Subject:Throat
Entries
Entry 6616
I know of a man who used to kill snakes and bleed them. He cut them under the throat and let them bleed in a can and he would take that blood and get one drop in anyone's food and that would kill them.[Fredericksburg, Va., (67), happened years before 1936 (date of collecting) near Woodford, Caroline Co., Va.)
Entry 8180
Yo' could take photograph an' take it an' - ah've heard yo' could take a photograph an' cut de head off of it; jes' lak ah got chure photograph or yo' got mine, an' cut de head off. An' ah head dat [cut the head off your photo] by an' by, jis' lak yo' do dat [to] dat photograph [of mine]. If somebody do dat, see, yo' run upon dat same thing. Jis' lak yo' cut mah head off mah photograph, somebody do dat same way [to yours]. Dat whut ah heard about dat.
(Who would do that to you?)
Who would do dat tuh me? Ah would git intuh trouble or git in a argument wit someone an' someone would cut me jis' lak dat photograph is cut. Somebody cut me de same way. Cut mah throat, see.
Entry 8314
Yo' kin take a person's pichure an' cut dey throat of de pichure - cut de throat. (Cut the throat?) Yassuh, an' dey say de person will git murdered 'fore dey die.
Entry 8980
Now if yo' go before de iudge, de judge goin' to discharge yo', ac- cording to what kind of case, yo' know, yo'll have. Well, if yo' got people against yo', yo' know, an' yo' don't want to have dem part of de jury. Yo' going before de judge, like if it's a criminal case, yo' know, yo' got to have de jury. Yo' see, dey have [a panel of] 75 jurors [to select jurors from]. Well, yo' don't know what people [will be on the jury]. They don't pick out but twelve. Now, yo' don't know what twelve dey going to pick out. Dat makes yo' gotta use de whole panel. Yo' see, ah [in my work] done use 'em all.[ Well, now, de person - what jurors is against yo'. Yo' go an' get yo' a beef tongue, a fresh beef tongue. Pay odd money fo' it, not even money - 25 or 35 cents or somepin like dat. Let de money be odd money. An' yo' go an' take dat tongue an' yo' get these peoples names what is against yo', what done harm yo', don't yo' see or what yo' done harm. Yo'll take dat tongue, yo'll write de names on a piece of papah, an' yo'll write all dem jurymen's names, de dis- trict attorney.
(The whole 75 of those names?)
Yeah, just put de whole 75. Yo' have to use de 75, because outa dem yo' get twelve.
(I see. All right.)
Now, yo' get de district attorney what is de man to prosecute yo'. Yo'll get his name an' put it on dere, but not de judge in dat part. An' yo'll -git yo' dat tongue. Yo' get yo' nine needles an' nine pins. Yo'll get yo' dese people names an' yo'll put down on dere an' yo'll put dat down in de throat of dat tongue. Yo'll take dat tongue an' yo'll hang it up in de chimney. An' den aftah dat, yo'll take an' git yo' some watah an' yo'll get yo' some peppah. Yo' git yo some coarse snuff an' yo'll burn a - light a candle.
(Coarse snuff?)
Coarse snuff, dat coarse snuff; not dat in a box. An' yo'll light dat candle an' yo'll put it.in dere. Now, yo' want to come clear an' yo' want de judge to be lenient wit yo', so yo' take de judge's name. An' yo'll take de judge ame, den yo'll git yo' a block of ice, 'bout fifty pounds of ice. Yo' put it in a little pail an' yo'll sweeten it. Den yo'll light de candle, but yo'll light it straight up [the candle will be standing upl. An' den yo' see, sweeten de judge. But this othah part what yo' do, yo' take an' yo' put de candle - yo' turn 'em upside down, yo' get dat coarse snuff an' all dat, an' put in dere. Well dat make de district attorney be fightin' against dem. An' de people, what he got fo' witness, goin' to speak against yo'. Anything dey drink, perhaps dey drink whiskey. Some might drink gin or somepin like dat. Well yo'll get dat [liquor] an' yo' put dere name an' set yo' a little glass. An' put dat candle on dat [name and liquor in the glass] an' ah'll guarantee every one of 'em will go to court drunk. An' yo'll come out clear 'cause dey'll be drunk. Dey won't know what they're sayin'. They'll be lying backwards and forwards.
(What'll that ice do?)
Well, yo' see, de ice, dat's to cool, dat's fo' yore part. De ice makes yo' cool. Yo' know ice makes yo' cool. [Usually ice freezes apponent's tongue.] Well, de judge won't be fiery wit yo'. See, he'll be cool an' calm. But on dis othah side, yo' get dat snuff an' yo' put dem names in dere an' yo' get dat beef tongue. Yo' put dem things in dere an' shove dat tongue, all down in de throat, an' just hang dat tongue up an' den yo'll see. Yo'll see an' dey'll be lyin' an' dey'll be drunk. Just what dey drink, yo' set dat candle in dere [in the glass]. An' dey'll be lyin' an' dey won't say a thing against yo'. What color...just what candles you select. Don't try de black candles.
(Anything but black?)
But black candles.
(How many do you burn?)
Yo' burn - see, if dere's five people, yo' put five candles. An' if it's three, yo' put three; just accordin' to how many is against yo', yo' put dem many candles. An' den what they drink, yo' get a little glass, just what fit de candle an' put dat [liquor] in dere, an' ah'll guarantee yo' every one will be drunk.
Entry 10105
Well, you could take a cat - some people say a black cat, but it don't have to be a black cat. Take any kinda cat. Understand? Take this cat. You put you on some water - a big pot of water - boils it up good. When that water gets to boiling good, get you a can of lye. You empty about half of it in that water, as it boils, you see. You takes this cat and tie all four of his feet togeth- er like that, see [demon- strates]. Tie all four of his feet together, but don't kill him - let him be alive. You takes him - but you'll have to have a top over him, you understand. You takes him and you slams him down in that water while it's boilin', see. Set your top down good so he can't get out. You let him boil in there awhile. Well, it's natchal that lye is going to cut all the meat off the bones, you see. As soon as you've boiled all them bones clean and everything, it's a certain bone that you get. It comes from right under here [demonstrates].
(Right from the throat?)
Right under the throat chere.
(Right under the throat.)
It's a forked bone and it's got a piece cross it like that [demonstrates]. Lays jest like that right under his throat chere. You gits that bone out.
(Like the yoke of an ox, like a wishbone?)
Yes, sir. Yes, sir, it is. [A chicken-wishbone shape in a cat is impossi- ble.] You gets that bone out. After you take that bone out, you get you some salt.] Put it in some water. You soak that bone in there for nine mornings - about an hour every morning. That salt water will harden it. See. Then it will petrify, so it won't spoil. [This is curing the bone as you would a ham.] After you soaks it in that, then you take it and you lay it in the rays of the sun, for three mornings. Let the sun dry it, petrify it. After then, take you a piece of white silk linen [silk or linen?] and you sew it up in that, and wear that bone on you.
(What will that do then?)
Well, you'll be invisible then - can't see you.
Entry 10279
There's another thing. They can take your chamber lye again and stop you from using a woman.
(How could.they do that?)
They take your chamber lye and put it into a little small bottle like that, and after they put it into a small bottle, they let it rest overnight. And after it rest in overnight, they take that [bottled] chamber lye and put it down into some warm milk and take it [bottle] up. Draw it [bottle] up and let that milk boil away, that it almost gone out that bottle [pan]. And take that [small] bottle again and ketch a owl and shove it up in that owl's throat until it kill him. And take that bottle [with urine inside] and bury it in the ground with his [owl's] head up. Then you'll go for the balance of your life.
(You do what?)
You locked up [impotent] for the balance of your life, you can't use a woman. (You put an owl in there, an owl, a bird, an owl that steals a chicken, an owl that flies around at night?) [I am wrong. Owl is not put in bottle but very small bottle with urine is put in owl's throat.] Yeah. (An owl? And this milk. Do you pour the urine into the milk or put that bottle down into the milk?) [Again I am wrong!] Put the bottle [with urine] down in there [the milk].
(But you don't let any milk get into the bottle?)
No, you have it sealed.
(Yes, but you let this [bottled] urine boil in the milk?)
Yeah.
(I understand, I see. But you have to kill this owl, inside the bottle?)
[As I explained, owl is not in bottle.]
Yes. (And bury the bottle [in owl's throat] with the owl's head up. You have to ase a large bottle for that [no!] I understand. [No, the urine is in very small bottle in owl's throat, but owl buried head up.]
Entry 10719
An old note of ine in red ink reads: Good ills- tration of "intention"[[pover of what you intend to doll & my difficulty trying to have informant say without putting my words into his outh.] Yo' could take a bird - yo' know birds mating, yo' know birds, an' take too of 'em whut mates an' take an' cut one of 'em's throat an' let de blood run in de nmnin' watah, an' loose de othah one. De othah one, dat will svell up an' die. Dat jest de way de man do, whensomevah yo' have an enemy dat gives yo' any- thing lak dat. Dey'll swell up an' die. (Well, how do you know that anyone will die? Do you have to do something else with that?) He jest take sick. Yo' put dat blood in dat runnin' watah. Ketch 'em both, but when yo' git 'em to de watah, cut one of 'em's throat an' let de blood run in de watah, an' loose de othah one. An' de one whut's a bad enemy against yo'; dey'll take sick - go to swelling up. (Well, how do you connect these birds with the enemy? Don't you have to con- nect them in some way?) Well, yo' kin jest tell de enemy, yo' know, he take sick. Yo' know who is by his taking sick. He takes sick den an' he keeps alingering an' he swell up an' die.
(When you are doing this, you have to have the enemy in mind.)
De enemy in mind, whosomevah is a enemy against me. Yo' may not know jest who it is, but yo' know yo's [you hasl a mortal enemy about. Yo' know lak dat. Yo' have it in yore mind lak dat.
(You take any kind of birds that are mates.)
Dat are mates.
Entry 10938
Yo' take it an' pick it up from de ground dis way first [demonstrates]. (From the toe back to the heel.) Yes, back to de heel, and den from de heel to de toe. Yo' carry it and get some black gunpowder, and you take it and go to a river and ketch a catfish. And when yo' ketch him, don't kill him, put dis in his mouth in a piece of paper. And sew his mouth up and throw him overboard and dey'll go until de fish stops. Wheresomevah he stop, dey'll stop; whether it be beyond de state, where dey come from.
(Do you put just a piece of plain paper?)
Yes sir, jest plain paper.
(How many tracks do you take?)
Jest one.
(Which one, any one?)
Right.
Entry 12287
Jes' lak yo' wants tuh choke a person. Yo' wanta jes' choke 'em an' he don't know whut might cause him tuh choke. Yo' take a string an' yo' measure it jes' about two feet long, an' yo'll tie three knots in it. After tyin' three knots in it, yo'll take kerosene an' wet dem knots jes' - jes' take yore two fingers an' wet dem three knots dataway. After yo' wet all three of 'em, yo' take it den an' yo' go tie it on a limb or sompin an' let it hang dere. Well, long as dem three knots is hanged why a person always - jes' lak dey hate chew - yo'll always have trouble in yore throat. (That string doesn't come in contact with the person I want to choke does it?) Dat's right, yes. Jes' lak a person always wanta choke an' dere be's jes' lak flem.
Entry 12568
Yo' kin take one peanut and plant, put it dere. Yo' kin plant one peanut dis yeah. Well, yo' kin take jes' one an' yo' kin put jes' one spoon- fulla fertilizer dere. Well, dat'll make a big- ger root in de ground in de whole field, den if yo' have planted it [pea- nuts] all ovah de field. Dem lil' peanuts got lil' strings out. Jes' got one peanut dere an' it can't git no draft aroun' nowheres cross de earth, but dere's a great big root on de bottom called de [taproot?]. An' yo'll see it [the same thing] on de tree when de tree's picked [dug up] an' ain't growed out [up]. Well, dat root's right on de bottom dere. Den yo' take dat root an' yo' kin parch dat root and anybody's got a bad cold or anything, think it set into TB's or somepin othah, jes' boil dat root an' put chew some Adam [Adam-and-Eve?] in it. Well, Adam is a thing, yo' know, dat's mighty good fo' yo', dis garlic dat yo' cook with. Well, yo' put a lil' Adam in there an' put a lil' cream of tartar into any- thing dey drink. An' den put 'bout a half teaspoonful of gin in it, an' den de next thing yo' do, put in about a spoonful of camphor an' let it set dere fo' 'bout a day or two. Den yo' take. Dat will release all dat [something] on yore throat dere.
(That will cure that trouble you have?)
Dat's right.