yo'll jes' be lak a bird flyin' - here an' yon - an' de moment dat yo' kin git to it an' pull de stopper yo'll be yoreself all de same.
(You have to walk backwards while you are pushing that cork down?)
Yes sir.
Entry 817
About my cousin, my grandmother told me that - that's been round about twelve years ago, ten or twelve years ago. (Here - here in Vicksburg?) No, sir, that was in - up here in Shelby, Mississippi. (Shelbv, Mississippi.) Yes, sir, and she'd taken sick. Well, she and a lady friend was living together. Well, you see, she didn't know this girl had no grudge agin her; in fact, she could have did it for someone else, you see, got it for someone else. Well, she's a very beautiful girl and lotsa people liked her and some disliked her, you understand. Well, she was - dis lavatory was a good piece from de house and she would do what she was going to do in de house and take it out. So one day she did it and she didn't take it out except de girl did, and got part of it and stopped it up in a bottle, and so she'd taken sick from it. So, well, they never did take it to no two-headed person to find out what it was about; she went to a medical doctor. But her bowels was tied up - she could not do anything. And this bottle - after she was dead my grandmother saw [two- headed person] concerning of it. And she was told to go to her back steps, up under a board she had going to her lavatory, that bottle was buried with some of her in it; and say, when that stopper blew out, that's de cause her death.
(I see.)
So she died. They never did find it out till after she was dead.
Entry 3132
Jes' lak dey go tuh bed at night, well her an' 'er husban' always - yo' know, she got it in fo' him but he don't know nuthin 'bout it, an' so she tie him - lak he doin' [running about with other women]. So she goes when dey have intahco'se an' evahthin', she gits out de baid maybe early dat mawnin' 'fo' he do an' she steals away, yo' know, an' hurries ahead an' goes on tuh huhself an' she have a bottle an' evahthin' prepared. Well, she ketches it an' by some means she puts some in a bottle.
(What does she put in the bottle?)
Well, it's.
(Something from her or him?)
From him.
(Where did she get it?)
It from both of 'em ah 'magine, somehow.
(How did she get it from him?)
Well, see when she go tuh - when he go tuh use de towel tuh dry off wit, she dry 'im an' pulls kinda hard - squeeze, gits evahthin' jes' lak she pullin' on sompin. She'd git it all out lak dat. Dat's how she become tuh have it.
(What does she do with that stuff when she puts it in the bottle?)
She puts it in de bottle see, an' when she put it in dis bottle, takes de bottle an' stop it up airtight an' she put it away. Well, long as she keeps de bottle - ah mean, an' keep it airtight - well she got 'i. But if she evah lets it git away.
(What does that do to the man?)
Well, dat 'fect 'im so he cain't raise no kinda heart fo' no othah woman.
Entry 3901
Dey'll take one of de cloths dat she uses. Yo' know, her sickness, yes sir. Dey take dis cloth while she's - it dirty yo' know while she's got dat on 'er. An' den dey'll take dis an' put it in a bottle, in a small bottle. An' take dis cloth - but dis heah cloth will fill it up, make it plumb full. An' den dey'll take dat an' dey'll go tuh her house, wherevah she lives, an' put it up anywhere ovah her haid - up ovah her haid. An' den dey'll put a tight stoppah in dere an' put some watah in dere. An' put some watah in dere wit it, put a tight stoppah in dere wit dis cloth whilst it in dere. An' dey say dat'll stop 'er sickness from coming down on 'er; jes' keep it dere till it kills 'er, if dey don't nevah pull dis stoppah out. [For this folk-medicine condition, see comment in bracket later.] But when dey evah did pull dis stoppah out, if dey gits de evil dat dey got agains' 'er off an' wants tuh let 'er go free, why den dey take dis out an' let dis watah out an' den she'll live; but if dey don't, it'll kill 'er. [The preceding rite illustrates one of the great pairs of complementary rites in hoodoo; here of opposites, above and below - the walking under or over some- thing belonging to your body or having been touched by your body. In either case your spirit is divided. The menstrual blood over your head in the present rite, keeps the menstrual blood still in the body from going down. Is menstrual blood different from other blood in the body? Presumably so in folklore, for: Menstru- al blood is poisonous (FACI, 1st ed., p.248, No.5103). The term going down - coming down used in present rite - belongs to folk medicine: "When my mother was about twelve [1845] [[in or near Quincy, Ill.]], an old Indian doctor told them to wear black beads around their neck to keep the blood from going to the brain. All the girls in that time wore black beads all the time to get their monthly to come when coming into womanhood, for it made the blood come down." (FACI, 2nd ed., P.219, No.4969.] [After writing the preceding bracket, I happened to be watching the University of Michigan television program, which for us appears off and on, and comes just before my 7AM news. This was probably towards the end of 1972. A group of women were talking about the problems confronting the first American college women. One woman spoke of a Harvard professor, M.D., who in 1873 wrote a book condemning brain work for women. He maintained that mental effort by a woman made the blood rush to her head, a condition that could dry up her ovaries!]
Entry 4007
Now, dey takes dat chamber lye an' dey puts it intuh a bottle, jes' de necked [naked] chamber lye. An' when dey puts it intuh de bottle, dey takeg a cork stoppah - don't put nuthin else in dat wit dis chamber lye but jes' de chamber lye hitself intuh dis bottle, an' stops it up airtight where no air in de worl' can't git in it. Now, dey kin bear [bury] it anywhere roun' yore house dey Wants tuh bear it, but now dey has tuh bear it undah de steps - de back do' or front do'steps - dat's fo' yo' tuh step ovah it. An' AFTAH YO' STEPS OVAH DIS FO' NINE MAWNIN'S DEN YO'RE TRAPPED. Undahstan', becuz dat's from yore body. NOW, AIN'T NO DOCTAH[M.D.] IN DE WORL' KIN MOVE DAT UNTIL DAT STUFF BE PO'D OUTA DAT BOTTLE.
(What will that do to you?)
Jes' lock de bowels - jes' lak if yo' wanted tuh urinate, jes' lock de bowels so yo' can't nurinate atall. [That n is frequently prefixed to urinate along the southeast coast.] Well dat's whut it do, jes' lock yore bowels an' yo' can't go an'urinate.
Entry 4167
Then again, if you want to harm your neighbor, if you want to keep him away from this place, from your home, you just go and get a bottle about that long. You put your [his] water in it. You hold it between your fin- gers like that, your two middle fin- gers [of the left hand], you hold it tight, and you say: Lord, Jesus Christ, your Nomesake. T Then you put the stopper right in. And when you bury it, you bury it [upright] just level with the ground. And IN NINE DAYS THAT WILL TAKE HIM OFF THIS EARTH. That stops his Water when he steps over it. IF YOU WANT TO TURN HIM LOOSE, YOU HAVE TO TURN HIM LOOSE IN EIGHT DAYS.
Entry 4424
Ah have seen dat, dis chamber lye [see later]. Dere wuz a man heah 'bout ten yeahs ago - no, it's been about twenty yeahs ago [1919]. He'd taken me, mahself, taken mahself an' buried me in a tree. An' when he buried me in a tree he sup- posed tuh hit it - tap dat wedge nine days an' den ah'd die. But he didn't tap it nine days. De Lord fixed it so dat ah wuz able tuh light [loosen] it an' knocked it out befo' ah begin tuh take bad. Befo' ah begin tuh take bad ah found it an' knocked it out.
(What did he put in the tree?)
[I ask this because of the preceding chamber lye.]
He put some of mine in-stuff in de tree, put nine needles in it.
(He put some of your passage?)
Yes sir.
(How did he prepare that?)
He took it somewheres an' put it in a tree, bo'd a hole in a big tree wit a augah, an' aftah he bo'd wit dat augah in de big tree, he'd taken nine needles an' put dem in dere. Den he made dis wedge, wedge or stoppah, an' put in dere an' hit it fo' nine masniln's, an' he didn't git a chance tuh hit it fo' nine mawnin's befo' de Lord fixed it so ah could find it. When ah founds it ah knock- ed it out an' ah got bettah.
(What did you do wdth it. just leave it there?)
Ah'd taken an' carried it to de house an' showed it tuh 'im, but de pains wuz shootin' up through mah haid lak dat. An' if ah had let it stayed dere an' he'd ahit it nine mawmin's, ah wouldn't have been heah today. Ah wuz goin' down, be- fo' ah'd taken tuh bed.
Entry 4744
A lady got a hold of a fellow's drawers and cut out right where the two legs come together, right in front, and taken and put it in a bottle, and put a new stopper in the bottle, and put that in the center of the door where he come over. That fellow couldn't leave there. They claim they take a piece of your clothes, that you wear next to your skin, and put it in a bottle and put a new stopper in, they've got you. [Fredericksburg, Va., by Ediphone.]
Entry 5067
Take a man's sock, if dey's got a man an' he's tryin' tuh run aftah some othah wimmin or sompin lak dat. Take a man's sock especially if de wimmins live wit 'im or anythin' lak dat. Takes an' wash dem socks out an' take dat watah where yuh wash dem socks an' put it in a quart bottle. Put dat watah in de quart bottle an' stop it up an' put it ovah de sill of de house lak dat do' dere, yo' know. Take an' open dat ceilin' dere an' put it in dere an' let it set in dere. [The ceiling near the door is opened so that the bottle can be placed on the top of the hidden door frame, here as so frequently, called the sill of the door - sill equalling ceiling of door.] Make him stay home. [Wilson, N. Car. (1496).2665:6.]
Entry 5723
Ah've heard den ag'in dat a man could - he could take dat if he wanted tuh do yo' real harm or wanted tuh take yore life. Take some of dat same stuff an' go to a tree. (This sand from the left footprint.) Yeah from de left feet. Bore a hole in a tree an' take dat sand an' set it in dat hole, an' take a piece of wood an' make a nice tight stoppah, an' bat it down in dere an' cut it off smooth. An' dat'll put chew tuh goin', dat'll Treck yore mind, perhaps take yore life. Dere's several diff'ren' ways yo' kin do dat, but dat's one of de main ways dat ah always did learn, wuz tole tuh me.
Entry 6273
Dere's a way to run a woman crazy so dey say. Dey take a small bottle an' put urine in it, an' put de hair down in it an' stop it up, an' throw it in a stream of water. It will go an' yo' will nevah git chure mind back unless somebody will discovah where dat bottle went an' bring it back an' uncork it. [For 2 remarkable examples of doctors recovering floating spells and destroying them, see 920, p.338; 921, P.339.]
Entry 6333
Yo' kin take de top of yore hair out de mole of yore haid an' cut it out, an' put it in a bottle an' stop it up. An' first yo' take yore name an' put it in a bottle, an' put chure hair on top of dat, an' stop it up good in runnin' watah. Well, as long as dat bottle run, yo'll run. Well, when dat bottle bu'st, hy yo'll be gone.
(You will die?)
Yessuh.
Entry 6510
Ah heah yo' [they] kin take yore toenails - ah don't know nuthin about chure fingah - but chew kin take yore toenails an' stop it up in a li'le bottle an' throw it in nunmin' watah. Dat will cause yo' tuh be driftin' about through de world mindless.
Entry 7413
Well, yo' kin take de water dey wash de individual [murdered man in].
(That they wash the dead man in.)
An' put it in a quart bottle. An' yo' know how yo' cut cork to grease a saw wit - cut a cork to grease a saw wit. Chew know how dey grease a saw, have oil in a bottle - kerosene in a bottle to grease a saw. Jah [did jah] evah see dat? (No. They use a piece of cork to do that, you say?) Yo' see people dat saw wood, don't cha? Den dey have oil dey 'put on de saw. (Yes.) Dey have a stoppah in de bottle don' dey? Have it cut aroun' dere so dat de kerosene come out dere lak dat. Jah evah seen dat? (No, I have never seen that, but I understand. They cut little ridges in the cork so that this kerosene will come out of the bottle.) [Informant is talking about cord wood which years ago (before World War I) in the cities and towns came already sawed for fireplace or wood stove. Sometimes a person did his own sawing on a sawbuck. I did very little of this type of work as a boy. If the saw was rusty, people I knew greased the saw with a fat piece of bacon (American, not English or Canadian), not with kerosene in a bottlehaving a drip cork.] Yeah, theah yo' are, cut ridges in dat cork de same way an' set it up dere somewheres where it will drip, where it will drip out. Put it underneat' de dead man left arm an' it drip. [When] all dat watah drip out dat bottle dat pusson be gone. (That person who killed him will be gone - will die.)
Entry 8498
Ah'll tell it ag'in, see, jis' lak ah say, "Margrit?" An' she say, "Ooh!" Covah de bottle, covah de bottle stoppah up.
(What will that do?)
Dey done fo' good. Ah think dat's tuh drill yuh away. Now, ah'm not positive. (What is in that bottle?) Nuthin but jis' de voice. An' dey go throw dat in runnin' watah an' don't look back. Tell me yo'll dreen [drain] away or eithah move or go outa dis town. (That's catching your spirit.) [See TO CATCH A SPIRIT, p.24 and many places in text, especially margin title BLACK WINE BOTTLE in present section.]
Entry 8514
(What are you going to do when you get the coconut?)
Whut chew goin' do wit de coconut? Yo' goin' empty de watah [milk or juice] out de coconut, dry it out good. See, don' leave no watah in dere, let it drain good. An' den put jis' a li'le steel dust an' a piece of lodestone, an' yo' orite dat name nine times. Write his name nine times. Take dat spool of thread, No.8 black, an' wrap dat comin' tuh yuh [saying] "Ah want chew tuh stay heah. Yo nst stay an' yo' gotta stay. Ah want chew heah." Yo' put dat intuh dat coconut an' yo' take a li'le stoppah an' yo' cut de stoppah off, an' shet dat up an' bury it undah de steps. See. (Is there any special way you must bury it under the steps?) No, yo'jis'.... Yo'see, yo' have tuh bury it up lak dat [demonstrates]. Yo' bury it up lak dat, but de coconut is in de ground. See. Now ah did dat. (What will that do then?) Well, dat brings 'is mind, makes 'im stay dere, an' him an' her been tuhgethah evah since.
Entry 8528
(Now, you are going to tell me something else. Now, all right.) Now, then yo' kin get yo' a coconut. Yo' git yo' nine seeds of punkin [pumpkin]. (Pumpkin seeds, nine of them.) Nine of 'em. (All right.) Yo' get yo' nine chicken corns [kernels of maize, Zea Mays]. (Nine what?) Chicken corns. (Chicken corn, what's that for?) Dat's to put in de coconut. (Well what is chicken corn?) Dat's what de chicken eats. (You mean the same thing as a horse eats, the same kind of corn the horse eats? Chicken corn? Ordinary corn like a roasting ear of corn. All right.) Yo' get that nine pumpkin seeds, nine chicken corn, the man name, but yo' take de water out de coconut. Yo' put de man name nine times an' de woman, if in case yo' wanta break 'em up. Put it in there.
(How do you put the woman's name in there?)
Yo' put de woman name crossways, this way [demonstrates].
(Across his name. All right.)
Across his name. Then yo' make a cross toward this way [a cross is added to the paper]. Then when yo' do that, then in that, then yo' takes this cayenne peppah an' yo' set it right up in de center [of the paper] and yo' bring it to yo'. An' yo' cuss 'em as yo' putting it to yuh. An' yo' roll it on dis side an' yo' put on dis, always rolling it to yo'. An' then yo' cuss it an' yo' stick it in there.
(In this coconut.)
An' then yo' take a stopper an' yo' stop up de two eyes, then yo' take de coconut an' yo' roll it fo' nine days in yore home. Then yo' take it an' yo' goes to de rivah. Takes fifteen cents an' throws in de - de fifteen cents be- hind it [coconut], to pay spirit for the work]. An' just let it go each way or de other, an' let it float anywhere where it's gotta go. An' yo'll have him just agoing from one to de other. He'll lose his mind or else go to de river.
(What do you mean by these two eyes?)
SEE, DE COCONUT GOT TWO EYES WHERE DE WATER DRAINS OUT.
(All right, on account of those two eyes you have two corks in that coconut?)
Yes, sir.
Entry 8558
Ah heard 'em say dey write chure name down on a piece of papah an' den dey fold de fo' corners, see. Dey fold it jis' lak yo' take a piece of papah lak this [demonstrates], yo' know, yo' fold it lak this an' den turn [it] round an' yo' fold it [like this]. (You keep folding it in four corners? Folding it in half?) Yeah, lak dat. An' den jis' lak if yo' want them tuh leave. See, yo' want them tuh leave all ways round, well yo' take dat name an' fold it dat way, an' put it in a bottle an' stop it uP an' gO tO any runnin' watah OR DRAP IT IN DE LAVATORY ANYWHERE, an' dey jis git on all away. Dey jis' cain't stay there.
Entry 8645
They takes the lemon and they roll it soft, and they take that name and they write it nine times, just like I showed you just now. And they take that name and they shove it down in that lemon, and they put them some cayenne pepper in there. And they get a little small stopper and they stop that lemon up, and they keep it up in the corner of the house. And every day, three times a day, they get that lemon and they roll it backwards and forwards. They roll it to them and they roll it from them. That's their husband name they got up in there. That's to keep their husband there with them.
Entry 9167
If yo' had a case an' yo' gotta go befo' de judge, befo' yo' go tuh bed at night, yo' kin take yore watah, take yore chamber lye, an' stop it up in a bottle. An' yo' gotta go tuh co't tuhmahrah - we'll say tuhmahrah. Well, yo' do dis three days befo' yo' gotta go tuh co't. Stop it up in a bottle an' when yo' stop it up in dere, put black peppah an' salt in it. An' when yo' go tuh de co'thouse have a cork stoppah in it. Don't have no top on it, no hard top on it. Have a cork in it. When yo' git dere, jis' sprinkle it round in de co'thouse, an' de p'lice won' appeah up on yo' an' de judge won't be dere. Some of 'em gotta be dismissed, de' goin' be sick.
Entry 10412
Dey call yo' like when yo' sleepin'. An' dey has de bottle fixed an dey calls yo' an' soon as yo' answer, den dey put dat stopper in an' knock it down tight. Well, dat's supposed to be if a hag is ridin' dem an' dey think it's yo'. Well, dat's de way dey ketch chah. [For catching person's spirit in bottle, see Nos.38-41, P.24f., v.l; in the latter of these rites, performer substituting his own breath for victim's!]
Entry 10625
You get 'em - two together, you know.
(Oh! It's a root that grows together.)
Two of 'em together; one's Adam, the other Eve. Now those, the things they are used for, will keep a man and woman together - they will keep them together. (Well now, how would they use that?) They go to work and get that Adam-an'-Eve root, get it green [fresh], and you name one Adam and the other one Eve, after you wash it off good. And you put it in a bottle, ay old bottle, and don't break 'em loose. One Adam and the other one is Eve. Dren they put perfume in there.
(Any special kind of perfume?)
No, any kind. Put the perfume in there. They name [one] for the woman and Che other the man, when they are speaking about 'em. They may use chamber lye ad perfume in it. Stop it up. Long as you keep that, you will hold the man if you want to.
Entry 9808
Yo' take seven needles an' yo' take seven straight pins an' yo' take three nails. An' yo' kin take a quart of watah an' de stoppah tuh shet [shut] de quart bottle. An' y'o kin put dem dere seven needles an' dem dere straight pins an' dem three nails in dat quart of watah. An' yo' put dat stoppah in dere. Stop it up, but don' try tuh stop it tight. An' yo' place it at sun risin' undah yore baid. An' if yo' wanta kill a puh- son - lak yo' wanta kill 'im- yo' kin hit dat stoppah wit a hammah. But yo' don' want no iron hammah, yo' wants a kinda wooden hammah, yo' undahstand. [Wooden hammer is rare in HOODOO.] An' yo' hit dat a certain many times evah mawnin' tuh kill a puhson, an' yo' hit it one time aftah it's gone down, dat sun, jes' tuh lingah dat person - jes' tuh put 'im sick, where he be Bo mo good, jes' lingahin'. An' when dem needles rust out, he rust out. It won't kill 'im right away. Take dem nails an' needles in dat quart bottle, an' yo' kin hit dat stoppah three times where de sun rise an' in seventeen days he'll be daid.... [Here I turned off machine too quickly and had to reopen conversation with a qoestion.1
(Where do you put this bottle then? Do you put it under the victim's bed?)
No sir, yo' put it undah yore baid, an' when yo' hit dat, take it out evah sasnin'-time yo' git up, an' hit dat stoppah an' jes' call [the name of] which ane yo' wanta do [kill]. If yo' want 'im tuh lingah, yo' kin hit dat stoppah ane time, as de sun goin' down, de sun settin' in de weat; an' if yo' wanta Hul 'im, yo' kin hit it early in de mawnin' three times.
Entry 10755
Den, too, yo' kin take a woman's sick clothes. Yo' kin take dem an' yo' kin take, if dey already dry, yo' kin take an' wet 'em. Kinda mash 'em, yo' know, wit a little bit of dat on, an' cork dat up. An' she can't go wit no othah man. Or eithah, yo' kin take 'em, dey tell me, an' chunk it down de stream [to send away]. Chunk it upstream, says, an' she'll go( crazy.
Entry 11111
But they's got to have more to go with that skin to do you harm, besides just the skin off you feet. They can take the skin off the bottom of your feet and if they can get some of your hair, take that skin and some of your hair, and take a coconut, or either a bottle, and fill it up with vinegar, and throw it in the water where it will run and you start going and you'll never go back home again. In a bot- tle or coconut, but you gotta stop it up so it don't come out.
Entry 11113
A coconut, jug [punch] one of them eyes out and pour that juice out the coconut and let the coconut dry. Then you go behind him in soft dirt and get his track and put it in that coconut, mix it, get cork stopper and put in stopper and throw it in [river] and just as long as that coconut float, he'll walk [for walking also see No.11114].
(Just one of them?)
Just one of them - left track.
Entry 4176
Yuh take a person's chamber lye, takes seven nails. Yuh put three fo' dat person dat chew wanta use yuh Way. Git a Coca-Cola bottle. Jis' three nails yo' turn de points up - dat's de person dat chew wanta git chure way, an' de fo' nails dat's yo' - as a rule yo' turn dem lak dat in de chamber lye. An' den yuh stop it up wit a cork stoppah real tight. Den yuh set it in yore trunk where it can't be seen, or anywhere roun' de house where it can't be seen. An' as long as yuh hol' dat yuh got dat man.
(Whose chamber lye do you put in that bottle, his or yours?)
His, nobody but 'is. But chew remembah three nails down, name 'em, dat's de man; an' de fo' nails up, dat yuh. Dat's providin' it wuz a woman, an' 'vidin' it wuz a man. De one dat's workin' it tuh come dere way, dey must be on top.
Entry 4483
Wal, yuh'll take a bath in de watah. Dey kin git a chance tuh git tuh dat watah an' dey'll take a bottleful. Take a bottleful of dat watah. If dey wanta conkah yuh, dey'll take a bottleful of dat watah an' put a stoppah in it. Pack it down tight an' put it down to yuh steps, er [or] tuh dey steps. Dat'll draw all yuh attention tuh nobody but dem.
Entry 4532
Dey kin git 'is sweatban' too an' give him anothah spell. Git 'is sweatban' outa his hat an' put it in a bottle. Yassuh [yes sir], take a bottle an' put it in a bottle, an' put a cork stoppah in dis heah bottle an' fasten it up an' keep dat ban'. Jes' roll dis heah ban' up real tight de way yuh fold it back double. Twist it real tight an' put it in a bottle. Put some hot watah in it. Let it be jes' hot enough not tuh break yuh bottle, an' let it set in dere. An' den dey go take dis heah den an' put it in de rivah, any kinda watah dat watah runs ovah. Dat'll give him anothah feeble mine [mind].
Entry 4543
[Sweatband bow combined with other substances in a bottle will be found later, as well as in other parts of the text.] Dey take dat little bow an' put it in a bottle an' fill half full of watah, an' turn it bottom upwards an' bury it wit de mouth down, so dat watah drippin' in de groun'. Yuh'll go intuh de groun', see; cuz I put a little hole in dat stoppah, so dat watah kin seep out. An' [when] all dat watah run out dat bottle, den yuh goin' tuh de grave.